MORAGA, Calif. — Saturday afternoon wrapped up a weekend of volleyball for Saint Mary's, with the 23^rd-ranked Pepperdine Waves the opposition. The Gaels proved they can hang with the best in the conference after Thursday's near-upset victory over the LMU Lions, and early on it looked like they might have another potential spoiler on the horizon. Instead, Pepperdine crashed into Saint Mary's and won in three sets with finals of 25-20, 25-15, and 25-13. Pepperdine splits on the weekend and is now 13-2 (5-1 WCC) while the Gaels fall to 8-8 (2-5 WCC).
 
TREADING WATER
The Gaels did an admirable job in the first set of remaining competitive and playing strong volleyball. Pepperdine never led by more than five (which was the final margin of victory in the set), and the Gaels were tied as late as 13-13 off of a kill from Ashley Reed. After that point in the set, the Gaels were never able to get back-to-back points again in the set, with Pepperdine using a brief but effective 5-1 run to extend their margin ever so slightly.
 
SERVES UP
Last Saturday, Saint Mary's took it to Portland to the tune of a program-record 19 service aces. This Saturday, it was Pepperdine finding success at the line and taking advantage of the Gaels defense. The Waves recorded 13 aces on the afternoon, the most that Saint Mary's has allowed this season. It might have been survivable if the Gaels were able to return the favor, but they recorded just two aces of their own, coming from Kelsey Knudsen and Alosina Thompson.
 
EARLY ACTIVATION
In the last few weeks, the previously strong Saint Mary's block has been slowed somewhat. On Saturday, the Gaels got their blocking going early with three stuffs in the first set. Hawley Harrer and Jennifer "Boo" Laird teamed up on the third point of the match with a block, and Laird worked with Selbie Christensen to get the fifth point of the set for the Gaels on a block. The Gaels had a 9-6 lead in that first set after a solo stuff from Laird had the SMC block on cruise control early, and eventually finished with six on the day.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
No Gaels were able to get more than six kills on the afternoon, a tally that both Christensen and Kristen Erland got to…Knudsen led SMC with seven digs…Thompson paced the Gaels with 11 assists…Saint Mary's had its best set in terms of the attack in the second set, when they had a hitting percentage of 0.280.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will enjoy a lighter week in WCC play next weekend with just one matchup on tap. The Gaels host Pacific on Friday, October 15 at 7:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion, the first of two meetings against the Tigers this year.
 
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