STOCKTON, Calif. — For the final time away from home in 2021, Saint Mary's Volleyball made the short trip inland to take on the Tigers of Pacific on Friday night. With it being their lone match of the week, the Gaels capped off the road portion of their schedule by also concluding season series with Pacific. The Tigers were able to escape with a win in their home gym, dropping the Gaels to 14-10 (8-7) while the Tigers improve to 12-14 (9-6).
 
LET'S HAVE A BLOCK PARTY!
The Saint Mary's block was the star of the show on Friday night, with the Gaels recording 14 blocks, their most in a match this season. There wasn't one player who was leading the way at the net either, as three Gaels recorded a part in seven blocks. Hawley Harrer set a career-best with seven block assists, Selbie Christensen tied a season-best that she set earlier this year with seven block assists, and Jennifer "Boo" Laird had a solo stuff and six block assists. Saint Mary's had at least three blocks in every set, including five blocks in the third set.
 
LEADING DUO
Harrer wasn't just strong on the block, but she also had a strong night swinging her left arm as well. Harrer paced SMC in kills and recorded her fourth-straight match of 10+ kills by piling up 12, with just four attack errors. She was joined by Kristen Erland who had a strong night, recording 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. For Erland, it was her first 10+ kill performance in the last five matches. The Gaels attack overall wasn't the strongest it's been all season, but Harrer and Erland were great, steady forces all night.
 
COUPLE OF KEYS
While Saint Mary's hung around in every set on Friday night (27-29, 25-23, 23-25, 17-25), a few areas stood out as being contributors in the outcome. The Gaels recorded just two aces on Friday night, both coming from Ella Sandt, while Pacific racked up 11 aces across the four sets. The Tigers were also able to get up 31 more swings on the night than Saint Mary's, and that helps explain why the Tigers recorded 65 total kills, the second-most kills the Gaels have seen this season. Four Tigers were over the 10-kill mark, including Sedona Sherman, who led the way with 14.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will wrap up the 2021 season at home for the final three matches, beginning with a pair of ranked teams on Thursday and Saturday. SMC brings in #19 San Diego on Thursday night at 7:00 pm before #5 BYU comes to town on Saturday for what will serve as Senior Day for the Gaels.
 
#GaelsRise – Single game tickets are on sale now for the remainder of the 2021 season. Grab your tickets HERE!