MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball honored its five seniors on Saturday afternoon as the Gaels hosted No. 4 BYU inside University Credit Union Pavilion. Entering the match, the Cougars had only lost three sets in conference play all season, but the Gaels were able to take the third set from BYU. Despite giving BYU a scare, BYU was able to beat Saint Mary's in four sets and claim the 2021 WCC Volleyball championship. Saint Mary's drops to 14-12 (8-9 WCC) with one match left on the year.
 
SHUTTING 'EM DOWN
From the beginning of set three, the eventual set that Saint Mary's would win, the Gaels made it clear that they were not going to get swept. Elena Baka scored the first three points of the set for SMC, with a kill and back-to-back aces to give SMC a 3-1 lead. The Gaels would never trail during the third set, eventually claiming it by a final of 25-19. That was the set everything was clicking for the Gaels, where they hit at a .433 clip, and they held the top-attacking team in the country to a .225 clip on the attack. The set closed out with a kill from Chandler Cowell, and the Gaels were right back in the match.
 
ALWAYS IN IT
Despite scoring 17, 15, and 14 points in the three sets they dropped, Saint Mary's was neck-and-neck with BYU up until the middle of the set. In the opening set, the Gaels were down 16-13 and on a 3-0 run with two points scored from Selbie Christensen, but then BYU ripped off four-straight and suddenly had a cushion to work with. In the second set, the Gaels trailed by just one at 14-13 after Kristen Erland began to catch fire on the block and on the attack. BYU then scored the next seven points to take a 21-13 lead and never looked back.
 
SENIOR STATS
Saint Mary's got all five seniors into the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon, and all five had big moments in the match:

• Abigail Matoso – 3 digs, ace in the final set
• Selbie Christensen – 5 kills, 8 total blocks (career-best)
• Alosina Thompson – 17 assists, 7 digs
• Kelsey Knudsen – 9 digs, 2 assists
• Jennifer "Boo" Laird – 3 kills, 6 total blocks, 3 digs

 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's has one more home game left during the 2021 season, when they host San Francisco on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm inside UCU Pavilion. The Gaels will have a chance to finish WCC play with a .500 record if they are able to take down the Dons just two days before Thanksgiving.
 
#GaelsRise – Single game tickets are on sale now for the remainder of the 2021 season. Grab your tickets HERE!