MORAGA, Calif. — On Tuesday night, the 2021 volleyball season will come to a close as Saint Mary's hosts San Francisco inside University Credit Union Pavilion. The Gaels will finish the 2021 season with a winning record, and are aiming for a .500-record in conference play, and can achieve that by beating the Dons on Tuesday night. A win would give them their first .500 or better season in WCC play since the 2018 campaign.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (14-12, 8-9 WCC) vs. San Francisco Dons (0-24, 0-16 WCC)
Tuesday, November 23 at 7:00 pm
University Credit Union Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
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LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's held Senior Day on Saturday against No. 4 BYU and took a set from the eventual WCC-champs, but lost 3-1. In that third set, Elena Baka scored the first three points 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.
 
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
The Dons have not won a match this season, but they are a scrappy bunch and will be playing the regular season finale with nothing to lose. They've had one conference match canceled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic (Portland), and most recently fell in four sets to Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Despite their struggles, there have been signs of improvement. They've taken sets from opponents in three of their last four matches, and their defense has been improving, holding opponents to under a .250 hitting percentage in three of the last four matches.
 
#GaelsRise – Single game tickets are on sale for the 2021 season finale. Grab your tickets HERE!