MALIBU, Calif. — Only one team in the West Coast Conference had a longer winning streak than Saint Mary's Volleyball when play began on Thursday night. Winners in their last five matches, the Gaels put that streak to the test against RV Pepperdine inside Firestone Fieldhouse. The Gaels were able to do something they couldn't do in their meeting against Pepperdine, and that was win a set. However, they dropped three of the four on Thursday, ending their season-long winning streak at five matches and dropping to 13-9 (7-6 in WCC).
 
WINNING WITH BONUS POINTS
SMC was in control for most of the second set, coming out strong after dropping the initial set 25-17. A 9-2 run early on in the set gave Saint Mary's a 15-9 lead, and they had the Waves on their heels. No one Gael had multiple points during this run, but Saint Mary's did take advantage of five errors from the Waves (four attack errors, one service error). Pepperdine then started clawing their way back, eventually taking a 23-21 lead that had the Gaels on the ropes. A kill from Jennifer "Boo" Laird and an ace from Chandler Cowell tied the match up, and set the stage for a dramatic finish. Eventually, it was consecutive kills from Kristen Erland and Elena Baka to end the set and give the Gaels an equalizing win.
 
TRIO UP TOP
Pepperdine had a strong crop of attackers up front, but the Gaels leading trio wasn't too shabby either on Thursday night. Baka led the way for the Gaels with 12 kills, her first time leading the team in kills since returning from injury. Hawley Harrer put on another great attacking display with 10 kills, her second-consecutive match with 10 kills. Laird continued to be hyper-efficient at the middle blocker position, adding 10 kills and recording her third-straight match of a hitting percentage above .500 (.529 on Thursday night).
 
SOME GOOD, SOME BAD
There were certainly areas the Gaels excelled at on Thursday night, but there were some others that weren't as strong. The Gaels had two sets where their hitting percentage was above .290, but two where they were below .200. Saint Mary's out-blocked the Waves with seven total blocks on the night and had fewer service errors, but fell 20 digs shy of Pepperdine, despite 15 from Kelsey Knudsen. A big thorn in the side of the Gaels was Rachel Ahrens, who leads the WCC in kills, and set a career-best with 30 kills on Thursday night.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will shake off their defeat on Thursday and take on a struggling Loyola Marymount Lions team on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. Saint Mary's nearly knocked off the Lions in Moraga last month, with the match going to a deciding fifth set before LMU was able to escape with a win.
 
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