MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball began its weekend with the first of a back-to-back against San Francisco, this time inside University Credit Union Pavilion. With the Gaels fresh off a four-match winning streak, they entered with loads of confidence, and rightfully so. In three hard-fought sets, however, San Francisco was able to escape with the win with finals of 25-23, 25-21, and 27-25 to cap off the sweep. USF picks up their sixth win of the season and go to 6-7 while the Gaels fall to 5-7 and now sit in fifth place in the WCC.
 
LATE COMEBACK ATTEMPT
Saint Mary's made a feverish comeback attempt in the first set, nearly erasing what was a six-point deficit. The Gaels trailed 21-16 before rattling off five-straight points, making it 21-20. It was a diverse set of points that got the Gaels there, with Elena Baka picking up a kill and an ace, while Jennifer "Boo" Laird also came through with a quick kill from the middle. After the Dons got a pair of points, Saint Mary's was able to stave off set point by getting it to 24-23 after a pair of errors from USF. McKenna Marshall was too much to handle, though, as the powerful attacker for the Dons ended the set with a kill.
 
SIMILAR SET TWO
The Gaels opened up set two with a lead, which but nearly were able to erase a similar deficit later in the set. Saint Mary's was up 8-4 early, thanks to a 6-0 run. Chandler Cowell and Trinity Durfee recorded kills and Alosina Thompson came through with a service ace. The Dons came right back, however, recording seven out of the next eight points to erase the deficit and eventually go up 19-14. Again the Gaels rallied, with three straight points capped off by a block from Durfee and Baka. It was not enough, as the Gaels couldn't close the gap further, and wound up falling 25-21.
 
BONUS POINTS NOT ENOUGH
Set three was the most evenly-played set of the night, so it should come as no surprise that the two teams needed to go beyond 25 points to determine a winner. Saint Mary's fell behind 15-10 but this time successfully erased a deficit, eventually drawing even at 20-20 after a kill from Selbie Christensen and another from Cowell. The Gaels took their first lead of the set at 24-23 and came close to winning after a Baka ace, but Marshall got another kill to tie it up. Hawley Harrer put the Gaels up 25-24 on a kill, but the Dons responded by getting the next three points and ending the set on a Katie Wagstaff kill.
 
BROWNING BITES
"USF took it to us tonight. They are a talented team and well-coached. It took us way too long to respond in any meaningful way. San Francisco never let up and we never put up a consistent fight. We've got another opportunity tomorrow against this good team, this time in their gym." – head coach Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
These teams will in fact meet again tomorrow afternoon in San Francisco, with first serve scheduled for 4:00 pm. Since these teams are geographical rivals in the conference, they have the freedom to split the two-match series at both venues, and they have opted to do so. Saint Mary's will do the same next week when they split against Santa Clara across two days.