Saturday, August 28
Laramie, WY
5:30 pm
Saint Mary's College of California
3-0,0-0WCC
3
at
0
Wyoming
2-2,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
25
25
25
3
Wyoming
16
18
23
0
Photo by: Wyoming Athletics / John Durgee
VB | Saint Mary’s Stays Perfect with Sweep of Wyoming
8/28/2021 7:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LARAMIE, Wyo. — It's hard to envision a better start to the season for Saint Mary's Volleyball. After winning all six sets in the first day of the Rumble in the Rockies, the Gaels returned to UNIWYO Complex to take care of business against the Wyoming Cowgirls again, sweeping Wyoming with finals of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-23 to improve to 3-0 in their first tournament of the season, while Wyoming falls to 2-2.
EN FUEGO!
The night could not have gotten off to a better start for Chandler Cowell than what happened in the first set. The senior out of Kula, Hawaii took ten swings in the first set, and she made good on an incredible seven of those, without committing a single error. That 70% percentage was just the beginning of another strong night of the Gaels attack. She began the evening with a block on the first point of the night, and finished off the first set with her seventh kill, capping off a 25-16 opening set win. For the night, Cowell finished with 16 kills, just one off of her career-best.
DEFENSE WINS
The Gaels needed some strong defense on Saturday night to win in straight sets, and they got strong defensive performances from a variety of players. Kelsey Knudsen led the way in digs with 11, and she also had a massive service ace late in the match that gave SMC a serve at match point. Alosina Thompson also reached double-figures in digs with 10, while eight total Gaels had multiple digs. Not only were the Gaels good at covering, they were better on the block. SMC had seven blocks to just four for the Cowgirls, and Kristen Erland had block assists on four different Gael blocks, an early career-best. Seven different Gaels contributed to a block on Saturday.
THIRD GETS TIGHT
As it was on Friday afternoon in the third set against Wyoming, the Gaels and Cowgirls were locked into a tight duel. Saint Mary's did hold a 16-12 lead in the middle of the set, but the Cowgirls raced back to tie it up at 19-19. Saint Mary's turned to Elena Baka to get a couple of big kills, and Hawley Harrer added one of her own to give the Gaels a 22-21 lead. However, two kills from Wyoming put them in the driver's seat with a 23-22 lead. A bad set, the ace from Knudsen, and a final kill from Jennifer "Boo" Laird, and the Gaels clinched the sweep.
BROWNING BITES
"That's a great win…coming out two days in a row against a really good team and stepping up to the challenge. Our team showed a lot of talent, skill, grit, and fire. We put relentless pressure on Wyoming. Chandler was awesome…pure aggression on the attack, it was a truly impressive performance. But clearly, it was another complete team effort. Even our players who didn't get in the match were totally dialed in and stoking the fire." – head coach, Rob Browning
POST-MATCH THOUGHTS
"I am extremely proud of the way the team fought tonight. We didn't try to do anything special, we just played well. Our team prides itself on doing our jobs right and doing them right every time, and we did exactly that. Just like last night in the third set, we looked at the tight score as an opportunity and embraced the challenge." – Abigail Matoso
"It was a great team effort across the board for our win. From the bench to the coaches to the starters, we were all locked in and ready for tonight. Wyoming is a great team, and we were not there to take them lightly. We were dialed in each and every point wanting to battle and scrap. I think tonight was a demonstration of our grit and the hard work we've been putting in for the past two and a half weeks. Tonight is just a preview of our potential and a great way to start the season." - Chandler Cowell
UP NEXT
The Gaels will head home for the first time during the 2021 season with their home opener on Friday, September 3 against San Jose State. It will be the first of two matches on tap for the Gaels, as they head to Sacramento State on Saturday night. First serve of the home opener is scheduled for 6:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion.
#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click HERE!
EN FUEGO!
The night could not have gotten off to a better start for Chandler Cowell than what happened in the first set. The senior out of Kula, Hawaii took ten swings in the first set, and she made good on an incredible seven of those, without committing a single error. That 70% percentage was just the beginning of another strong night of the Gaels attack. She began the evening with a block on the first point of the night, and finished off the first set with her seventh kill, capping off a 25-16 opening set win. For the night, Cowell finished with 16 kills, just one off of her career-best.
DEFENSE WINS
The Gaels needed some strong defense on Saturday night to win in straight sets, and they got strong defensive performances from a variety of players. Kelsey Knudsen led the way in digs with 11, and she also had a massive service ace late in the match that gave SMC a serve at match point. Alosina Thompson also reached double-figures in digs with 10, while eight total Gaels had multiple digs. Not only were the Gaels good at covering, they were better on the block. SMC had seven blocks to just four for the Cowgirls, and Kristen Erland had block assists on four different Gael blocks, an early career-best. Seven different Gaels contributed to a block on Saturday.
THIRD GETS TIGHT
As it was on Friday afternoon in the third set against Wyoming, the Gaels and Cowgirls were locked into a tight duel. Saint Mary's did hold a 16-12 lead in the middle of the set, but the Cowgirls raced back to tie it up at 19-19. Saint Mary's turned to Elena Baka to get a couple of big kills, and Hawley Harrer added one of her own to give the Gaels a 22-21 lead. However, two kills from Wyoming put them in the driver's seat with a 23-22 lead. A bad set, the ace from Knudsen, and a final kill from Jennifer "Boo" Laird, and the Gaels clinched the sweep.
BROWNING BITES
"That's a great win…coming out two days in a row against a really good team and stepping up to the challenge. Our team showed a lot of talent, skill, grit, and fire. We put relentless pressure on Wyoming. Chandler was awesome…pure aggression on the attack, it was a truly impressive performance. But clearly, it was another complete team effort. Even our players who didn't get in the match were totally dialed in and stoking the fire." – head coach, Rob Browning
POST-MATCH THOUGHTS
"I am extremely proud of the way the team fought tonight. We didn't try to do anything special, we just played well. Our team prides itself on doing our jobs right and doing them right every time, and we did exactly that. Just like last night in the third set, we looked at the tight score as an opportunity and embraced the challenge." – Abigail Matoso
"It was a great team effort across the board for our win. From the bench to the coaches to the starters, we were all locked in and ready for tonight. Wyoming is a great team, and we were not there to take them lightly. We were dialed in each and every point wanting to battle and scrap. I think tonight was a demonstration of our grit and the hard work we've been putting in for the past two and a half weeks. Tonight is just a preview of our potential and a great way to start the season." - Chandler Cowell
UP NEXT
The Gaels will head home for the first time during the 2021 season with their home opener on Friday, September 3 against San Jose State. It will be the first of two matches on tap for the Gaels, as they head to Sacramento State on Saturday night. First serve of the home opener is scheduled for 6:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion.
#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click HERE!
Team Stats
SMC
UW
Kills
43
32
Errors
16
19
Attempts
114
104
Hitting %
.237
.125
Points
54.5
37
Assists
39
30
Aces
4
1
Blocks
7.5
4
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballDS/L
/ Women's VolleyballS
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