BERKELEY, Calif. — The middle of September represents the final weeks of non-conference play for Saint Mary's Volleyball, with West Coast Conference matches to begin in just over one week. As a final tune-up before the WCC opponents begin showing, the Gaels will travel to Cal on Wednesday night and host UC Davis on Friday night inside UCU Pavilion.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (5-2) vs. California Golden Bears (6-3)
Wednesday, September 15 at 6:00 pm
Haas Pavilion – Berkeley, Calif.
Watch Live |
Live Stats
UC Davis Aggies (3-6) vs. Saint Mary's Gaels
Friday, September 17 at 6:00 pm
University Credit Union Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Watch Live |
Live Stats |
Get Tickets
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's split their matches as they co-hosted the Bay Area Invitational last weekend, beating CSU Bakersfield in four sets before falling to Utah State in four sets. Saint Mary's came out hot both days of the tournament, looking nearly invincible in first sets wins (25-15 and 25-13). They received some strong performances from two of their best players: first,
Jennifer "Boo" Laird tied a career-best with 12 kills and added six blocks in the win over the Roadrunners on Friday. Then,
Elena Baka slammed down 16 kills on Saturday, giving her 28 for the week. The Gaels also saw
Chandler Cowell put up 11 kills in both matches.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA
The California Golden Bears represent the lone Pac-12 opponent on the Gaels schedule in 2021, and they have just two tune-ups before Pac-12 play begins on September 22. The Golden Bears are 6-3 on the year, but went just 1-2 during their Cal Tournament last weekend, beating Nevada in three sets before losing to North Dakota State and Butler. Like many teams the Gaels have seen, they've been strong on the attack to start the year, and are led by Katie Smoot, who played beach only last spring, and her 126 kills in nine matches. She has 56 more kills than the next closest teammate (Mima Mirkovic, 70).
ABOUT UC DAVIS
The Aggies have seen mixed results after their first three tournaments of the 2021 season. They got swept at the Hornet Invitational and the NAU Tournament, but were unbeaten during their Aggie Invitational over Labor Day Weekend, where they beat Nevada, San Francisco, and Santa Clara (while only dropping a set to Santa Clara). They will take on Cal just one day before they head to Moraga and then begin Big West play the following week. Opponents haven't struggled to attack against the Aggies (0.217 overall), but UC Davis has been good on the block, averaging 2.4 blocks per set. They could also improve from the line, with 72 service errors already this season.
#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click
HERE!
