MORAGA, Calif. — There aren't too many Tuesday night West Coast Conference volleyball matches, but Saint Mary's had the pleasure of hosting Santa Clara on Tuesday night. On an evening that seemed to feature just about everything, including a brief power outage in Moraga, it only made sense that five sets were in the cards. Saint Mary's persevered through it all and came out on top with a final of 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 17-25, and 15-12. For the Gaels, it is their first WCC win to improve to 7-5 (1-2) while Santa Clara drops to 4-9 (0-3).
 
LET'S GET IT STARTED
The first two sets were all in favor of Saint Mary's, as the Gaels raced out to a 2-0 lead in the match. Kristen Erland got things going for the Gaels with five kills in the opening set, leading all players on the court. Another five-kill performance highlighted the second set, with Chandler Cowell exploding onto the scene for a great set, while also putting up a block. Consistency was key for the Gaels early on, as they attacked at a 0.286 clip in each of the first two sets while holding Santa Clara to a 6.9% hitting percentage in the second set. The Gaels were in control and setting themselves up for a quick night.
 
NOT SO FAST…
Santa Clara would not allow the Gaels to wrap things up in short order, as the Broncos came racing back to force a fourth and eventually a fifth set. Saint Mary's trailed for most of the third set, but pulled even at 21-21 after Cowell and Erland ripped off back-to-back kills. The Broncos then got consecutive points, highlighted by a block for the 23^rd point, before the Gaels got two of the next three points and pulled within one again at 24-23. Nani Spaar closed out the third set with a kill and brought on a fourth set. The Gaels and Broncos were tied at 14-14 when the Broncos rolled out 10 of the next 12 points to bury the home team.
 
THE BOO SHOW
It is tough to find a better fifth set than the one Jennifer "Boo" Laird played. With the match on the line, Laird was responsible for six points on her own (three kills and three block assists) while also picking up a huge dig that led to another kill. It was all part of a stellar evening for the fifth-year middle blocker, who recorded eight kills without an error, and paced SMC with eight total blocks (one solo, seven assisted). For reference, the Gaels only had eight blocks on the night, meaning Laird was involved with every stuff. The Gaels used the momentum she helped create into pulling ahead in the final set, and capping off a wild night with an Ella Sandt ace for the win.
 
KRISTEN QUIPS
"The first two sets, we really came out strong and after that we had a little bit of a lull. In the fifth set, we decided that this was our game and we needed to finish it, and we did that." Kristen Erland said after tying a career-best with 12 kills. She added, when talking about working with Laird at the net, "me and Boo have great chemistry. It all comes from how we communicate with each other after every block. She tells me if I'm too wide, or inside, and definitely couldn't do it without her guidance."
 
UP NEXT
The fun doesn't stop for the Gaels, as they head back on the road for another WCC road trip beginning on Thursday night in Spokane. SMC will take on Gonzaga at 6:00 pm before heading down to Portland on Saturday for a noon contest against Portland.