MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball hosted their first match of the 2021 season on Friday night, welcoming in San Jose State. After a perfect 3-0 start on the road for the Gaels, they were greeted by a Spartan team that was ready to put up a fight, and that they did. Despite Saint Mary's coming back and taking the second set, San Jose State pulled away and won the final two sets for a 3-1 win, with finals of 17-25, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-23. With the loss, Saint Mary's falls to 3-1 while San Jose State runs its record to 4-1.
 
CAREER NIGHT FOR BAKA
Elena Baka was one of the best players on the floor for the Gaels, lighting up the scoreboard in just about every way imaginable. She tied a career-best in kills with 17, matching a number that she had put up five times prior in her career. Every time Saint Mary's needed a big kill, they would turn to their heavy hitter from Greece. In the second set, when Saint Mary's defeated the Spartans, Baka had a pair of kills once the Gaels reached 20 points that put them right on the doorstep of clinching the set. In the fourth set, it was Baka who gave the Gaels life by slamming down a kill to make it 24-23 SJSU, keeping Saint Mary's alive. Friday's match could have had a very different tune without her efforts.
 
TAKING THE SECOND SET
After dropping the opening set, Saint Mary's looked like a more focused team in the second set. The match was tight in the middle of the set, with both teams deadlocked at 12-12, but Saint Mary's opened up a 7-1 run to take a 19-13 lead. Three attack errors from the Spartans helped aid that run, while Hawley Harrer and Jennifer "Boo" Laird had kills, and Alosina Thompson had a service ace. That run was all the Gaels needed to solidify their standing in the second set and take it away from the Spartans.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Gaels had their weakest attacking night of the season, finishing the evening with an attack percentage of just 14.8%...Baka matched her digs and kills total, with 17 in both…Kelsey Knudsen was all over the place on defense, leading the Gaels with 18 digs…the Saint Mary's block was on it all night, leading the way with 13 total blocks compared to just seven for San Jose State…six different Gaels had at least two block assists, with Laird pacing SMC with seven, and Harrer recording six.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will have a quick turnaround following their first loss of the season, hitting the road and going north to Sacramento State on Saturday night. First serve inside The Nest is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
 
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