SAN FRANCISCO — After a pair of home matches last week, Saint Mary's Volleyball will remain in the Bay Area but play on the road this week with two matches against West Coast Conference foes. The Gaels open up the week with their second matchup on the season against the San Francisco Dons before closing it out on Saturday with their first meeting against the Santa Clara Broncos. Both matches will be streamed live on the WCC Network.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (6-10, 3-5) at San Francisco Dons (9-10, 2-6)
Thursday, October 20 at 7:00 pm
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center – San Francisco
Watch | Live Stats
 
Saint Mary's Gaels at Santa Clara Broncos (8-12, 4-4)
Saturday, October 22 at 1:00 pm
Leavey Center – Santa Clara, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last week was one of the most difficult on the entire season for the Gaels, as they hosted both No. 12 BYU and No. 4 San Diego. SMC dropped both matches in three sets, and they've now lost five-in-a-row while winning just one set. That's not to say the Gaels have played particularly poorly during this stretch, but they have been facing some of the best teams in the WCC. Despite the losses, they've remained competitive early in matches against these ranked opponents, which nearly included taking the first set from both BYU and San Diego, while winning a set against Pepperdine. Confidence should still be high for the Gaels heading into this local week on the road.
 
SERVE GAME
The biggest difference in the game on Saturday afternoon was the performance of both teams at the service line. Saint Mary's was matching San Diego swing for swing and attack for attack for the better part of the first two sets, but aces and errors became a story. The Gaels had five service errors in the first set and lost the set by just three points. In the second set, San Diego closed out the Gaels with a 12-0 run and they were aided by service aces. The Toreros racked up seven aces in the set with just one error, including five during that stretch. The Gaels allowed 11 aces, the most they've seen in a match this season.
 
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
The Dons aren't quite the same team the Gaels saw at the onset of WCC play, when they were still on the early heels of a 6-0 run to start the year. Since, they've gone just 3-10, which includes a pair of wins at home last week against Gonzaga and Portland. When these teams met in September, the Dons actually out-hit the Gaels (.221 vs. .218) but Saint Mary's got strong performances from Hawley Harrer (14 kills) and Kristen Erland (12 kills). USF will likely continue to turn to Maria Petkova, who led the team with 11 kills in Moraga, and actively ranks third on the Dons in that department.
 
ABOUT SANTA CLARA
Much like the Dons, Santa Clara hosted Portland and Gonzaga this past week and came away with a pair of wins. This snapped a four-game losing skid for the Broncos, part of a season that has been very up and down for SCU. They endured a long five-game losing streak in non-conference play that included losses to Grand Canyon and Oklahoma, but they found their rhythm again when conference play began, opening up 2-0. Julia Sangiacomo leads the WCC in kills with 302 and she does a little bit of everything, ranking second on the team in total blocks and third in digs.