SAN FRANCISCO — For the final time during the 2022 season, Saint Mary's Volleyball took on their rivals from across the Bay in San Francisco. The Dons had been a struggling team when the Gaels and Dons met back in Moraga, but things were a bit different this time around. The Dons ran their winning streak to three in a row in conference play by beating Saint Mary's in four sets, with finals of 16-25, 25-20, 19-25, and 22-25. The Gaels are now 6-11 (3-6) while USF improves to 10-10 (3-6).
 
BATTLING BACK
After dropping the opening set, Saint Mary's came out a much-improved team in the second set. They had to deal with the Dons hanging around for most of it, but this time they closed out the set strong. The score was tied 16-16 when the Gaels used a little 4-0 run to put a stranglehold on the set. Genevieve Bane opened it up with a kill, and then Ella Sandt served one up nicely for an ace. That 4-0 run turned into a 7-1 stretch for SMC, which included two kills from Hawley Harrer, and suddenly the Gaels were in a good enough position to win by five.
 
LONG ROAD
The Gaels were in position for wins in both the third and fourth sets but couldn't lay down the dagger. In the fourth set, with their backs against the wall, they held a 15-12 lead and led as late as 18-17 over the Dons. That earlier 15-12 lead was buoyed by an ace from Megan Chandler Allred who had a strong night. That's when USF was able to rally and sink the Gaels for good. Shyia Richardson had the final four kills of the night for San Francisco, as the Gaels just could not find a way to slow her down. That sent the Dons fans into elation as they watched their home squad wrap up a series split with SMC.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
It was a strong night overall for Chandler Allred, who set a new career-best with eight kills, while adding eight digs and an ace…the attack was led by Harrer and her 12 kills, while Kjersti Strong added 10 in the match…a big story on Thursday night was the blocking game, as the Gaels put up just one block and USF added 10 blocks…Ella Sandt was great on Thursday night, with 24 assists, 10 digs, and a pair of the seven aces by the Gaels…
 
QUOTABLES
"Megan's worked very hard to improve all aspects of her game and she's done that, you know, she's improved a lot in the past weeks, and that was a great performance by her. There were good moments all around for everyone, but the consistency just wasn't there." – head coach, Rob Browning
 
"I think for me, I knew that this is going to be a tough match. They really wanted to beat us and so coming in. It was just going to be a battle and so I was just excited to go out there and battle and play for my team. But moving forward, it starts with practice tomorrow. We're all upset about this loss and we want to go in there and fight and battle for each other and this losing streak needs to end so we're going to go and grind it out." – Megan Chandler Allred
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will remain away from home to close out the weekend with a Saturday matchup against the Santa Clara Broncos. This is the first time this season the two teams have met, after the Gaels won twice last year, with both matches going five sets. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 pm between the two Bay Area rivals. Following the match, the Gaels will close out the season with six of their final eight matches at home.