PROVO, Utah — Saint Mary's Volleyball appeared to be much improved in their match against No. 2 San Diego on Thursday night, and they continued that trend on Saturday against No. 18 BYU. The Gaels were competitive the entire way through against the Cougars, and played in one of the best sets of the year in the second yet. Despite the heart and the improved play, the Gaels still found themselves on the wrong end of a sweep, with finals of 25-18, 30-28, and 25-19. Saint Mary's drops down to 7-16 (4-11) while BYU improves to 19-5 (13-2).
 
NOT INTIMIDATED
Saint Mary's was never flustered early in the match against BYU, which is not the case for most teams going into the Smith Fieldhouse. They never trailed by more than one point until the later stages of the set, and even held a lead of 12-11 before trading points and going back and forth with the Cougars until it was 16-16. BYU then scored six of the next seven points to take a 23-17 lead, and that got the crowd into it and helped BYU hang on for the win in the first set. Still, despite the outcoming, with how the Gaels came out of the gates, it gave them a lot of confidence heading into the second set, which was one for the ages.
 
THE DECIDING SET
From a neutral observer, it could be deemed that Saint Mary's was the better team during the second set. The Gaels led 6-3 early in the set and extended it to 12-7 and it seemed like they might have a chance to pull away. BYU came roaring back to life and eventually pulled ahead for a 16-15 lead, and that's when the set got really fun. BYU led 22-20 before the Gaels got two points, including a kill from Megan Chandler Allred, to tie the score. It then remained a one-point lead or a tie game until the final point was scored, as the Gaels had chances for set point twice, at 27-26 and 28-27. Genevieve Bane was doing the heavy lifting, getting three-straight kills for the Gaels to try and will them to a set win. Erin Livingston of the Cougars, however, got the last two kills of the set for BYU and took it with a final of 30-28.
 
GOING OUT WITH A BANE
For the second match in a row, Bane was the leading attacker for the Gaels, and this time she was able to break through to new heights. Bane had 15 kills on the afternoon, which sets a new personal best for the redshirt freshman outside hitter. She had four kills in the first set and then was incredible in the second set, where she racked up eight kills. Her confidence is growing by the match, and she is building a lot of momentum heading into her second season on the court.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
For a team that doesn't allow other teams to hit very well like BYU does, the Gaels hitting percentage of .231 is awfully impressive, including a .300 hitting percentage in the second set…no other Gaels had more than six kills (Kristen Erland, Kjersti Strong) behind Bane's 15…SMC had more aces than BYU (4-2) but also had more service errors than BYU (12-4)…Hailee Garcia passed Ella Sandt for the team lead in assists, with Garcia compiling 19 compared to 17 for Sandt.
 
UP NEXT
The final three games of the season will take place inside University Credit Union Pavilion as the Gaels host a trio of WCC programs to close out 2022. Up first is Gonzaga on Thursday, November 17, with first serve scheduled for 7:00 pm. The week closes out on Saturday at 12:00 pm against Portland, which will serve as Senior Day for the Gaels as well as being part of Homecoming 2022 at Saint Mary's.