MORAGA, Calif. — The penultimate game of the 2022 season came and went on Saturday afternoon, as Saint Mary's hosted Portland on their Senior Day. It effectively became a Hawleyday (not holiday), as Hawley Harrer was honored as the lone senior on the roster, and she continued to finish the season strong. Her big performance on her big day helped lead the Gaels to a three-set sweep of the Pilots, with finals of 25-15, 25-14, and 25-23. The Gaels improve to 9-16 (6-11) while the Pilots slump to 10-18 (3-14).
 
HAWLEYDAY
While it wasn't quite the same performance that she racked up on Thursday, which saw her post a career-best 26 kills in the five-set win over Gonzaga, Hawley Harrer was still pretty dang good on her Senior Day. She was the team leader in kills with 15, which included 11 of those in the final two sets of the afternoon. She only had one error on the day as well, while adding six digs and an assist. In the two matches this week, Harrer totaled 41 kills, easily her best two-week stretch of the season.
 
KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON
The Gaels were very strong in the first and second sets, never letting Portland settle into the set. Saint Mary's never trailed in the opening set, with a lead that kept growing all the way to 18-9 as the set was past the midway point. The same held true in the second set, but the SMC serve game was on point. Genevieve Bane had three consecutive aces early to build a 5-1 lead, and Megan Chandler Allred had her third ace of the match (already). The Gaels recorded nine aces in the win, with Bane and Chandler Allred each leading the way with three. Abby Castillon, Kate Blackwell, and Makenna Joyce also added aces later in the match.
 
MAKING THEM WORK
It looked for a time like Portland was in position to win the third set, but it came down to the wire as both teams were making each other work for every point. Portland's largest lead came at 14-12, but the Gaels came back to win four of the next five points and lead 16-15. That lead stretched to 19-16 until Portland called a timeout, and then shortly thereafter, they pulled ahead with a 22-21 advantage. That's when Harrer began to take over, as the Gaels kept feeding her, and she recorded the next two kills to make it 23-22 SMC. A Portland kill tied the score at 23-23, but then Harrer and Castillon closed out the match with kills to secure a Saint Mary's sweep on Senior Day.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
Saint Mary's finished the match with just eight attack errors, posting a hitting percentage of .363 in one of their most efficient days of the season…Ella Sandt notched another double-double after pacing the Gaels in both assists (25) and digs (10)…SMC was better than Portland in every notable statistic across the board, and even held the Pilots to a -.136 hitting percentage in the second set.
 
QUOTABLES
"It's been great. All you wish for is to have fun, be at home, and do well, especially finishing the game in three feels really good. I'm really proud of our team. We're not done yet, though. There's still one game left, but it's exciting to see how we could finish." – Hawley Harrer
 
"That's something that they've been really focusing on, coming out strong and maintaining that and they're getting better and better at it. Portland is a very good team, and I was proud of how we maintained our intensity and our focus throughout. Of course, Hawley is just amazing. It's so great to watch her go out there and dominate and do what she does so well, and we're going to miss her, but we're looking forward to one more big match with her on Tuesday." – head coach, Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
The 2022 season wraps up on Tuesday evening as the Gaels host Santa Clara in the season finale. The Gaels and Broncos played in Santa Clara in October and the Gaels were winners in three sets. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion.