SAN JOSE, Calif. — Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball returns to action this weekend with some matches against teams inside the top-20 in the latest AVCA polls. Games begin on Thursday at San Jose State against the Spartans and #16 Long Beach before the Gaels go Stanford on Sunday to face #11 Cal Poly and #8 Stanford.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (13-7) at San Jose State Spartans (9-11)
Thursday, March 31 at 10:00 am
 
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. #16 Long Beach State (7-9)
Thursday, March 31 at 12:00 pm
Hosted by San Jose State
 
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. #11 Cal Poly Mustangs (14-10)
Sunday, April 3 at 10:00 am
Hosted by Stanford
 
Saint Mary's Gaels at #8 Stanford Cardinal (11-5)
Sunday, April 3 at 12:00 pm
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's went 2-2 during the Midseason Invitational, comprised mostly of WCC teams. The Gaels saw three teams for the first time this season at the tournament, with two of those being ranked teams: #16 Pepperdine and #5 Loyola Marymount. SMC earned victories over San Francisco and Santa Clara, while dropping those two ranked matchups. The pairings of Selbie Christensen/Chandler Cowell, Karmin Brown/Makenna Joyce, and Hawley Harrer/Aeriel Sundt all earned two victories during the tournament.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
San Jose State and Saint Mary's are familiar foes, having already met twice this season. The Gaels beat the Spartans in Moraga, but lost to SJSU in San Jose back on March 18 at their place. After dropping their initial game at the Midseason Invitational, San Jose State won their final three to go 3-1.
 
Don't let the 7-9 record fool you for #16 Long Beach State: 11 of their 16 matches have come against ranked opponents. They have wins over #16 Stetson and #12 Cal Poly, and they've taken teams ranked inside the top-10 to the brink of defeat. The Beach has won its last three matches, all against unranked teams.
 
Much like Long Beach State, #11 Cal Poly has seen a tough slate of matches thus far, with 12 of their 24 opponents being ranked. They also have a win over Long Beach, as well as #18 Pepperdine and #16 Arizona. The Mustangs will be at Stanford for two days, playing Santa Clara and Stanford on Saturday.
 
#8 Stanford plays at home for the first time all season this weekend, but that hasn't stopped the Cardinal from racking up big wins. Notable wins have come against #10 Hawaii, #11 Cal Poly, and #14 Long Beach State. Newly paired Maddi Kriz and Charlie Ekstrom were also named the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week on March 29.