DAVIS, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball plays its final two non-conference games of the 2022 season this week, with the first coming on the road and the second at home. The Gaels will head to UC Davis to take on the Aggies in a rare Tuesday night contest before returning home and taking on the Cal Golden Bears on Thursday night. The Gaels will then prepare for the start of West Coast Conference play the following week.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (2-4) at UC Davis Aggies (5-3)
Tuesday, September 13 at 6:00 pm
University Credit Union Center – Davis, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats
 
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Cal Golden Bears (5-3)
Thursday, September 15 at 6:00 pm
University Credit Union Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's had its best week of the season when they beat both Penn and CSUN at home last weekend. They dominated their way past Penn with a .414 hitting percentage and then swept CSUN the following day while still hitting well over .300. They were drastically improved in every aspect, from their block (more on that below), to their serving (more aces than errors). They did so while mostly using just one setter, Ella Sandt, who set a career-best in assists with 36 in the win on Saturday.
 
ERLAND'S BLOCK PARTY
Some nights are better than others at the net, but Kristen Erland had one of the best nights by a Gael in recent memory on Friday night against Penn. After recovering from an early-season concussion, Erland was in form on Friday night, pacing the Gaels with a career-best 13 total blocks. That number is the fourth-most in a match in Saint Mary's history, and the most by any Gael since Brittany Barker in 2006. She had five blocks in the first set and seven in the final set, accounting for half of the team's final 10 points on blocks alone. The Gaels put up 15 total blocks as a team, their most since March of 2021 during the Covid-altered season against Pacific.
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
The Aggies have been well tested and traveled so far during the 2022 season, with three out-of-state trips. UC Davis began the year in Missoula for tournament play hosted by Montana, and swept their way to a 3-0 start. They then went to Oregon for a pair of matches hosted by #18 Oregon, and lost both the Ducks and Rice. They most recently played two in Austin, Texas against the top-ranked Longhorns (who they lost to) and beat Denver on a neutral floor. Statistically, they are nearly identical to the Gaels, but they've been a bit better at the service line, with a near 1:1 ratio of aces to errors.
 
ABOUT CAL
Like the Aggies, the Golden Bears are off to a 5-3 start on the season, but they have been much more local than UC Davis. They went to Utah State for a tournament and split two matches there, but have been in California for their remaining matches. Most recently, the Golden Bears won two out of three during their own tournament, which took place last weekend inside Haas Pavilion, with wins over Utah Tech and Tennessee State. Their attack has been decent to begin the year, with a .217 hitting percentage, and they are averaging 2.6 blocks per game, a strong mark for early in the season.