DAVIS, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball made the short trip up I-80 on Tuesday night for some nighttime volleyball against UC Davis. The Gaels entered the match on a roll, looking dominant over the weekend at home, and carried that momentum with them against a gritty Aggies squad. It came down to the wire, but the Gaels prevailed in five sets on the road with finals of 18-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, and 15-7 to improve to 3-4 on the season, winning three-straight. UC Davis falls to 5-4 with the home loss.
 
A TALE OF TWO SETS
The first two sets of the night were about as opposite as can be, and that included the flow of the sets within. Saint Mary's opened the night by scoring eight of the first 10 points, taking an 8-2 lead on the hosting Aggies. A flip switched, and UC Davis then scored eight of the next 10 to tie it at 10-10, but they kept going, eventually opening up a 22-15 lead and closing it out at 25-18. The second set was much tighter until the middle of the set, when the Gaels used a 4-0 run to take a 17-13 lead. They only let the Aggies score three more points in the set, taking the second set 25-17 and putting the first one behind them quickly.
 
TENSE MOMENTS
The fourth set featured a momentum swing that had to have made the stomachs churn of those on the Gaels side. Saint Mary's was in complete control early in the set, needing to win to force a fifth set, and they held a 14-5 lead at one point.  Eight of the next 10 points went to UC Davis to make it 16-13 SMC, but the Aggies continued to hang tough. The score eventually tightened up to a 21-20 lead, and again at 24-23, but the Gaels were able to get the final point on a Kristen Erland kill to force the decisive fifth set.
 
NO DRAMAS
Things weren't quite as dramatic in the final set as the Gaels closed out the night in style. After dropping the first two points of the set, Saint Mary's scored the next six to set the tone. Their numbers were deafening in the final set, attacking at a 39.1% clip, while holding the Aggies to a negative hitting percentage. Genevieve Bane had a stellar set, racking up four kills, including the final two points of the night for Saint Mary's to close out the win with a 15-7 final.
 
MORE GREAT NUMBERS
After winning Defensive Player of the Week honors from the West Coast Conference, Erland set a career-best with 14 kills in the win…Ella Sandt eclipsed a career-best in assists that she set last weekend by totaling 37…Makenna Joyce came just one dig shy of a personal best, but paced the team with 25 in the win…Megan Chandler Allred blasted past her career-best in digs with 16, while adding a career-best four aces…the Gaels had a trio of attackers with 10+ kills: Erland (14), Hawley Harrer (12), and Kjersti Strong (10).
 
QUOTABLES
"A big win for our team. Last weekend we kind of rolled and didn't face much adversity. Totally different with this match. There were times we were not playing very well and then other times when the other team was rolling. But the Gaels weathered all the storms and went into the fifth set with great energy and great focus and took over from there." – head coach Rob Browning

"It was a really fun and amazing all-around team win. The girls contributed in all aspects. We were able to turn it on after the second set and played with a lot of fire." – Makenna Joyce
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels are back at home on Thursday evening for their final non-conference match of the season. Saint Mary's hosts Cal inside University Credit Union Pavilion at 6:00 pm, a rematch of last season's match at Haas Pavilion. SMC took the first set of the match before dropping the next three to the Golden Bears. Following the conclusion of the non-conference slate, the Gaels will begin West Coast Conference play next week by heading to Portland and Gonzaga.