MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels hit the road for the final time in the 2023 regular season this week, as they head to Spokane and Portland to take on the Bulldogs of Gonzaga and the Pilots of Portland. The Gaels took care of both of these schools in Moraga earlier this year, but will prepare for a tough fight in hostile territory this week.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Gonzaga Bulldogs
Thursday, November 9 at 6:00 PM
Charlotte Y. Martin Centre - Spokane, Wash.
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Saint Mary's Gaels at Portland Pilots
Saturday, November 11 at 1:00 PM
Chiles Center - Portland, Ore.
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AN ELLA OF ALL TRADES
Over the last two contests, Ella Sandt has been called upon to play as a full rotation setter, and has answered the call to the tune of 10 kills, 55 assists, 14 digs, 7 blocks and 0.500 hitting clip. The senior has been ultra reliable for Coach Rob Browning's squad this season, and will hope to help the Gaels close out the season with four more victories.
FINAL ROAD TRIP
The Gaels will be making their longest trip of the WCC season this week, as they head to the Pacific Northwest to take on Gonzaga and Portland for their final road trip of the year. The Gaels have played 0.500 volleyball on the road this season, and will hope to push that to two games above 0.500 following this week. If Saint Mary's can take two wins on the road this week, they'll have their best road record since the 2018 season, when they went 7-4 in hostile territory.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Gonzaga Bulldogs have had a tough go of things this season, currently sitting with a record of 3-20 in the midst of a 15 match losing streak. Second year Head Coach Katie Wilson continues to shape her extremely young program, as they search for success in the final four matches of the year. Grad students Zoe Thiros and Alissa Kim have been the bright spots for Gonzaga this year, and both put up solid contests against the Gaels in Moraga with 17 kills and 19 digs respectively in the four set victory for Saint Mary's. Thiros leads the team with 201 kills, 61 more than the next closest teammate, but hasn't seen action since 10/21, while Kim leads her squad with 27 aces and 241 digs. Historically, Gonzaga has been a much tougher team for the Gaels when playing in Spokane, as they have won 18 of 37 matches against SMC inside the Martin Centre.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
The 8-17 Pilots will host Pacific and Saint Mary's in their final homestand of the season. Portland has shown win total improvements in each of Coach Megan Burton's first three seasons, but would need to win out in order to keep that trend going in 2023. The brightest spot for the Pilots this season has been outside hitter Maui Robbins. Only a sophomore, Robbins leads the WCC in kills, kills per set and service aces. In Moraga, the Gaels swept the Pilots, hitting a season best 0.446 in the match. Maui Robbins led the Pilots with 13 kills.
