SANTA MONICA, Calif. — With the regular season over, Saint Mary's beach volleyball embarks for the warm sun of Ocean Park Beach for the West Coast Conference Tournament, starting on April 27. The double-elimination tournament will feature 12 matches over two days, with the possibility of playing 4-5 matches.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (14-17), No. 3 overall seed
Thursday-Friday, April 27-28 beginning at 10:30 am
Ocean Park Beach – Santa Monica, Calif.
WCC Tournament Central
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's closed out the regular season with four matches last week, and the Gaels went 2-2. They earned wins over Santa Clara and Sierra College, and lost to #7 Grand Canyon and #9 Cal. The win against Santa Clara marked the first time the two teams have played on the season, and they could cross paths again in the bracket this week. A 5-0 sweep of Sierra College capped off the regular season, as the Gaels sent their two seniors (Hawley Harrer, Karmin Brown) off in style. SMC also got a point against Cal for the first time this season, with the combo of Harrer and Daniella Kensinger getting a win in the top flight.
 
ABOUT THE BRACKET
By virtue of earning the three-seed in the bracket, Saint Mary's begins play at 10:30 am on April. 27 against San Francisco, the tournament's six-seed. A win would put the Gaels in a probable showdown against second-seeded Pepperdine, who they have beaten once on the year already. Those would be the only two matches SMC plays on Thursday, with their remaining matches taking place on Friday. The championship match is scheduled for 1:30 pm on April 28.
 
ABOUT THE FIELD
The top dogs in the tournament will be LMU, as they are ranked fifth in the country and hold the top seed in the tournament. They have won the last three tournaments, with Pepperdine winning the previous three. The Waves are also ranked inside the top-20 in the most recent AVCA poll, and hold the second seed in this year's tournament. While it has been LMU and Pepperdine winning all six previous installments of the tournament, all six champions of the conference tournament have held a top-two seed.
 
PAST TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Last year, the Gaels were upset by fourth-seeded Santa Clara and bounced from the tournament after just three matches. In the five tournaments before, the Gaels have finished either second or third in all five. Their second-place finishes came in 2016 and 2018, where they were upended by Pepperdine both times in the title match.