SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A night that began with so much promise ended with a narrow five set defeat for the Gaels (6-5) at the hands of Cal Poly (6-5) (25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 17-25, 10-15). Saint Mary's took momentum late in the first set and ran with it to an early 2-0 lead, but this seemingly sparked a flame within the Mustangs, who rallied to win the final three consecutive sets en route to the victory. 

WHAT A START
The Gaels looked to foil the Mustangs for the second consecutive match in San Luis Obispo, building an early 2-0 lead. In set one, the Gaels found themselves in a 20-15 hole, but finished the set off on a 10-3 run, including the final five consecutive points. Down the stretch, the Gaels got a huge boost from Kirsten Erland, with three late kills. Set two was a back-and-forth affair that was knotted at 22, forcing a mad dash to three. The Gaels would again catch a second wind late, winning the final three points in succession, including a Hannah Taylor kill and a Makenna Joyce ace. With a 2-0 lead, it looked like it would be smooth sailing for the Gaels, but the Mustangs were able to respond and close out with three straight set wins to earn the reverse sweep. 

HIGH RISK SERVING
Saint Mary's loaded up on service aces with a season-high 12 tonight, but also saw an uptick in service errors, with a season-high 17. The 12 service aces were the most since the Gaels matchup at Portland in 2022, while the 17 service errors were the most since the Gaels 2018 matchup with San Francisco in Moraga. Genevieve Bane led SMC with four aces, but also committed six errors at the service line. Also getting in on the serving frenzy were Makenna Joyce (3 aces, 2 errors) and Hailey Garcia (2 aces, 1 error). 

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR ELLA
Ella Sandt picked up her fourth consecutive double-double, and her fifth in the last six matches. Tonight's statline read 27 assists and 10 digs for Ella, who also notched her third match with a block this season. The four consecutive double-doubles is a first in Ella's illustrious career as the Gaels setter. 

AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
Four Gaels reached double digit kills on the evening. Kjersti Strong led the charge with 14, while Hannah Taylor was one behind with 13. Kristen Erland reached double figure kills for the first time in two weeks, with 11, while Genevieve Bane notched 10. Ella Sandt came up with a team-high 27 assists, while Hailee Garcia was back in double-digits for assists with 16. Makenna Joyce had a team-high 15 digs to go along with her three aces and rare libero kill, while a trio of Gaels (Strong, Taylor and Erland) tallied three blocks.

UP NEXT
The Gaels have a quick turnaround, taking on Washington tomorrow at 10:30 AM to close out their performance at the Mustang Invitational.

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