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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Abby Castillon vs PSU 9-2-23
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
1
Portland St. PSU 3-3,0-0 Big Sky
3
Winner Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 5-0,0-0 WCC
Portland St. PSU
3-3,0-0 Big Sky
1
Final
3
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
5-0,0-0 WCC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Portland St. PSU 25 19 13 24 (1)
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 21 25 25 26 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

VB | Gaels Shake Off Slow Start to Down Vikings 3-1, Move to 5-0

MORAGA, Calif. — SMC Volleyball's (5-0) epic run to kick off the 2023 season continued on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 26-24) victory over Portland State (3-3) inside UCU Pavilion. The Gaels shook off a slow start to win the final three sets in convincing fashion en route to their fifth straight victory. Saint Mary's fired on all cylinders in this one, leading in every major statistical category, as the Gaels continued to flex their muscle during their non-conference slate. 

THE BIG THREE
The Gaels had a trio of players reach double-digit kill totals today, with Genevieve Bane and Kjersti Strong each tallying 16 kills and Abby Castillon adding 12. All three of these totals were career-high marks for the trio. Even more impressive, Bane and Castillon both found themselves with double-digit dig totals as well, notching double-doubles to each of their names. 

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
With 58 digs in this one, Saint Mary's put together one of their best back row performances of the season. Leading the charge was libero Makenna Joyce, who reached the 20 dig mark for the second time this season, tallying 22. The Gaels were also a stellar 80-for-81 on serve receptions, allowing just one Portland State service ace in the match. Also on display defensively was the Gaels front row, who once again dominated at the net. Saint Mary's totalled 15 team blocks, with Kjersti Strong involved in eight of them. The Gaels would out-block Portland State 15-8 and are now averaging 12.3 blocks per match. 

BACK TO HER OLD WAYS
After committing her first attack errors of the season a night ago, Kristen Erland returned to her error-less ways, with a strong 6 kill on 15 swings scoreline. Erland was a calming presence for the Gaels today, as she was often turned to when her squad needed a side out. Erland's attack percentage for the season is now sits at a stellar 0.550. 

MODELS OF CONSISTENCY
For the third time in five matches, the Gaels hit better than 0.290 in a match. The Gaels converted on 61 kills (second most in a match this season) and committed just 20 errors (second fewest in a match this season) to hit at 0.295 for the match (you guessed it, second best in a match this season). Saint Mary's was able to inflate these numbers quite a bit in today's third set, when they hit at an incredible 0.520 clip en route to a 25-13 set win. 

THE BEAT GOES ON
The Gaels now run their season opening winning streak to five in a row. The 2023 squad has now tied Coach Browning's 2007 team for third best start in program history. Still sitting in front of them are the 2008 team, who began their campaign at 6-0 and the 2004 squad that began their season on an incredible 9-0 run. 

QUOTABLE
"This was a big win for us. Portland State is a good team and they are going to win a lot of matches this season. I told the team before the match that it was going to be a dogfight from the first whistle until the last point and that's exactly how it was. I am so proud of our team for battling and asserting themselves. The Gaels handled the ebbs and flows of the match very well. We get one day off before we go up to Sacramento to play the Hornets in their gym. Sac State is the best team we will play so far this season." Head Coach Rob Browning

UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will cap off their Labor Day Weekend with a Monday night tilt at Sacramento State. The Hornets are off to a strong start of their own, sitting at 5-1 in the early going. First serve is set for 5 PM in Sacramento. 

DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.

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