SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (6-2) fell in their opening contest of the Santa Clara Mission Classic today to Cal State Bakersfield (4-4) in four sets (24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 16-25). The score, however, does not quite tell the whole story of this match, as the Roadrunners were the beneficiaries of some dazzling defense that prevented what could've been a Gaels sweep. Saint Mary's has now dropped two straight, after winning their first six, and will look to regroup tomorrow in their final match of a four game week.
SLIM MARGINS
The first three sets of this match were too close to call, as both teams went on long runs and looked like they would pull away, but neither could with all three of those sets going down to the wire. The Gaels got off to a 15-7 start in set one, featuring four aces and three blocks. The Roadrunners came storming back with a 13-5 run, but the Gaels were still able to force a set point at 24-20. Bakersfield finished the set, however, with a never-say-die mentality, winning the next six points courtesy of stellar defense to take the set. Again, the Gaels came out on the front foot in set two, taking a 22-18 lead, but deja vu struck again as the Roadrunners defense allowed their team to rattled off the final seven points to take a commanding 2-0 lead. With momentum on their side, Bakersfield got off to an early 9-6 lead in set three, but this time, it was Saint Mary's turn to go on a long run, taking 13 of the next 15 points to take a commanding 19-11 lead. This didn't stop the Roadrunners, however, from clawing back to make things interesting in the third set, but the deficit was too much as the Gaels forced the fourth set with a 25-22 win.
A STRONG REBOUND
Following her quietest match of the season, Kjersti Strong was back to form against Bakersfield. The senior middle blocker put up 14 kills on 19 swings and committed a season-low one attack error to hit at a season-best 0.684 clip. She now has eclipsed triple digits in kills for the season, with 101. Strong added a service ace and a team-high four blocks for good measure, as she did her best to will the Gaels back into this contest.
THE SENIOR LEADER
No active Gael has played more volleyball in the red and blue than Ella Sandt, and she did a bit of everything in today's contest. Sandt led the Gaels with 23 assists and added 11 digs for her second double-double in three matches. Sandt also came up with a team-high two service aces to just one service error, a category that she leads the Gaels in for the season, as she has tallied 12 for the season and 73 for her career.
A TRIO WITH A PAIR OF ACES
The Gaels tallied nine service aces today to the Roadrunners six, and had three players with multiple aces. Team service aces leader Ella Sandt was one of those, and was joined by Genevieve Bane, who ran her season ace total to nine, good for second. Rounding out the group was freshman Olivia Wright, who notched a pair of aces in her first collegiate start.
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
In her first collegiate start, freshman Olivia Wright picked up career-highs in kills (3), aces (2) and digs (6). Kjersti Strong, Hannah Taylor and Kristen Erland all recorded four blocks in the match. Makenna Joyce led the back row with 16 digs, while fellow defensive specialist Kate Blackwell tied a career-high with four digs.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will be back at it tomorrow morning as they will take on the Air Force Falcons to close out the Mission Classic. First serve is set for 11:30 AM inside the Leavey Center.
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