Thursday, October 10
Moraga, CA
7:00 pm
Saint Mary's College of California
5-8,1-3WCC
3
vs
0
Gonzaga
1-13,0-4WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 12 | 14 | 11 | 0 |
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Clarissa Klein: 8 Kills, 11 Swings, No Errors
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
VB | Gaels Secure First WCC Win with Sweep of Gonzaga
10/10/2024 9:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball (5-8, 1-3 WCC) picked up a statement victory, sweeping Gonzaga (1-13, 0-4 WCC) in front of their home fans inside UCU Pavilion Thursday night. The win was the first in conference play for the Gaels, who began conference play at 1-3 last season before closing out winning nine of their final 12 against WCC foes.
The Gaels opened up the match on a 10-0 run on the back of a Hailee Garcia service run. That opening service run featured not only three Garcia aces, but also a pair of kills each from Genevieve Bane and Kaliko Kealoha. Gonzaga would get within six points of the Gaels in the set, but that was as close as they could get, as Saint Mary's led wire-to-wire in set one, taking it 25-12. Bane opened her night with five kills on 10 swings in set one, while Garcia added seven assists, three aces and seven digs.
Gonzaga was able to earn their first two leads of the match at 2-1 and 3-2, but a 6-0 run from the Gaels, this time on the back of a Madi Zorn service run, would be enough separation for Saint Mary's to run away with the second set at 25-14. Hannah Taylor and Clarissa Klein led the charge in set two, each with four kills.
The third and final set once again saw Gonzaga try to hang tight with the Gaels early, keeping things level at 4-4 early, but back-to-back Hannah Taylor kills would give Saint Mary's a lead they would not relinquish in what was the most commanding set performance of the evening. The Gaels closed out the sweep with a 25-11 third set, hitting at 0.609 in that frame. Bane added five more kills on six swings and no errors, while Kaliko Kealoha got her hands on three blocks in the decisive final stanza.
Genevieve Bane finished as the Gaels lone player with double-digit kills, tallying 13 on 25 swings and just one error. While the single error performance was impressive from Bane, a pair of Gaels, Clarissa Klein and Tessa Schouten went errorless for the evening, as the duo combined for 14 kills on 18 swings, hitting a combined 0.778. Madi Zorn racked up a team-high 19 assists, with Hailee Garcia one behind her at 18. Garcia also recorded a team best three aces and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. Abby Castillon had her third consecutive double-digit dig match and her fifth in the last six matches, with a team-high 14. Libero Natalie Peete was third of the Gael trio with double-digit digs, coming up with 12. At the net, Kaliko Kealoha got her hands on five blocks to lead Saint Mary's to a 10-1 blocking advantage.
NO STOPPING CLARISSA, TESSA
A week ago against San Francisco, Clarissa Klein enjoyed the fourth 0.400+ hitting percentage match of her Saint Mary's career, while Tessa Schouten celebrated her second errorless performance as a Gael. Tonight, both built off of their performances against the Dons, with Klein hitting at 0.727 for the evening, a new career high, and Schouten again going errorles, this time with six kills on seven swings. For Klein, the tally bests her previous career high of 0.600 set on 10/7/23 against Santa Clara. For Schouten, the performance helped boost her already team-best hitting percentage to 0.323 for the season.
HARD TO BEAT A 0.400+ AVERAGE
The Gaels hit a team-best 0.437 for the match, with a season low seven attack errors against the Bulldogs. It was the first time this season that the Gaels have hit in the 0.400s as a team. Four different Gaels hit at or above 0.400 tonight, led by Schouten at 0.857, followed by Klein (0.727), Genevieve Bane (0.480) and Kaliko Kealoha (0.400). Saint Mary's only hit 0.400 or better once last season, doing so on 10/14/23 in a home win over Portland, also committing just seven errors.
FIRST POINT FOR EVELYN
True freshman middle blocker Evelyn Hendrix had appeared in four matches for the Gaels in non-conference play, appearing in different blocking formations, but had yet to record her first collegiate point coming into tonight. That changed on the very first point that she stepped onto the court for in the third set, as the Rocklin native stepped and recorded a block solo, securing her first collegiate point and block.
QUOTABLE
"We are always happy with a performance that starts strong and ends strong. We really didn't let up at any point of the match. Gonzaga is a better team than their record shows and certainly a better team than what we saw tonight, but we really didn't give them any room. We just kept pressure on them and played at a high level throughout. I am very proud of the team!" --Head Coach Rob Browning
UP NEXT…
Saint Mary's will host the other WCC Washington school on Saturday, as the Washington State Cougars make their way to UCU Pavilion. First serve will be at 1 PM.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
The Gaels opened up the match on a 10-0 run on the back of a Hailee Garcia service run. That opening service run featured not only three Garcia aces, but also a pair of kills each from Genevieve Bane and Kaliko Kealoha. Gonzaga would get within six points of the Gaels in the set, but that was as close as they could get, as Saint Mary's led wire-to-wire in set one, taking it 25-12. Bane opened her night with five kills on 10 swings in set one, while Garcia added seven assists, three aces and seven digs.
The Gaels are rolling with a ten-point lead over the Zags!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/NieSU7XQSY
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) October 11, 2024
Gonzaga was able to earn their first two leads of the match at 2-1 and 3-2, but a 6-0 run from the Gaels, this time on the back of a Madi Zorn service run, would be enough separation for Saint Mary's to run away with the second set at 25-14. Hannah Taylor and Clarissa Klein led the charge in set two, each with four kills.
S2 | SMC 25 - GON 14
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) October 11, 2024
Saint Mary's keeps the party going, as they take care of business in Set 2! 💼
Genevieve Bane leads the team in Kills with eight, including this one to end the set!
Set 3 on the way!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/RrRlsVZG8M
The third and final set once again saw Gonzaga try to hang tight with the Gaels early, keeping things level at 4-4 early, but back-to-back Hannah Taylor kills would give Saint Mary's a lead they would not relinquish in what was the most commanding set performance of the evening. The Gaels closed out the sweep with a 25-11 third set, hitting at 0.609 in that frame. Bane added five more kills on six swings and no errors, while Kaliko Kealoha got her hands on three blocks in the decisive final stanza.
FINAL | SMC 3 - GON 0
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) October 11, 2024
The Gaels get the job done and sweep the Zags 🧹🧹🧹
Genevieve Bane led the Gaels with 13 kills to end the night 🔥#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/bKzsycmhVk
Genevieve Bane finished as the Gaels lone player with double-digit kills, tallying 13 on 25 swings and just one error. While the single error performance was impressive from Bane, a pair of Gaels, Clarissa Klein and Tessa Schouten went errorless for the evening, as the duo combined for 14 kills on 18 swings, hitting a combined 0.778. Madi Zorn racked up a team-high 19 assists, with Hailee Garcia one behind her at 18. Garcia also recorded a team best three aces and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. Abby Castillon had her third consecutive double-digit dig match and her fifth in the last six matches, with a team-high 14. Libero Natalie Peete was third of the Gael trio with double-digit digs, coming up with 12. At the net, Kaliko Kealoha got her hands on five blocks to lead Saint Mary's to a 10-1 blocking advantage.
It's a BLOCK PARTY at UCU! 🎉#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/9FMBfWJLkp
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) October 11, 2024
Ain't no party like a Gael Block Party 'cuz a Gael Block Party don't stop! 🎉#GaelsRise https://t.co/SCVCuCyvYN pic.twitter.com/al6yCeBDED
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) October 11, 2024
NO STOPPING CLARISSA, TESSA
A week ago against San Francisco, Clarissa Klein enjoyed the fourth 0.400+ hitting percentage match of her Saint Mary's career, while Tessa Schouten celebrated her second errorless performance as a Gael. Tonight, both built off of their performances against the Dons, with Klein hitting at 0.727 for the evening, a new career high, and Schouten again going errorles, this time with six kills on seven swings. For Klein, the tally bests her previous career high of 0.600 set on 10/7/23 against Santa Clara. For Schouten, the performance helped boost her already team-best hitting percentage to 0.323 for the season.
HARD TO BEAT A 0.400+ AVERAGE
The Gaels hit a team-best 0.437 for the match, with a season low seven attack errors against the Bulldogs. It was the first time this season that the Gaels have hit in the 0.400s as a team. Four different Gaels hit at or above 0.400 tonight, led by Schouten at 0.857, followed by Klein (0.727), Genevieve Bane (0.480) and Kaliko Kealoha (0.400). Saint Mary's only hit 0.400 or better once last season, doing so on 10/14/23 in a home win over Portland, also committing just seven errors.
FIRST POINT FOR EVELYN
True freshman middle blocker Evelyn Hendrix had appeared in four matches for the Gaels in non-conference play, appearing in different blocking formations, but had yet to record her first collegiate point coming into tonight. That changed on the very first point that she stepped onto the court for in the third set, as the Rocklin native stepped and recorded a block solo, securing her first collegiate point and block.
QUOTABLE
"We are always happy with a performance that starts strong and ends strong. We really didn't let up at any point of the match. Gonzaga is a better team than their record shows and certainly a better team than what we saw tonight, but we really didn't give them any room. We just kept pressure on them and played at a high level throughout. I am very proud of the team!" --Head Coach Rob Browning
UP NEXT…
Saint Mary's will host the other WCC Washington school on Saturday, as the Washington State Cougars make their way to UCU Pavilion. First serve will be at 1 PM.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
Gonz
SMC
Kills
24
45
Errors
21
7
Attempts
100
87
Hitting %
.030
.437
Points
26.0
61.0
Assists
20
43
Aces
1
6
Blocks
1
10
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's VolleyballS
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