MALIBU, Calif. — The Saint Mary's Gaels (5-10, 1-5 WCC) seemed to have the Pepperdine Waves (8-8, 5-1 WCC) up against the ropes tonight at the tail end of set three. The Gaels entered the set tied at one apiece, and found themselves ahead 24-21, having never trailed to that point in the set. The Waves, however, rattled off three straight to force bonus volleyball, before eventually outlasting the Gaels 29-27 in the third. They then used that momentous late surge to take the fourth set 25-18, and the overall match 3-1.
The Gaels opened the match on the front foot, taking an early 9-6 lead in the first frame, but the Waves would rattle off five straight points to take a lead that they would not relinquish, taking the set 25-20. On three separate occasions, the Gaels were able to cut the deficit to just one point, but the Waves picked up timely side out after timely side out to close out the set. The Gaels racked up five blocks in the first set, with Kaliko Kealoha and Hannah Taylor each getting their hands on three.
Saint Mary's came roaring back in set two, building a 17-12 lead. Pepperdine responded with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 18-17, but the Gaels were not deterred, closing out the set on an 8-5 run, capped with a set clinching kill from Clarissa Klein. Klein and Hannah Taylor paired up for 10 of the Gaels 16 kills in the set.
It looked like the big mo swung the way of the Gaels into set three, as the Gaels found themselves at set point with the score at 24-21, having never trailed to that point. Pepperdine flipped the script on the Gaels when they needed it most, staving off five set points, taking their first lead of the set at 28-27, and eventually winning the set 29-27. Klein kept it rolling with six more kills in the third frame.
With momentum swung all the way back to the hometown Waves, they were able to build a 12-5 fourth set lead, and looked like they'd be able to throw it into cruise control to close out the set and match. Saint Mary's had other plans, however, rattling off seven straight points, four of which came off of Genevieve Bane kills. With the set knotted up at 12-12, the Waves put together one final decisive knockout punch, in the form of a 6-0 run that would give them the separation to take the match. Bane did everything she could to put the team on her back in the final decisive set, with 8 kills, but it wasn't quite enough, as the Gaels dropped the final frame 25-18.
Genevieve Bane set a new career-high with 18 kills tonight for the Gaels, while also rattling off a team-high three aces. Joining her in double-digits were Clarissa Klein (14 Kills) and Hannah Taylor (10 Kills). Hailee Garcia was responsible for a team-high 25 assists, while Madi Zorn tallied 18 to go along with 10 digs for her first career double-double. The Gaels digs leader for the night was Natalie Peete, with 16. The Gaels tallied nine blocks on the night, with Tessa Schouten responsible for more than half of them, totalling five.
CAREER NIGHTS FOR BANE, ZORN
The Gaels had bigtime performances tonight from redshirt junior outside hitter Genevieve Bane and redshirt sophomore setter Madi Zorn. Bane, who's been a focal point of the Gaels offense in each of her three seasons, set a new career-high in kills with 18. The Danville native had three times tied her career-high of 17 kills this season, including in the Gaels last match with Washington State, but was finally able to clear that hurdle tonight. Bane's 18 kills, paired with three aces and block assist also gave her a new career-high in points for a match, as she was responsible for 21.5. Zorn went for 18 assists, just north of her season average per contest, but paired it with 10 digs, representing not only her first double digit dig match, but also her first career double-double.
PERFECT SERVE RECEIVE
For the first time since 2018, the Gaels went an entire match without being aced once. This was even more impressive when you factor in that Clarissa Klein, typically an opposite for the Gaels, played a majority of the match as a full rotation outside hitter, and was targeted on 28 serves, receiving each one without committing a fault. Just behind Klein was Natalie Peete, who had 26 serve receptions, while Genevieve Bane and Abby Castillon each had 19. The last time this occurred was on 9/1/18 when the Gaels fell to American University in four. The Gaels continue to serve more aces than they've allowed this season, with the difference now at +8. Saint Mary's has only out aced their opponents throughout an entire season once in the last five years, as they achieved that feat a year ago.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will have a quick turnaround, taking on LMU in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 19. First serve is set for 1 PM.
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