MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (6-13, 2-8 WCC) avenged their loss to San Francisco (12-9, 5-4 WCC) from four weeks ago, defending their home court to the tune of a five set victory. This was the Gaels first five set win this season, after their previous three attempts at taking a match that went the distance.
The Gaels came out of the shoot hot, building a 20-15 lead without committing a single attack error through the first 35 points of the match. The Dons came roaring back, however, with an 8-3 run to knot things up at 23 apiece. Saint Mary's would twice serve for set points at at 24-23 and at 25-24, but the Dons were able to pick up two massive sideouts before closing out the set on a 3-0 run. The Gaels hit at 0.325 for the set, led by Abby Castillon, who tallied four kills on eight swings and no errors.
Again, the Gaels seized momentum early in the second set, using four 3-0 or longer service runs to build a seven point lead at 23-16. This time, Saint Mary's did not let the Dons hang around, trading sideouts to a 25-18 victory to level things at one set all. It was defense that was on display in the second set, as the combination of six blocks (three from Kaliko Kealoha) and five Natalie Peete digs helped hold San Francisco to an 0.050 hitting percentage.
Set three started off as tight as they come, with both teams playing to a 16 all deadlock. From that point, however, a pair of Genevieve Bane kills would spark a 6-0 run for Saint Mary's. The Dons would try their best to punch back, but ran out of time, as the Gaels would take a two set to one lead with a 25-21 set three victory. Bane put the team on her back in the third set, with five kills on ten swings with no errors.
The Dons seemed to take the big MO in set four, taking a 20-17 lead, but late in the set, Genevieve Bane again played rally starter for the Gaels with a pair of kills, sandwiching a Hailee Garcia ace that pushed the Gaels back on top 21-20. With their back against the wall, the Dons responded by taking five of the next seven points to force a decisive fifth set. It was another five kill set for Bane, who knew she would need one more big push to help the Gaels across the finish line.
Looking for their first five set win of the season, the Gaels started things out on the right foot with three straight kills, two from Hannah Taylor and one from Kaliko Kealoha to give themselves an early cushion. That separation would hold at 5-2 before the Dons rattled off five of the next six points to take their first lead at 7-6. The two sides battled back and forth to an 11-11 tie, which was ultimately broken by three straight Gael points; a kill from Genevieve Bane, a solo block from Abby Castillon and an ace from Madi Zorn. Needing just one point to close out the match, the Gaels turned to their efficient middle blocker, Tessa Schouten, who ended the match with her eighth kill on just 11 swings, ending the Gaels cold spell with a thrilling victory over their Bay Area rivals from the west. Bane once again led the Gaels this set with three kills on four swings, but it was her defense that shines in the final frame, with four massive digs.
Genevieve Bane once again set a career high mark with kills for the evening, totaling 19 on 46 swings and five errors for a strong 0.304 clip. Hannah Taylor and Abby Castillon both also reached double digit kills, with Taylor going for 12 and a 0.346 hitting percentage, and Castillon going for 10 and 15 digs for her first double-double of the month. Hailee Garcia set a new career-high with 33 assists to go along with a team-high 3 aces, while fellow setter Madi Zorn added 21 assists, 2 aces and 10 digs for her second career double-double. Despite strong dig numbers from Castillon and Zorn, it was Natalie Peete would led back row defensively, tying her career high with 19 digs, while Kaliko Kealoha showed off her defensive prowess at the net to the tune of seven blocks, tying her career-high mark.
DEFENSE REIGNS SUPREME
The Gaels went for 68 digs and matched their season high as a team with 13 blocks, holding USF to just a 0.195 hitting clip en route to the victory. This was just the fifth time in 21 matches that the Dons have hit below 0.200 in a match, as they came into the match leading the conference in that category. On the back row, a trio of Gaels recorded double-digit digs, led by Natalie Peete with 19. At the net, Kaliko Kealoha roofed even Don attacks, while Clarissa Klein returned four from where they came, and Genevieve Bane rejected three.
CAREER-HIGHS EXCEEDED, MILESTONES MET
Genevieve Bane's 19 kills not only led the Gaels, but also set a new personal best in her career. The 19 kills also crossed her over the 700 mark for kills in her career. True freshman middle blocker Tessa Schouten also reached a new career-high in kills with eight, including the kill that won the match for the Gaels in the fifth set. Schouten has now reached triple digits in points for her Gaels career. Hailee Garcia's 33 assists were a new career mark, as she crossed the 30 threshold for the first time this season. She also tied her career high with two kills. Last, but certainly not least, with 12 and 10 kills respectively, Hannah Taylor and Abby Castillon reached the 500 and 300 point marks for their careers.
QUOTABLE
"What I am most proud of is how our team battled from beginning to end against a good team who never gave up. USF is a good team that fights hard, and they fought really hard tonight, but we were just a little better than them." – Head Coach Rob Browning
"It feels amazing to get back into the win column. We couldn't have done it without a team effort tonight, I just did my job, and that's what we all did to win." – Redshirt Sophomore Setter Madi Zorn
UP NEXT
The Gaels will stay home for the weekend, welcoming Santa Clara to Moraga on Saturday, November 2 for a 1 PM first serve.
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