MORAGA, Calif. — It'll be an old foe and a new rival set to take on the Gaels in Moraga this week, as Saint Mary's Volleyball (4-8, 0-3 WCC) hosts Gonzaga (1-12, 0-3 WCC) on Thursday evening before welcoming new WCC foe Washington State (8-5, 3-1 WCC) on Saturday afternoon. The Gaels are seeking win number one in conference play, but continue to play solid volleyball against difficult competition now two weeks into conference play.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Thursday, October 10 at 7 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Washington State Cougars
Saturday, October 12 at 1 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
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DEJA VU TO 2023
While the 0-3 start for Saint Mary's in conference play is not ideal, it was the same way SMC started in 2023. They followed that 0-3 start with a six game winning streak, and eventually finished 10-6 in WCC play, good for a top four finish. The conference has shown itself to have a new look with San Diego and LMU each already handed a loss, and San Francisco sitting at 3-0 in conference play, so there is still quite about to shake out in conference play, now only two weeks old.
NO ERRORS IN HOW LONG?
True freshman middle blocker Kaliko Kealoha has not committed an attack error in four straight matches. The Hilo, Hawaii native has gone for 13 kills on 30 swings (0.433) in that stretch, seeing her hitting percentage climb from 0.203 to 0.269 in that stretch. While it is true that prior to this stretch, Kealoha did not have an errorless match in her career, she has yet to commit more than two errors in a contest this season, and is second amongst hitters in hitting percentage, behind only fellow true freshman middle blocker Tessa Schouten (0.281).
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Gonzaga Bulldogs ended last season on a 19 match losing streak, but were able to end that streak by opening their season with a sweep of Southern Utah. It's been tough sledding for them since, however, with 12 straight losses since the season opener. Third year Head Coach Katie Wilson has rolled out an underclassman heavy lineup this year, trying to rebuild the Bulldog program from the ground up. One of the key returning pieces from last season has been Nia Damuni, the full rotation setter now in her sophomore year after earning WCC All-Freshman honors last year. Damuni is one of three returning starters, joined by pin hitters Maggie Rickerts and Autumn Larson, but the Bulldogs four other starters, Raechelle Dykstra, Hayley Ogden, Taylor Walsh and Maddie Cugino, are all true freshmen, making them one of the youngest teams in the conference. Like the Gaels, the Bulldogs have taken just one set since the start of conference play, but it was a strong one, going to four against Pepperdine. This matchup with the Gaels will be the Bulldogs first WCC road contest. All-time, the Gaels have won 43 of 74 matchup against Gonzaga, including each of their last five meetings.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Washington State has made themselves at home as one of the newest affiliate members of the WCC. The Cougars, after going 5-4 in non-conference play, have started with wins against three of four WCC foes. This should come as no surprise for a team that made it to the Sweet 16 a year ago, however, this is a very different looking team from the 2023 squad. Korey Schroeder is in his first year at the helm after serving as an assistant for former Head Coach Jen Greeny, now at West Virginia. The team graduated five of their seven starters, and lost one to the transfer portal, leaving only opposite Katy Ryan back from last year's core group. That said, building around the 6-5 two time All-Pac-12 senior certainly helps this rebuild process. While Ryan has been one of the offensive leaders on this squad, so too has been Sage Brustad, who transferred in from Eastern Washington. Brustad leads her team with 189 kills, and the conference with 27 service aces. On the defensive front, libero Emma Barbero, who saw time as a reserve DS last season, is leading the WCC, averaging 4.32 digs per set. While this will be the first WCC meeting all-time between the Cougs and Gaels, it will also their first ever meeting all-time.
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