SPOKANE, Wash. — The Saint Mary's Gaels (8-13, 4-8 WCC) moved their WCC winning streak to three in a row this evening, besting Gonzaga (1-21, 0-12) in straight sets. While the Gaels offense was strong, it was their defense that yet again stole the show, averaging 22.0 digs per set in this contest.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates hot, taking an early 8-3 lead. The Gaels four times shaved the deficit to just one point, but Gonzaga seemed to pick up every crucial side out to stifle Saint Mary's momentum. Back-to-back Genevieve Bane kills finally got the Gaels level at 19, and the two teams would trade points all the way to 21 all, but the Gaels would catch fire late, closing out the set with a 5-1 run, punctuated by a block from Clarissa Klein and Kaliko Kealoha to move up 1-0. Hailee Garcia starred for the Gaels in the first frame with a kill, five assists, two aces and four digs.Â
The Gael again fell behind early, dropping three of the first four points in set two, but responded with a 5-0 run on the back of a Kaliko Kealoha service run that pushed them ahead 6-3. In fact, including that 5-0 run, Saint Mary's finished the set on a 24-10 stretch in which they fired on all cylinders. The Gaels committed just three attack errors in the set, hitting at 0.341, led by Genevieve Bane, with seven kills on 14 swings and just one error. Defensively, Natalie Peete and Abby Castillon combined for 15 of the Gaels 25 digs that set, helping hold Gonzaga to a 0.000 attack percentage for the frame.Â
Saint Mary's used an early 8-2 surge to snag a big lead in the third set that they would not relinquish en route to the sweep. Gonzaga would cut the deficit to two later in the set at 18-16, but that was as close as they got, with the Gaels eventually wrapping things up with a 25-20 set three victory. The defense once again shined for the Gaels in the third set, with Natalie Peete adding eight more digs, and tallying four of their seven blocks in that frame, including two each from Kaliko Kealoha and Clarissa Klein. Kealoha also added a pair of aces, part of four from the Gaels in the decisive third set.Â
Genevieve Bane was the lone Gael to reach double figures in kills, with 13. She has now recorded double-digit kills in seven of her last 10 matches. Clarissa Klein finished behind Bane with eight kills, but did not commit a single attack error. Hailee Garcia led the team with 17 assists to go along with three dump kills (on four attempts and no errors) and two service aces. Kaliko Kealoha, like Klein and Garcia, also was errorles on the attack, while leading the team with three aces and four blocks. Defensively, Natalie Peete continued her hot streak with 19 digs, while Abby Castillon finished just behind her with 16, matching her season-high, and one shy of her career-best.Â
NOT SO FAST
The Gonzaga attack all season long has relied heavily on powerful swings from their pin hitters. While that was the plan of action today, clearly, the Gaels were prepared, digging 66 Bulldog swings. That is tied for the sixth most digs in a three set match in program history.
Natalie Peete led her team with 19 digs, her most ever in a three set match, while
Abby Castillon added 16, also her career-best in three setters. Believe it or not, this was not the Gaels best performance in a three set contest this season, as they racked up 70 digs in a sweep of Air Force earlier this season.Â
THE ERRORLESS TRIO
Three different Gaels recorded multiple kills without committing an attack error tonight.
Clarissa Klein led the way with eight kills on 23 errorless swings. This is the second time that Klein has recorded eight kills with no errors against Gonzaga this season. Next up was
Hailee Garcia, who picked up three kills on four dump attempts. Garcia has had her most efficient season offensively, as the setter has racked up 15 kills on 35 attempts after being limited to just five kills in her first two collegiate seasons. Last, but certainly not least, was freshman middle blocker
Kaliko Kealoha. The Hilo, Hawaii native had two kills on six swings. While her offensive numbers were quiet, Kealoha was still an excellent scorer for the Gaels today, as her two kills were accompanied by three aces and four blocks.Â
QUOTABLE
"I liked our intensity tonight. There were opportunities to coast, but we never did. We had a slow start, but we made up for it with some tenacious defense. The team was dialed in the entire match. This was another good win for us!" -- Head Coach
Rob Browning
"It was a good match today, we did well in a lot of skills. We played gritty and it feels good to get business done on a travel trip, something we will carry over for tomorrow against Washington State." -- Junior Setter
Hailee Garcia
UP NEXT
The Gaels will have a quick turnaround, taking on Washington State in Pullman tomorrow at 6 PM.
#GaelsRise
