

Photo by: SMC Athletics / Emily Smith
VB | Gaels Take Four of Five Sets in Opening Exhibition
8/27/2024 10:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MORAGA, Calif. — The first opponent of 2024 for Saint Mary's Volleyball was a scrappy Cal State East Bay squad out of the California Collegiate Athletic Association in the NCAA DII. In the scheduled five set match, the Gaels dropped a tough first set before rattling off four straight wins to roll with momentum into the start of the regular season.
The Pioneers came out of the gates hot, establishing an early five point cushion in front of the Gaels at 13-8, fueled by strong front row play from All-CCAA middle blocker Mia Jordan and newcomer Coco Ikpe. The Gales tried to surge late, with kills from Hannah Taylor and Clarissa Klein to spark a 4-0 run to bring the scoreline to 19-18, but East Bay continued their hot play to close out the set on a 6-2 run to take the set. East Bay hit at a stellar 0.371 clip in the first set, leading to their lone set victory of the evening. Despite dropping the set, the Gaels had strong early performances from Hannah Taylor, Genevieve Bane and Tessa Schouten, who combined for 11 kills on 19 swings and no errors.
East Bay continued to hang tough with the Gaels in the second set, which saw seven ties and three lead changes. While the Pioneers continued to swing at a high frequency, the Gaels back row stepped up in the second set, led by libero Katherine Gee. The Feather River transfer logged seven digs in the second set, while incoming freshman Kaliko Kealoha tallied five kills on seven swings and no errors. The Pioneers found themselves ahead 21-17 down the stretch, but a late rally from that saw two kills each from Bane and Kealoha helped charge Saint Mary's to a 25-22 victory, leveling things at two apiece.
From the third set on, it was all about the Gaels, and East Bay began to run out of steam. Set three saw the Gaels hold the Pioneers to a negative hitting percentage, logging their first two blocks of the match, with Kealoha having her hands on both of them. On top of this, the Pioneers had no answer for Bane, who went for six kills on 11 swings and no errors, as the Gaels cruised to a 25-16 set three victory with an incredible 82% side out percentage.
That 25-16 scoreline repeated itself in the fourth set, with the Gaels leaning heavily once again on Bane as well as true freshman Gracie Vohs, making her debut in the fourth. Bane went for five kills on eight swings and one error, while Vohs tallied three kills on her first five swings and no errors.
The fifth and final set was played to 15, with both teams experimenting with their younger players. The youth looked good on the Gaels, who hit at 0.444 in the last frame. Freshmen Gracie Vohs, Kaliko Kealoha, Anna Hanson and Tessa Schouten went for six of the Gaels 10 kills on just 10 swings with 0 errors. Saint Mary's wrapped things up with a 15-11 fifth set W.
Genevieve Bane led all Gaels with 18 kills on 36 swings and just three errors, hitting at a 0.417 clip. Bane certainly demonstrated why she was named preseason All-WCC. Hannah Taylor and Kaliko Kealoha joined Bane in reaching double digit kills, totalling 14 and 10 respectively. Hailee Garcia went for 40 assists and three service aces, one shy of Bane's team leading four. Katherine Gee led the Gaels back row with 17 digs, while Natalie Peete logged 10. Kealoha was the Gaels best defensive threat at the net with three blocks. Saint Mary's tallied 73 kills on 156 swings and 25 errors, to hit at 0.308 as a team.
QUOTABLE
"I was glad that East Bay came out on fire and put us on our heels to see how our team would respond, and I think they responded very well. Battling back through adversity is really important so I was very happy to see that from our team!" – Head Coach Rob Browning
"Our setter did an excellent job locating the ball to me and my mindset was to just go for it. To go for hands and, even if I received an off-target set, to just put the ball in play, and it worked out tonight!" – Genevieve Bane.
UP NEXT
The Gaels open their season this weekend, taking on 19th ranked Arkansas and Cal Poly at the Mustang Invitational in San Luis Obispo on 8/30 and 8/31.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
The Pioneers came out of the gates hot, establishing an early five point cushion in front of the Gaels at 13-8, fueled by strong front row play from All-CCAA middle blocker Mia Jordan and newcomer Coco Ikpe. The Gales tried to surge late, with kills from Hannah Taylor and Clarissa Klein to spark a 4-0 run to bring the scoreline to 19-18, but East Bay continued their hot play to close out the set on a 6-2 run to take the set. East Bay hit at a stellar 0.371 clip in the first set, leading to their lone set victory of the evening. Despite dropping the set, the Gaels had strong early performances from Hannah Taylor, Genevieve Bane and Tessa Schouten, who combined for 11 kills on 19 swings and no errors.
East Bay continued to hang tough with the Gaels in the second set, which saw seven ties and three lead changes. While the Pioneers continued to swing at a high frequency, the Gaels back row stepped up in the second set, led by libero Katherine Gee. The Feather River transfer logged seven digs in the second set, while incoming freshman Kaliko Kealoha tallied five kills on seven swings and no errors. The Pioneers found themselves ahead 21-17 down the stretch, but a late rally from that saw two kills each from Bane and Kealoha helped charge Saint Mary's to a 25-22 victory, leveling things at two apiece.
From the third set on, it was all about the Gaels, and East Bay began to run out of steam. Set three saw the Gaels hold the Pioneers to a negative hitting percentage, logging their first two blocks of the match, with Kealoha having her hands on both of them. On top of this, the Pioneers had no answer for Bane, who went for six kills on 11 swings and no errors, as the Gaels cruised to a 25-16 set three victory with an incredible 82% side out percentage.
That 25-16 scoreline repeated itself in the fourth set, with the Gaels leaning heavily once again on Bane as well as true freshman Gracie Vohs, making her debut in the fourth. Bane went for five kills on eight swings and one error, while Vohs tallied three kills on her first five swings and no errors.
The fifth and final set was played to 15, with both teams experimenting with their younger players. The youth looked good on the Gaels, who hit at 0.444 in the last frame. Freshmen Gracie Vohs, Kaliko Kealoha, Anna Hanson and Tessa Schouten went for six of the Gaels 10 kills on just 10 swings with 0 errors. Saint Mary's wrapped things up with a 15-11 fifth set W.
Genevieve Bane led all Gaels with 18 kills on 36 swings and just three errors, hitting at a 0.417 clip. Bane certainly demonstrated why she was named preseason All-WCC. Hannah Taylor and Kaliko Kealoha joined Bane in reaching double digit kills, totalling 14 and 10 respectively. Hailee Garcia went for 40 assists and three service aces, one shy of Bane's team leading four. Katherine Gee led the Gaels back row with 17 digs, while Natalie Peete logged 10. Kealoha was the Gaels best defensive threat at the net with three blocks. Saint Mary's tallied 73 kills on 156 swings and 25 errors, to hit at 0.308 as a team.
QUOTABLE
"I was glad that East Bay came out on fire and put us on our heels to see how our team would respond, and I think they responded very well. Battling back through adversity is really important so I was very happy to see that from our team!" – Head Coach Rob Browning
"Our setter did an excellent job locating the ball to me and my mindset was to just go for it. To go for hands and, even if I received an off-target set, to just put the ball in play, and it worked out tonight!" – Genevieve Bane.
UP NEXT
The Gaels open their season this weekend, taking on 19th ranked Arkansas and Cal Poly at the Mustang Invitational in San Luis Obispo on 8/30 and 8/31.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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