Saturday, September 14
Fullerton, CA
1:30 pm
Saint Mary's College of California
3
at
1
Cal State Fullerton
Genevieve Bane: 15 Kills, 9 Digs
Photo by: SMC Athletics / Emily Smith
VB | Gaels Grind Out Four Set Victory Over Fullerton to Finish Titan Invitational Unbeaten
9/14/2024 4:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FULLERTON, Calif. — Saint Mary's Volleyball (2-4) put together three of the best sets that they've played all season, and weathered a difficult third set to outlast the host Cal State Fullerton Titans (3-5) to win their second of two matches at the Titan Invitational. In their most efficient performance of the season, the Gaels demonstrated pin point accuracy with their swings today, converting at a high clip that led to their second consecutive victory.
The Gaels led wire to wire in set one, hitting at a 0.333 clip, due in large part to stellar play by Genevieve Bane and Clarissa Klein (combined 8 kills on 17 swings, no errors). Fullerton came storming back in set two to open up a 15-8 lead at the media break. The Gaels, however, kept their noses to the grindstone, as they continued to attack with efficiency, eventually things up at 17 apiece and then closing out to win the second frame 25-23, in what was a 17-8 run to take their commanding 2-0 lead. Bane and Klein remained perfect in set two, as through those first two sets, the duo hit at 0.571.
While the Gaels hit at 0.338 as a team through the first two sets, a combination of fatigue and strong Titan defense came into play in the third set, with Cal State Fullerton making adjustments at the set break that resulted in 17 digs and five blocks. Down by as many as eight points late in the set, Saint Mary's still rallied to cut the deficit to five before ultimately falling 25-19.
The decisive fourth set was definitely the tightest, seeing 10 ties and four lead changes. The Gaels built an early 12-9 lead, but the Titans came storming back to move ahead 21-17. Again, the Gaels showed their signature resilience, using service aces from Bane and Abby Castillon to force bonus volleyball with the score at 25-25. A Hannah Taylor kill set up match point, and it was only fitting that a service ace would end it, this time off the hands of Natalie Peete, the Gaels fifth of the set and 12th of the match.
Genevieve Bane was seemingly unstoppable throughout the match, reaching the 15 kill mark for the second time this week and third time this season. Hannah Taylor was right behind her with 14 kills and team-best five blocks. Hailee Garcia had the lion's share of assists with 26, while Madi Zorn added 17. 24 hours after earning her first start at libero, Natalie Peete returned to her serving specialist role, and dazzled with four aces, including the match clincher. Also getting involved in the service ace frenzy were Zorn and Abby Castillon, each with three. Katherine Gee dug 13 strong swings from the Titans to lead the back row defensively. Saint Mary's hit over 0.250 for the second consecutive match, and reached double digit service aces for the first time this season.
THE WEEK OF BANE
The Titans could do little to stop Genevieve Bane this afternoon. The redshirt junior had 15 kills to just two errors on the match. For the week, Bane tallied 37 kills and committed just five errors, hitting over 0.300 in all three matches. This is the first time in Bane's career that she has hit over 0.300 in three consecutive matches.
WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
It was a rather quiet match offensively for SMC kills leader Hannah Taylor. Taylor tallied eight kills but had seven errors through the first three sets. Where Taylor did make her presence felt in the opening three stanzas was at the net, getting her hands on four of the Gaels first five blocks. In the fourth set however, Taylor flipped a switch and turned into the closer for SMC. Taylor swung eight times in the final set, connecting for six kills, leading the Gaels comeback in set number four.
A DECK FULL OF ACES
Saint Mary's went for 12 service aces today, their first double-digit ace performance on the 2024 campaign. A third of those aces were recorded by redshirt freshman defensive specialist Natalie Peete. Peete entered the match with just one ace in her career, but quintupled that number today, including the ace that clinched the match in the fourth set. Madi Zorn and Abby Castillon each had a trio of aces, The three were a season-best for Castillon and a career best for Zorn. Rounding out the group were the Gaels top two servers coming into the match, as Genevieve Bane and Hailee Garcia each recorded one.
QUOTABLE
"This was a good, hard-fought win for us! Fullerton is a much improved team with some fire power. I am so proud of how our team came back from a deficit in the second set, and then again in the fourth set. We showed a lot of character and grit pulling out that win!" – Head Coach Rob Browning
"I think today was a gritty win for us. We had to overcome some adversity, which I believe made us better and brought us closer together coming out of this match. There were a couple of times where we dug ourselves into a hole, but we all fought hard one point at a time, and that's why we came out with the win!" -- Outside Hitter Genevieve Bane
UP NEXT
The Gaels will return home for a two game homestand next week, opening up at 5 PM on Thursday night against Air Force.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
The Gaels led wire to wire in set one, hitting at a 0.333 clip, due in large part to stellar play by Genevieve Bane and Clarissa Klein (combined 8 kills on 17 swings, no errors). Fullerton came storming back in set two to open up a 15-8 lead at the media break. The Gaels, however, kept their noses to the grindstone, as they continued to attack with efficiency, eventually things up at 17 apiece and then closing out to win the second frame 25-23, in what was a 17-8 run to take their commanding 2-0 lead. Bane and Klein remained perfect in set two, as through those first two sets, the duo hit at 0.571.
While the Gaels hit at 0.338 as a team through the first two sets, a combination of fatigue and strong Titan defense came into play in the third set, with Cal State Fullerton making adjustments at the set break that resulted in 17 digs and five blocks. Down by as many as eight points late in the set, Saint Mary's still rallied to cut the deficit to five before ultimately falling 25-19.
The decisive fourth set was definitely the tightest, seeing 10 ties and four lead changes. The Gaels built an early 12-9 lead, but the Titans came storming back to move ahead 21-17. Again, the Gaels showed their signature resilience, using service aces from Bane and Abby Castillon to force bonus volleyball with the score at 25-25. A Hannah Taylor kill set up match point, and it was only fitting that a service ace would end it, this time off the hands of Natalie Peete, the Gaels fifth of the set and 12th of the match.
Genevieve Bane was seemingly unstoppable throughout the match, reaching the 15 kill mark for the second time this week and third time this season. Hannah Taylor was right behind her with 14 kills and team-best five blocks. Hailee Garcia had the lion's share of assists with 26, while Madi Zorn added 17. 24 hours after earning her first start at libero, Natalie Peete returned to her serving specialist role, and dazzled with four aces, including the match clincher. Also getting involved in the service ace frenzy were Zorn and Abby Castillon, each with three. Katherine Gee dug 13 strong swings from the Titans to lead the back row defensively. Saint Mary's hit over 0.250 for the second consecutive match, and reached double digit service aces for the first time this season.
THE WEEK OF BANE
The Titans could do little to stop Genevieve Bane this afternoon. The redshirt junior had 15 kills to just two errors on the match. For the week, Bane tallied 37 kills and committed just five errors, hitting over 0.300 in all three matches. This is the first time in Bane's career that she has hit over 0.300 in three consecutive matches.
WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
It was a rather quiet match offensively for SMC kills leader Hannah Taylor. Taylor tallied eight kills but had seven errors through the first three sets. Where Taylor did make her presence felt in the opening three stanzas was at the net, getting her hands on four of the Gaels first five blocks. In the fourth set however, Taylor flipped a switch and turned into the closer for SMC. Taylor swung eight times in the final set, connecting for six kills, leading the Gaels comeback in set number four.
A DECK FULL OF ACES
Saint Mary's went for 12 service aces today, their first double-digit ace performance on the 2024 campaign. A third of those aces were recorded by redshirt freshman defensive specialist Natalie Peete. Peete entered the match with just one ace in her career, but quintupled that number today, including the ace that clinched the match in the fourth set. Madi Zorn and Abby Castillon each had a trio of aces, The three were a season-best for Castillon and a career best for Zorn. Rounding out the group were the Gaels top two servers coming into the match, as Genevieve Bane and Hailee Garcia each recorded one.
QUOTABLE
"This was a good, hard-fought win for us! Fullerton is a much improved team with some fire power. I am so proud of how our team came back from a deficit in the second set, and then again in the fourth set. We showed a lot of character and grit pulling out that win!" – Head Coach Rob Browning
"I think today was a gritty win for us. We had to overcome some adversity, which I believe made us better and brought us closer together coming out of this match. There were a couple of times where we dug ourselves into a hole, but we all fought hard one point at a time, and that's why we came out with the win!" -- Outside Hitter Genevieve Bane
UP NEXT
The Gaels will return home for a two game homestand next week, opening up at 5 PM on Thursday night against Air Force.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's VolleyballVB | Tyler Hildebrand Presser, 10-6-25
Monday, October 06
VB | Highlights vs. LMU, 10-4-25
Saturday, October 04
VB | Tyler Hildebrand Presser Post LMU
Saturday, October 04
VB | Highlights vs. San Diego, 10-2-25
Thursday, October 02
