MORAGA, Calif. — Fueled by a program record 1560 fans inside UCU Pavilion, the Saint Mary's Gaels (2-12, 0-3 WCC) played neck and neck volleyball against the preseason WCC favorite San Diego Toreros (10-4, 3-0 WCC), falling in three sets in a scoreline that is far from indicative of how the match was played. Far more telling is the fact this match featured 34 ties and 16 lead changes, including 20 and 10 respectively in a hard fought 31-29 set one. When the dust all settled, it was the Toreros who walked away with a three set win, but the Gaels will walk away with the confidence in knowing they will be able to compete with any team in the WCC after keeping things extremely tight against the conference's top dogs.
When it comes to entertaining volleyball, set one of tonight's match may take the cake as one of the most exciting back and forth sets in the sport this season. Neither team ever led by more than three points in the set, there were 20 ties and 10 lead changes, and a total combined seven different chances at set point. It was the Toreros who finally prevailed on that seventh set point, taking the epic clash in frame one 31-29. Tessa Schouten was the Gaels unsung leader in the first frame, with four kills on five swings and her first three collegiate aces. Defensively, Alayna Pearson logged seven set one digs, and was a perfect 11-11 on serve receptions, while both Mya Allen and Anaya Thrower had a solo block, and paired up for a block assist.
Set two was nearly as tight as set one, with 14 ties and six lead changes. The Gaels took a narrow 14-13 lead following an emphatic solo stuff from Genevieve Bane, but that would prove to be the final lead for the Gaels in the set and overall match, with the Toreros closing out the set on a 12-7 run. One top of the aforementioned solo block, Genevieve Bane also had six kills on nine swings without an error in the frame, helping SMC to a 0.371 clip, and led the team with three digs in the second stanza.
The Toreros jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the third frame, but the Gaels remained locked in the battle, scoring four of the next five points to cut the deficit to just two. San Diego continued to keep Saint Mary's at arms length, matching their largest lead at 22-15, before SMC rattled off five of the next six points to bring it to 23-20. That was all the comeback effort the Gaels could muster, however, as the Toreros would end things with back-to-back kills to secure their third conference W. Mya Allen had her best single set performance of the match in set three, going for four kills and four digs to pace the Gaels in both categories.
The Gaels had nine of their 11 players who touched the floor tonight record a kill, with Genevieve Baen leading the charge with 10. Bane was trailed closely by Mya Allen, who finished with nine kills, and Clarissa Klein, who clocked in with eight. Running a 6-2 for the entirety of a match for the first time this season, Ivona Lazovic went for 16 assists, while Madi Zorn chipped in 12. Tessa Schouten served for the first time in her collegiate career, and dazzled in that role with three aces, while Bane added two and Abby Castillon chipped in one. Alayna Pearson led the back row defensively with 13 digs, while Allen and Anaya Thrower each chipped in three blocks.
NEW ROLES LOOK GOOD FOR GAELS
Saint Mary's made a few wrinkles to their rotations in this one. After having success with a 6-2 rotation in the final three sets last week at Portland, the Gaels stuck with that for the full match against San Diego, and put up some of their best numbers for the year. The most direct change that led to was Clarissa Klein seeing extended playing time, and answering the call to the tune of eight kills on 19 swings and just two errors for a solid 0.316 clip. The other major change this saw was moving Tessa Schouten to a serving role from her middle blocker position. Schouten didn't just serve tough, she rattled off her first three collegiate service aces. Look for these changes to stick for the Gaels as they continue to meander through their conference slate.
DEFENSIVE SEASON HIGHS
Saint Mary's had their best defensive performance of the season, averaging a season-high 14.3 digs per set and 2.7 blocks per set in this contest. Alayna Pearson led the back row effort with 13 digs. Mya Allen was next on the docket with eight, netting out to 2.7 per set on average, a new season high. Ivona Lazovic chipped in six digs, and Madi Zorn added four. A quartet of Gaels finished with four digs, including Tessa Schouten, which tied her career-high for a match. Speaking about blocking, the Saint Mary's was led by Mya Allen and Anaya Thrower, who each had their hands on three of the eight total blocks for the Gaels. Allen's tally was a career-high, while Thrower has now totalled three or more blocks in five of the seven matches she has appeared in.
COACHES CORNER
UP NEXT
The Gaels will host LMU on Saturday at 1 PM inside UCU Pavilion. Admission will once again be free.
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