Thursday, November 13
San Francisco, CA
6:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
8-16,6-7WCC
2
at
3
San Francisco
4-20,2-12WCC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
25
21
25
21
13
2
San Francisco
17
25
23
25
15
3
Kaliko Kealoha: 9 Kills (Career-High), 4 Blocks
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
VB | Career-Nights From Thrower, Kealoha and Castillon Not Enough as Gaels Fall in Five to Dons
11/13/2025 9:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN FRANCISCO — Despite holding a +13 kills advantage and mustering up 28 more swings than the Dons, the Saint Mary's Gaels (8-16, 6-7 WCC) could not get the better of San Francisco (4-20, 2-12 WCC), falling in five in their Thursday night clash in The City. The Gaels worked ahead 2-1 in this one, but the Dons would not be denied over the final two sets, picking up their first win in over a month.
It was a dream start for the Gaels, who led wire-to-wire in set one, hitting at a stellar 0.349 clip en route to a 25-17 victory. Set one was all about the middle blockers for the Gaels, as Tessa Schouten went for three kills on five swings without an error, while Anaya Thrower led the offensive effort with six kills on seven swings and no errors.
San Francisco flipped the script in set two, opening the frame on a 10-5 run, but the Gaels remained cool under pressure, going on an 8-3 run following a Tyler Hildebrand timeout to draw things level at 13 apiece. That was the final tie score in the set, however, as a two point swing for the Dons put them ahead 15-13, and they would not relinquish the lead throughout the remainder of the set, taking it 25-21. The Gaels had just two fewer kills in set two, with 14, led by four from Miley Thunstrom, but tripled their error output from the first frame, with nine in the second.
The Dons looked to have set three in hand late, taking a 16-13 lead, but the Gaels were able to battle back from the three point deficit, closing out the set on a 12-7 run to narrowly escape the third stanza with a 25-23 win, moving ahead two sets to one. Kaliko Kealoha, who entered the match in set two at the opposite position, had one of the best sets of her career, going for five kills and three blocks.
Looking to close things out in four, the Gaels took a narrow 9-8 lead early in set four before the Dons rattled off seven of the next eight points, taking a 15-10 lead that they wouldn't surrender, all the way to a 25-21 set four victory, forcing a decisive fifth set. Genevieve Bane, Abby Castillon and Anaya Thrower each recorded three kills in the frame, with Castillon also chipping in a team-high four digs in the set.
Down to the wire again in the fifth, the Gaels erased an 8-5 deficit at the switch to knot things up at 11 all, but the Dons would respond with three straight of their own. With their backs against the wall, the Gaels would sideout, followed by an Alayna Pearson ace, bringing the score to 14-13 in favor of the Dons, but a final kill from San Francisco would end things at 3-2 in favor of USF. Miley Thunstrom and Anaya Thrower were the Gael go-tos in the final set, each finishing with two kills and a block, but the errors piled up, as Saint Mary's hit -0.071 in the final frame, including six San Francisco blocks.
Anaya Thrower finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Abby Castillon joined her in double-figures with 10. Castillon added a career-high 21 digs for her second double-double of the season. Thrower, along with Tessa Schouten and Kaliko Kealoha each tallied four blocks. Setting duties were split, as per usual, by Madi Zorn and Ivona Lazovic, with Zorn going for a team-high 29 helpers, and Lazovic adding 18. Miley Thunstrom stuffed the stat-sheet with eight kills, nine digs, two blocks and three aces, while Alayna Pearson finished with 11 digs and two aces. The Gaels finished with four more digs than the Dons, but fell for just the second time this season when leading in digs.
SIX WITH AT LEAST SIX
Saint Mary's did not truly have a go-to attacker tonight, but rather shared the wealth between six different players with at least six kills. Genevieve Bane had a quiet night after leading the Gaels in each of the last two matches in kills, but still finished with six. Miley Thunstrom tallied eight kills, while Tessa Schouten and Kaliko Kealoha each went for nine. Abby Castillon tallied 10, making it double-digits in three straight for her, but leading the way for the Gaels was middle blocker Anaya Thrower with a career-high 12. It was the sixth time this season, and fourth time in conference play that the Gaels tallied 60 or more kills in a match, but the first time that they have seen this much variance in their attack.
CAREER-HIGHS APLENTY
Despite the loss, the Gaels had many of their student-athletes hit personal milestones tonight. Headlining the group was Anaya Thrower, whose team-high 12 kills doubled her previous high of six. Kaliko Kealoha also recorded a career-high in kills, with nine, as the sophomore's previous high of seven was set all the way back in the second week of the season against Rice. With three aces, Miley Thunstrom set a new career mark from the service line, while Abby Castillon tallied 21 digs, not only bringing her career total to 541, but also setting a new career single game mark.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will return home and look to right the ship hosting Gonzaga on Saturday. First serve on November 15 is set for 2 PM.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
#GaelsRise
It was a dream start for the Gaels, who led wire-to-wire in set one, hitting at a stellar 0.349 clip en route to a 25-17 victory. Set one was all about the middle blockers for the Gaels, as Tessa Schouten went for three kills on five swings without an error, while Anaya Thrower led the offensive effort with six kills on seven swings and no errors.
S1 | SMC 11 - USF 3
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Anaya Thrower CONNECTED with this one!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/9mA4m28uVU
S1 | SMC 22 - USF 14
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Anaya Thrower up to five kills in set one...on six swings!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/9XqlAsjkqC
San Francisco flipped the script in set two, opening the frame on a 10-5 run, but the Gaels remained cool under pressure, going on an 8-3 run following a Tyler Hildebrand timeout to draw things level at 13 apiece. That was the final tie score in the set, however, as a two point swing for the Dons put them ahead 15-13, and they would not relinquish the lead throughout the remainder of the set, taking it 25-21. The Gaels had just two fewer kills in set two, with 14, led by four from Miley Thunstrom, but tripled their error output from the first frame, with nine in the second.
S2 | SMC 16 - USF 18
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Down by as many as five, the Gaels are surging late in set two! Kill here from Miley Thunstrom!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/cR14BaIHhb
The Dons looked to have set three in hand late, taking a 16-13 lead, but the Gaels were able to battle back from the three point deficit, closing out the set on a 12-7 run to narrowly escape the third stanza with a 25-23 win, moving ahead two sets to one. Kaliko Kealoha, who entered the match in set two at the opposite position, had one of the best sets of her career, going for five kills and three blocks.
S3 | SMC 20 - USF 20
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Kaliko Kealoha DOING IT ALL! 8 kills and now her second block!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/7A7jkzMilW
Looking to close things out in four, the Gaels took a narrow 9-8 lead early in set four before the Dons rattled off seven of the next eight points, taking a 15-10 lead that they wouldn't surrender, all the way to a 25-21 set four victory, forcing a decisive fifth set. Genevieve Bane, Abby Castillon and Anaya Thrower each recorded three kills in the frame, with Castillon also chipping in a team-high four digs in the set.
S4 | SMC 16 - USF 18
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
The Gaels looking to again erase a five point hole! Anaya Thrower doing her part with her 9th kill!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/PnfauC8nZf
S4 | SMC 18 - USF 19
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Thrower to 10 kills, Gaels trying to claw back into set four!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/ZmgzqNYYvs
S4 | SMC 21 - USF 25
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Thrower: 10 Kills, 3 Blks
Schouten: 9 Kills, 3 Blks
Kealoha: 9 Kills, 3 Blks
Castillon: 9 Kills, 17 Digs
Thunstrom: 6 Kills, 3 Aces
Bane: 5 Kills
Zorn: 26 Ast
Lazovic: 16 Ast
Pearson: 10 Digs#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/x6Zy7c4f7O
Down to the wire again in the fifth, the Gaels erased an 8-5 deficit at the switch to knot things up at 11 all, but the Dons would respond with three straight of their own. With their backs against the wall, the Gaels would sideout, followed by an Alayna Pearson ace, bringing the score to 14-13 in favor of the Dons, but a final kill from San Francisco would end things at 3-2 in favor of USF. Miley Thunstrom and Anaya Thrower were the Gael go-tos in the final set, each finishing with two kills and a block, but the errors piled up, as Saint Mary's hit -0.071 in the final frame, including six San Francisco blocks.
S5 | SMC 9 - USF 11
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
Anaya Thrower continues her career-night with her 12th kill. Gaels trying to surge late!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/Gk9uifeq1a
S5 | SMC 11 - USF 11
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 14, 2025
WHAT CAN'T THROWER DO???#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/2O9vwrVpfA
Anaya Thrower finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Abby Castillon joined her in double-figures with 10. Castillon added a career-high 21 digs for her second double-double of the season. Thrower, along with Tessa Schouten and Kaliko Kealoha each tallied four blocks. Setting duties were split, as per usual, by Madi Zorn and Ivona Lazovic, with Zorn going for a team-high 29 helpers, and Lazovic adding 18. Miley Thunstrom stuffed the stat-sheet with eight kills, nine digs, two blocks and three aces, while Alayna Pearson finished with 11 digs and two aces. The Gaels finished with four more digs than the Dons, but fell for just the second time this season when leading in digs.
SIX WITH AT LEAST SIX
Saint Mary's did not truly have a go-to attacker tonight, but rather shared the wealth between six different players with at least six kills. Genevieve Bane had a quiet night after leading the Gaels in each of the last two matches in kills, but still finished with six. Miley Thunstrom tallied eight kills, while Tessa Schouten and Kaliko Kealoha each went for nine. Abby Castillon tallied 10, making it double-digits in three straight for her, but leading the way for the Gaels was middle blocker Anaya Thrower with a career-high 12. It was the sixth time this season, and fourth time in conference play that the Gaels tallied 60 or more kills in a match, but the first time that they have seen this much variance in their attack.
CAREER-HIGHS APLENTY
Despite the loss, the Gaels had many of their student-athletes hit personal milestones tonight. Headlining the group was Anaya Thrower, whose team-high 12 kills doubled her previous high of six. Kaliko Kealoha also recorded a career-high in kills, with nine, as the sophomore's previous high of seven was set all the way back in the second week of the season against Rice. With three aces, Miley Thunstrom set a new career mark from the service line, while Abby Castillon tallied 21 digs, not only bringing her career total to 541, but also setting a new career single game mark.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will return home and look to right the ship hosting Gonzaga on Saturday. First serve on November 15 is set for 2 PM.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
SMC
USF
Kills
61
48
Errors
37
20
Attempts
171
143
Hitting %
.140
.196
Points
79.0
72.0
Assists
52
40
Aces
9
5
Blocks
9
19
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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