Wednesday, November 26
Los Angeles, CA
2:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
at
LMU
Layne Dent Made Her First Two Collegiate Starts Last Week (10 Kills, 0.304 H%, 6 Blocks)
VB | Gaels Close Out Season in SoCal
11/25/2025 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MORAGA, Calif. — Year one of the Tyler Hildenbrand era at Saint Mary's (11-16, 9-7 WCC) is nearly in the books, and while the Gaels got off to a slow start, they have gotten stronger by the set as the season has gone on, and have now won nine of their last 12. With their win over Washington State this past Saturday, the Gaels both surpassed their win total from last season, and guaranteed at least a 0.500 record in conference play, but, they will have their eyes set on a better finish than 0.500, as they finish the year at LMU (5-20, 3-13 WCC) and Pepperdine (19-8, 13-3 WCC), looking for their first win over the Lions since 2021 and their first win over the Waves since 2019.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at LMU Lions
Wednesday, November 26 at 2 PM
Gersten Pavilion – Los Angeles, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Pepperdine Waves
Saturday, November 29 at 12 PM
Firestone Fieldhouse – Malibu, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS
A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
The Gaels started the year 2-13, but since, have righted the ship to the tune of nine wins over their last 12 matches. The stat differences between matches 1-15 and matches 16-27 have been night and day, with the Gaels hitting 0.210 in the latter and just 0.177 in the former. They also have had major increases in kills per set (11.47 to 12.43), digs per set (11.22 to 13.62) and blocks per set (1.41 to 2.47) over this massive turnaround. With a pair of wins and some help, the Gaels could finish as high as third in the WCC, their best finish since 2013.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
With Miley Thunstrom winning WCC Freshman of the Week this past week, the Gaels now have had three true freshmen win a WCC Weekly Award, as Thunstrom joins Ivona Lazovic and Mya Allen in this elite crew. While Anaya Thrower and Layne Dent have not won a weekly award yet, they too have played like veterans despite having freshman status. Thrower has started 14 of 16 conference matches at middle blocker, and ranks second on the team averaging 0.89 blocks per set, while leading the team with a 0.333 hitting percentage (for players with at least 50 kills this year). Dent stepped in when Thrower was unavailable last week, and despite not being a middle blocker by trade, still shined, hitting 0.304 with 10 kills and six solo blocks. The future is extremely bright for this young Gaels squad.
ABOUT THE LIONS
LMU has had a tough go of things since following their WCC Title in 2024. After the departure of Head Coach Trent Kersten for the University of Oregon, the Lions have won just five of their 25 matches thus far in 2025. First year Head Coach Kolby O'Donnell is hoping to cap his season off on a high note in these final two matches, after dropping their last 10 straight. Maddie Boerstra leads the team with 330 kills and 31 aces, one of five seniors who will be playing their final two matches this week at Gersten Pavilion. LMU leads the all-time series 54-22 with the Gaels last win coming in Los Angeles in 2021.
ABOUT THE WAVES
Currently sitting at 19-8 and ranked second in the WCC, the Pepperdine Waves are firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament heading into the final week of the season, and need a pair of wins over Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in order to further push their resume in the minds of the selection committee. Scott Wong last took his team to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and hopes to get them back there here in 2025 for what would be the sixth time in his 11 year tenure. This year's Wave squad has been driven by defense, limiting opponents to a 0.157 hitting clip and averaging 2.77 blocks per set. Sophomore Ella Piskorz has led that effort, averaging 1.4 of those 2.77 herself. Pepperdine leads the all-time series 59-16, as the Gaels look for their first win over the Waves since 2019, and their first in Malibu since 2015.
#GaelsRise
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at LMU Lions
Wednesday, November 26 at 2 PM
Gersten Pavilion – Los Angeles, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Pepperdine Waves
Saturday, November 29 at 12 PM
Firestone Fieldhouse – Malibu, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS
A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
The Gaels started the year 2-13, but since, have righted the ship to the tune of nine wins over their last 12 matches. The stat differences between matches 1-15 and matches 16-27 have been night and day, with the Gaels hitting 0.210 in the latter and just 0.177 in the former. They also have had major increases in kills per set (11.47 to 12.43), digs per set (11.22 to 13.62) and blocks per set (1.41 to 2.47) over this massive turnaround. With a pair of wins and some help, the Gaels could finish as high as third in the WCC, their best finish since 2013.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
With Miley Thunstrom winning WCC Freshman of the Week this past week, the Gaels now have had three true freshmen win a WCC Weekly Award, as Thunstrom joins Ivona Lazovic and Mya Allen in this elite crew. While Anaya Thrower and Layne Dent have not won a weekly award yet, they too have played like veterans despite having freshman status. Thrower has started 14 of 16 conference matches at middle blocker, and ranks second on the team averaging 0.89 blocks per set, while leading the team with a 0.333 hitting percentage (for players with at least 50 kills this year). Dent stepped in when Thrower was unavailable last week, and despite not being a middle blocker by trade, still shined, hitting 0.304 with 10 kills and six solo blocks. The future is extremely bright for this young Gaels squad.
ABOUT THE LIONS
LMU has had a tough go of things since following their WCC Title in 2024. After the departure of Head Coach Trent Kersten for the University of Oregon, the Lions have won just five of their 25 matches thus far in 2025. First year Head Coach Kolby O'Donnell is hoping to cap his season off on a high note in these final two matches, after dropping their last 10 straight. Maddie Boerstra leads the team with 330 kills and 31 aces, one of five seniors who will be playing their final two matches this week at Gersten Pavilion. LMU leads the all-time series 54-22 with the Gaels last win coming in Los Angeles in 2021.
ABOUT THE WAVES
Currently sitting at 19-8 and ranked second in the WCC, the Pepperdine Waves are firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament heading into the final week of the season, and need a pair of wins over Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in order to further push their resume in the minds of the selection committee. Scott Wong last took his team to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and hopes to get them back there here in 2025 for what would be the sixth time in his 11 year tenure. This year's Wave squad has been driven by defense, limiting opponents to a 0.157 hitting clip and averaging 2.77 blocks per set. Sophomore Ella Piskorz has led that effort, averaging 1.4 of those 2.77 herself. Pepperdine leads the all-time series 59-16, as the Gaels look for their first win over the Waves since 2019, and their first in Malibu since 2015.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's VolleyballVB | Tyler Hildebrand Postgame Presser vs. Washington State 2025
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Saturday, November 22
VB | Tyler Hildebrand Postgame Presser vs. Pacific, 11-20-25
Thursday, November 20
VB | Highlights vs. Pacific, 11-20-25
Thursday, November 20
