VB | Gaels Snatch Opening Set but Fall in Four to Pepperdine in 2025 Season Finale

Saturday, November 29

Malibu, CA

12:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

11-18,9-9WCC

Pepperdine

21-8,15-3WCC

Saint Mary's (CA)

Pepperdine

#11 Anaya Thrower: 4 SP, 5 K, .385 K%, 6 BLK, 8 PTS. vs. Pepperdine

VB | Gaels Snatch Opening Set but Fall in Four to Pepperdine in 2025 Season Finale

11/29/2025 3:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. – The Gaels have proven to be a tough opposition night in and night out no matter who they face as they pushed Pepperdine (21-8, 15-3) to four sets before falling 3-1 to end their 2025 campaign. Saint Mary's (11-18, 9-9) grabbed an early set lead, taking the opener 25-20 with 15 kills and a .264 hitting percentage. The Gaels found themselves down 15-20 late in the second set but stormed all the way back to cut the deficit to just one at 21-22. Pepperdine went on to record three of the next five points though as the team's traded kills en route to their 25-23 set two win.

Pepperdine came into their own over the final two sets, hitting a combined .182 and recording 27 kills over the final two sets. The Waves ended the match in style with a momentous 12-0 scoring run after finding themselves down 13-16 in the fourth set. The Gaels had six errors over that stretch and a string of aces from Laine Briggs helped seal the four-set victory for their 21st of the season.

Saint Mary's got out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set thanks to kills from Miley Thunstrom, Tessa Schouten and Genevieve Bane. Pepperdine hung around all set as the Gaels lead never reached more than four points until the set clincher from Ivona Lazovic, giving Saint Mary's the 25-20 set one victory. Thunstrom was stellar in the opening set for the Gaels, accounting for three of the team's fifteen kills in the set. Lazovic secured the set with a clever dump on the setup, catching the Waves defense napping for the 25th point.

Abby Castillon ends a long rally by recording her first kill of the day ‼️#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/yvZcQTxw7H
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

Miley Thumstrom continues to dominate Set 1 for the Gaels 😮‍💨#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/1VuGvt28Uh
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

E1 | SMC 25 - PEPP 20

Ivona Lazovic catches Pepperdine looking and Set 1 goes the way of the Gaels!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/KedgRP1NmU
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

The second set was the turning point for both teams as Saint Mary's overcame a five-point deficit and found themselves down 21-22 with a chance to go up 2-0. The Gaels went on a quick 4-1 scoring run to force a Pepperdine timeout thanks to a kill from Abby Castillon and a dual block from Bane and Schouten. Out of the timeout, the Gaels pulled to within one off an attack error but gave it right back with an error of their own. At that point, the math was simply not in the Gaels favor as the team's traded kills for the final four points, giving the Waves the 25-23 bounce back win in set two.

Tessa Schouten's swing is too much for the Waves 💪#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/lkOsZ4CR5C
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

Big blocks from SMC are staving off a comeback from Pepperdine 🙌#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/S8b1UJDYWI
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

In set three, Pepperdine dictated the start and end of the set as they overcame multiple two-point deficits in the middle portion of the set. Saint Mary's went on a 5-0 scoring run to take a 13-11 lead and force a Waves timeout. Thunstrom added another kill during that stretch while Anaya Thrower and Gracie Vohs combined for a big block, putting them up 12-11. Pepperdine weathered the storm though and after finding themselves down 20-18 late in the set, they would score seven of the next nine points to cap off a dramatic 25-22 third set victory.

Anaya Thrower with another BIG TIME BLOCK 🚫#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/8mpV4VKAKT
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

The Gaels and the Waves continue to go point-for-point in Set 3 😤#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/SuocOpH3xY
— Saint Mary's Volleyball (@SMC_Volleyball) November 29, 2025

Momentum found the Gaels once again in the fourth set as they seemed unphased set after set. A 7-0 scoring run would give them a 12-10 lead midway through the set. The Gaels scored three of the next five points to take a three-point lead, their largest of the set. Castillon had a pair of kills during that 7-0 stretch and the Gaels also defended the net well, recording a pair of blocks from Thrower, Vohs and Castillon.

In a blink of an eye though, Pepperdine seemed to flip a switch as they took firm control of the fourth set and never looked back. After falling behind 13-16, the Waves went on a momentous 12-0 scoring run to end the match and win the fourth set 25-16. The Waves recorded just three kills and three aces during that stretch as Saint Mary's committed six errors, finishing with nine for the set for a match high.

For the second consecutive match, Saint Mary's recorded 14 blocks as Tessa Schouten led the team with eight on the afternoon. Anaya Thrower and Gracie Vohs added six each as well as the Gaels finished the season with 241 total blocks, good for fifth most in the WCC. Abby Castillon led the team with 12 kills on 31 attempts while also adding 13 digs. Ivona Lazovic had 26 assists while Alayna Pearson led all players with 26 digs in the match.

Saint Mary's will finish the 2025 season with an 11-18 overall record and an even 9-9 record in conference play, good for a t-6th place finish along with the Portland Pilots (14-15, 9-9). Full match results and final season statistics can be found at smcgaels.com.

#GaelsRise