SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A season ago at the Mott Athletic Center, the Gaels took on 19th ranked Arkansas, went ahead two sets to one, but couldn't finish off their nationally ranked foe. Today, in almost deja vu fashion, the Gaels (2-9) went ahead 2-1 against 20th ranked Utah (8-3), but again fell just short in another five set thriller. That said, the Gaels won seven of 13 sets in their final weekend of the non-conference slate, and will look to keep that positive momentum rolling into conference play next week. 

It was a dream start in set one for the Gaels, who scored the first eight points of the match before the Utes could sideout, sparked by three kills and a block from Genevieve Bane. Utah responded with a 10-2 run of their own to level things at 10 apiece, and three points later, held their first lead at 12-11. Both teams traded blows back and forth to the finish of the first frame, but Utah would eventually go ahead 1-0 with a 25-21 opening set victory. Bane finished the set with a team-high five kills, with setter Ivona Lazovic going for four assists and a team-best five digs in the opening stanza. 

Again, it was all Gaels early in set two, building an early 11-4 lead, but this time, SMC was able to close things out, never trailing, drawing level at a set apiece with a 25-20 set two win. It was an offensive barrage for the Gaels in set two, as they connected for 13 kills on 24 swings and just two errors, good for 0.458 hitting clip. Genevieve Bane had seven of those 13 set two kills with no errors on 12 swings. The Gaels also tallied four aces in the second frame, two each from Mya Allen and Alayna Pearson. 

The third set was the most back and forth of the match, with 11 ties and six lead changes, but the result was the same, as the Gaels took a strong two set to one lead with another 25-20 set victory. Gracie Vohs led the offense in set three with five kills on 10 swings and no errors, but it was the defense that shined brightest for SMC in set three, with 16 digs, five from Alayna Pearson, and three blocks, two coming from Tessa Schouten. 

Utah built a 16-9 lead in set four before the Gaels found their footing, rattling off five straight points, including back to back Kaliko Kealoha-Ivona Lazovic block assists. Saint Mary's would three times cut the deficit to one point at 22-21, 23-22 and 24-23, but couldn't deal a decisive blow to swing momentum enough, as Utah forced a fifth by a narrow 25-23 margin. Genevieve Bane had four kills for the Gaels, bringing her total to 18, while the Gaels would tally three more blocks, two from the duo of Kealoha and Lazovic. 

Set five started off with Utah building a narrow 4-3 lead, but the Gaels would run out of gas, being outscored 11-2 down the stretch to fall in five. Ivona Lazovic would record the only two points for the Gaels not recorded off of Ute errors, with a kill and a block. 

Genevieve Bane finished with 18 kills as the lone Gaels to reach double-digit kills in all three matches this weekend. Gracie Vohs set a new career high with 14 kills, hitting at a stellar 0.444 clip, while Mya Allen returned from a one game absence for her first career double-double (10 kills, 12 digs). Ivona Lazovic joined Mya Allen with double-double status, with 32 assists and 13 digs. While both Allen and Lazovic reached double figures for digs, the dig leader was Alayna Pearson, who finished with 15. Pearson and Allen each also totalled two aces. At the net, the Gaels finished with eight blocks, tying their season-high, with Tessa Schouten rejecting five attacks, and Kaliko Kealoha going for three roofs. 

GOODNESS GRACIE-OUS
After matching her career-high of 12 kills two days ago, Gracie Vohs surpassed that mark today with 14. Vohs reached that mark with stellar efficiency as well, hitting at 0.444, with just two errors on 27 swings. The Sisters, Oregon native also finished with three blocks, one off of her career-high set earlier this season against Bowling Green. 

DAZZLING DEFENSIVE DAY
The Gaels set a new season-high with 57 digs, and tied their season-high with eight team blocks. Alayna Pearson led the back row yet again with 15 digs, while Ivona Lazovic (14) and Mya Allen (12) each had career-highs. At the net, Tessa Schouten got her hands on five of the Gaels eight blocks, while Kaliko Kealoha had her hands on the other three. 

WEEKEND IN REVIEW
It was the best weekend yet for Saint Mary's Volleyball under first year Head Coach Tyler Hildebrand. The Gaels swept Cal Baptist, while taking two extremely strong programs in Cal Poly and #20 Utah each to five sets. Genevieve Bane was an offensive force with 53 kills, the most ever over a three game stretch in her career. Her previous best was 51 kills in three matches last year against San Francisco, Santa Clara and Gonzaga. Mya Allen missed the middle match this week for the Gaels, but still finished with 34 kills, second most for SMC. Ivona Lazovic finished the weekend with 106 assists to go along with 30 digs, eight short of Gaels digs leader Alayna Pearson. Tessa Schouten led the blocking front with 10 rejections. 

UP NEXT
The Gaels open up conference play on the road next week, taking on Oregon State on September 25 at 6 PM and Portland on September 27 at 1 PM. 

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