MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's Gaels are riding some momentum heading into conference play. SMC put together their best week statistically under the direction of first year head coach Tyler Hildebrand last week, winning seven of the 13 sets that they played in the SLO Classic, dropping a pair of five set thrillers to Cal Poly and 20th ranked Utah, sandwiching a sweep of Cal Baptist, their first sweep victory of 2025. After a grueling non-conference slate, the Gaels look primed to keep momentum rolling, flush some of the negatives that plagued them early on, and quest for their first WCC title since 2009.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Oregon State Beavers
Thursday, September 25 at 6 PM
Gill Coliseum – Corvallis, Ore.
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Saint Mary's Gaels at Portland Pilots
Saturday, September 27 at 1 PM
Chiles Center – Portland, Ore. 
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THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Saint Mary's is tied for the most freshmen on any roster in the country, with 10. Six of those 10 freshmen have appeared in at least one match this season, and two of them, Mya Allen and Ivona Lazovic, have established themselves as bonafide stars. Allen ranks second on the team with 88 kills, despite appearing in only 28 of a possible 43 sets. She also has the single game record for kills this season, with 24, making her the first Gael freshman since 2015 to record at least 20 in a single match. Lazovic ranks fourth in the WCC in assists and assists per set, and ranks eighth for service aces, leading the Gaels in all three categories. With this dynamic duo leading the charge, the future is very bright for this young squad.

NON-CON IN REVIEW
The Gaels went just 2-9 in non-conference action, but that is not quite telling of how they grew and improved throughout their first 11 matches. After going 1-2 in their opening weekend in North Dakota, the Gaels traveled to Waco in the Baylor Classic, falling to Northwestern, Baylor and Rice, all of which will likely compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. While the first two weeks were grueling, week three was a turning point for the Gaels, who would next go to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners in back-to-back contests. The Gaels hit 0.267 in those two matches, a then season-high. In their final weekend of non-conference, the Gaels won a majority of their 13 played sets, sweeping Cal Baptist, sandwiched by a pair of thrilling five set losses to Cal Poly and 20th ranked Utah. This weekend was all about the defensive growth for the Gaels, who had 145 digs and 19 blocks, the second most and most respectively for a three game stretch this year. 

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Sitting at 6-4 to open the season in non-conference play, Oregon State has established themselves as one of the top offensive teams in the WCC heading into their 2025 conference slate. Now in year three at the helm, Head Coach Lindsey Behonick went just 21-37 in her first two seasons in Corvallis, but this year's Beaver squad seems to have more of a winning feel compared to her first two squads. That may be because of the veteran talent she returns, with five of last year's seven starters back on this season's roster. The headliners of that group of returners are Lauren Rumel and Annika Hester, who combined for nearly half of the Beavers' kills last season, and already are up to 230 combined this year. Oregon State opened their season with three straight losses, but since, have gone 6-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of crosstown rival Oregon. This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Beavs and Gaels, with Oregon State leading the all-time series 5-1. The Gaels fell in four in last year's lone meeting in Corvallis.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
After opening the season with five wins in their first six matches, Portland stumbled across the finish line in non-conference play, losing five straight to bring their record to 5-6. They will have a chance to end the losing streak on Thursday night, hosting Pacific, before welcoming the Gaels to the Chiles Center on Saturday. In her sixth season at the helm, Head Coach Megan Burton achieved something that is seldom seen in the transfer portal era of college volleyball, retaining all seven of her starters from last year's squad. Headlining that group is middle blocker Taina Kaauwai, who led the WCC in hitting percentage last year. So far this season, Kaauwai has hit at 0.333 with 65 kills and 20 blocks through 11 matches. A year ago, Portland ended their then 12 game losing streak against the Gaels when they hosted them in the Rose City, but the Gaels responded with a win in Moraga. All-time, Saint Mary's leads the series 49-27. 

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