MORAGA, Calif. — The wait is finally over! Saint Mary's (2-11, 0-2 WCC) will get a chance to play within the friendly confines of UCU Pavilion after five straight weeks on the road, and will have a tough test early, taking on preseason WCC favorites (9-4, 2-0 WCC) and defending WCC champs LMU (3-8, 1-1 WCC). Expecting a raucous home crowd, the Gaels will have a golden opportunity to pull a couple of huge early upsets in the WCC.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. San Diego Toreros 
Thursday, October 2 at 6:30 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif. 
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs. LMU Lions
Saturday, October 4 at 1 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif. 
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THREE STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DOUBLES (AND COUNTING?)
Since September 12, true freshman outside hitter Mya Allen has been on a tear. Over 26 sets played in that stretch, the San Antonio native has averaged 3.3 kills per set, recorded 24 kills against Cal Poly (the most by any Gaels this season) and, most recently, has gone for three straight kill-dig double-doubles. Only Allen and Clarissa Klein have recorded dig-kill double-doubles, with Klein's coming in the season opener at North Dakota. The last Gael to go for three straight kill-dig double-doubles was Genevieve Bane, doing so last season in November against Washington State, Pacific and Pepperdine. The last Gael to record four consecutive kill-dig double-doubles was Sarah Chase, who did so in the final two weeks of the regular season in 2018 against Gonzaga, BYU, San Diego and Santa Clara.

COACH'S CORNER


ABOUT THE TOREROS
Picked as the preseason WCC favorites, San Diego has lived up to that high praise so far, with a 9-4 record including a 2-0 start in conference play against their two biggest challengers for the conference crown, Pepperdine and LMU. Legendary Head Coach Jennifer Petrie is now in year 25 at the helm of the Torero program, and is just 68 wins and 17 conference wins away from becoming the winningest volleyball coach in WCC history both by total wins and conference wins. Coach Petrie retained all three of her top hitters, Isabel Clark, Nemo Beach and Kennedy Osunsanmi, and her starting setter, Kylie Munday, from last year's 19-9 squad. Beach currently leads the WCC in scoring, while Munday ranks second in assists to pace this USD squad. In 78 all-time meetings, the Gaels are just 14-64 all-time against San Diego, with their last win against the Toreros coming in 2018, when they defeated USD in both meetings that year. 

ABOUT THE LIONS
LMU won the WCC in 2025, but saw their head coach Trent Kersten depart for Oregon in the offseason after winning 45 of his 57 matches in charge. Shortly thereafter, Kolby O'Donnell was named LMU's eighth head coach in program history, after serving as Coach Kersten's Associate Head Coach for the past two years. It has been tough sledding for Coach O'Donnell in the early going, as the Lions are just 3-8, but did win their conference opener against Seattle before falling in five to San Diego. One of the biggest reasons for the early struggles for the Lions has been the fact that they are breaking in a new team after graduating six starters from last season. Sophomore setter Delfina Schuh is back to lead a cast of new faces including TCU transfer libero Cecily Bramschreiber, Baylor transfer outside hitter Sophia Keene, and true freshman Nicole Schuetz. That said, it's been a returner who missed all of last year, Maddie Boerstra, who has been the focal point of the LMU offense, receiving ten sets on average per set, which leads the WCC. This will be the 76th all-time meeting between the Gaels and Lions, with the Lions leading it 53-22. The last Gaels win over LMU came in 2021. 

DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME VOLLEYBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

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