Thursday, October 15
San Francisco, CA
6:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
11-8,6-1WCC
3
at
2
San Francisco
9-10,1-5WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| San Francisco | 25 | 27 | 11 | 17 | 11 | 2 |
The Gaels Celebrate After One of their 13 Aces Tonight
Photo by: Ayanna Williams/SMC Athletics
VB | Reverse Sweep! Gaels Snag Victory From Jaws of Defeat at San Francisco
10/15/2026 9:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN FRANCISCO — One of the hardest feats to accomplish in the game of volleyball, Saint Mary's fell behind to San Francisco 2-0 on the road on Thursday night, but rallied back to win the match, 3-2. The win marks the Gaels' third five set victory this season, but goes down as their first reverse sweep since last season's thriller vs. Seattle U (Oct. 23, 2026).
HOW IT HAPPENED
While it was a night for celebration for the Gaels, it certainly didn't start that way, with the Gaels quickly falling into a 2-0 hole. After jumping out to a 3-1 set one lead, the Gaels surrendered an 8-2 run to the Dons, who rode that momentum all the way to a 25-21 victory. Set two was much more tightly contested, playing all the way to a 25-25 stalemate, the last of 14 ties in the frame before San Francisco rattled off back-to-back blocks to end the set. Through the opening two sets, the Gaels hit just 0.165.
Out of the intermission, the Gaels looked like a different team, and looked that way all the way through the end of the match. Set three was a dominant showing from SMC, closing out the set on a 20-6 run to begin their comeback effort with a 25-11 set three win. Antonie Kelnarova rattled off six kills on eight swings in the set, while Alayna Pearson had three aces. The Gaels hit 0.556 as a team in set three.
While it wasn't quite as dominant, the Gaels still comfortably took care of set four, closing out that frame on a 20-12 run to take it 25-17. For the second straight set, the Gaels hit better than 0.500, this time coming in at 0.520. Kelnarova and Layne Dent combined for eight kills and 11 swings without an error in the fourth frame.
With momentum firmly on their side, the Gaels never trailed in the decisive fifth set, once again closing a frame on a solid run, 7-3, to take it 15-11. Layne Dent put away five kills on five swings to put a bow on this one. After hitting just 0.165 in the first two sets, the Gaels closed out the match hitting 0.509 over the final three frames.
GAME NOTES
The Gaels will now head south for Santa Clara in a battle between the top two WCC NorCal sides thus far this season. First serve on Saturday, October 17, is set for 1 PM from the Leavey Center, and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
HOW IT HAPPENED
While it was a night for celebration for the Gaels, it certainly didn't start that way, with the Gaels quickly falling into a 2-0 hole. After jumping out to a 3-1 set one lead, the Gaels surrendered an 8-2 run to the Dons, who rode that momentum all the way to a 25-21 victory. Set two was much more tightly contested, playing all the way to a 25-25 stalemate, the last of 14 ties in the frame before San Francisco rattled off back-to-back blocks to end the set. Through the opening two sets, the Gaels hit just 0.165.
Out of the intermission, the Gaels looked like a different team, and looked that way all the way through the end of the match. Set three was a dominant showing from SMC, closing out the set on a 20-6 run to begin their comeback effort with a 25-11 set three win. Antonie Kelnarova rattled off six kills on eight swings in the set, while Alayna Pearson had three aces. The Gaels hit 0.556 as a team in set three.
While it wasn't quite as dominant, the Gaels still comfortably took care of set four, closing out that frame on a 20-12 run to take it 25-17. For the second straight set, the Gaels hit better than 0.500, this time coming in at 0.520. Kelnarova and Layne Dent combined for eight kills and 11 swings without an error in the fourth frame.
With momentum firmly on their side, the Gaels never trailed in the decisive fifth set, once again closing a frame on a solid run, 7-3, to take it 15-11. Layne Dent put away five kills on five swings to put a bow on this one. After hitting just 0.165 in the first two sets, the Gaels closed out the match hitting 0.509 over the final three frames.
GAME NOTES
- The Gaels improved to 3-3 in five set matches this season, but logged just their first reverse sweep victory of the year.
- For the third time this season, the Gaels hit better than 0.300 as a team, doing so for the first time in a five set match this year.
- All three Gael pins and both Gael middle blockers hit 0.300 or better, led by Layne Dent, who checked in with a 0.379 clip (16 kills, 29 swings, 5 errors).
- Antonie Kelnarova led the Gaels with 20 kills in total, her third 20+ kill match of the season.
- Kelnarova also logged a team-high nine digs.
- Alayna Pearson matched her career-high with five aces, leading the Gaels' 13 ace effort, their sixth double-digit ace performance this year.
- This is now back-to-back five ace matches for Pearson, who did so against Portland just five days ago.
- Saint Mary's now runs its season long win streak to four in a row, and its conference record to 6-1, still the second best conference start in program history.
The Gaels will now head south for Santa Clara in a battle between the top two WCC NorCal sides thus far this season. First serve on Saturday, October 17, is set for 1 PM from the Leavey Center, and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
SMC
USF
Kills
62
48
Errors
20
20
Attempts
134
115
Hitting %
.313
.243
Points
78.0
64.0
Assists
57
48
Aces
13
6
Blocks
3
10
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
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