Saturday, October 17
Santa Clara, CA
1:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
12-8,7-1WCC
3
at
2
Santa Clara
8-11,4-3WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 23 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Santa Clara | 25 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 9 | 2 |
Ava Galvan: 10 Kill, 0.500 Att%
Photo by: Ayanna Williams/SMC Athletics
VB | Gaels Epitomize Resilience, Pick Up Second Straight Reverse Sweep to Move into First Place in the WCC
10/17/2026 4:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Chalk up another program first for the 2026 Saint Mary's Volleyball team, as the Gaels recorded their second straight reverse sweep, downing the Santa Clara Broncos in five. This is the first time in program history that the Gaels have picked up reverse sweeps in two consecutive matches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set one was indicative of how tight the entire match would be, with the Broncos jumping out to an early 1-0 lead on a narrow 25-23 first set win. The Gaels jumped out to an 11-7 lead early, but the Broncos weather the storm to regain the lead at 18-17. Santa Clara extended the lead to as large as three late in the set, eventually settling on the 25-23 win. Despite a more lopsided score, set two was even tighter than set one, with 11 ties and five lead changes. The two sides were deadlocked at 18 apiece when Santa Clara ripped off eight of the final nine points of the set to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Through two sets, Alayna Pearson was the driving force behind the Gaels effort to keep things close, with seven digs and three aces in the opening two stanzas.
In a very familiar position from two nights ago, the Gaels began their comeback effort in set three. After matching each other point for point through the first 16, the Gaels began to pull away from the Broncos with a 7-1 run to make it 15-9. Saint Mary's would get it to set point at 24-18, and while the Broncos were able to pick up four points with their backs to the wall, the Gaels ultimately forced a fourth, 25-22. Saint Mary's began to feed Layne Dent in the third, as she tallied seven of the Gaels 15 total kills in the frame.
Set four again began very tight, with the two sides playing to a 10 all draw. A 6-2 run for Saint Mary's would give them the momentum they needed to pull away with a commanding 25-17 victory. The Gaels hit a whopping 0.607 in the fourth set, with Antonie Kelnarova, Mackenzie Jackson, Ava Galvan and Anaya Thrower combining for 16 kills on 23 swings without an error.
While Santa Clara found themselves ahead early in set five, the Gaels never truly ceded momentum, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 9-4 lead in the blink of an eye, eventually seeing out their second straight reverse sweep victory with a 15-9 set five W. With today's result, and Peppedine's four set win over LMU, the Gaels now hold sole possession of first place in the WCC by half a game.
GAME NOTES
The Gaels return home to host Denver (Oct. 22) and San Diego (Oct. 24) next week. A win over Denver would tie the program record for best WCC play, and a win thereafter over San Diego could break the program record. Tickets for the games are on sale at smcgaels.com/tickets and the games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set one was indicative of how tight the entire match would be, with the Broncos jumping out to an early 1-0 lead on a narrow 25-23 first set win. The Gaels jumped out to an 11-7 lead early, but the Broncos weather the storm to regain the lead at 18-17. Santa Clara extended the lead to as large as three late in the set, eventually settling on the 25-23 win. Despite a more lopsided score, set two was even tighter than set one, with 11 ties and five lead changes. The two sides were deadlocked at 18 apiece when Santa Clara ripped off eight of the final nine points of the set to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Through two sets, Alayna Pearson was the driving force behind the Gaels effort to keep things close, with seven digs and three aces in the opening two stanzas.
In a very familiar position from two nights ago, the Gaels began their comeback effort in set three. After matching each other point for point through the first 16, the Gaels began to pull away from the Broncos with a 7-1 run to make it 15-9. Saint Mary's would get it to set point at 24-18, and while the Broncos were able to pick up four points with their backs to the wall, the Gaels ultimately forced a fourth, 25-22. Saint Mary's began to feed Layne Dent in the third, as she tallied seven of the Gaels 15 total kills in the frame.
Set four again began very tight, with the two sides playing to a 10 all draw. A 6-2 run for Saint Mary's would give them the momentum they needed to pull away with a commanding 25-17 victory. The Gaels hit a whopping 0.607 in the fourth set, with Antonie Kelnarova, Mackenzie Jackson, Ava Galvan and Anaya Thrower combining for 16 kills on 23 swings without an error.
While Santa Clara found themselves ahead early in set five, the Gaels never truly ceded momentum, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 9-4 lead in the blink of an eye, eventually seeing out their second straight reverse sweep victory with a 15-9 set five W. With today's result, and Peppedine's four set win over LMU, the Gaels now hold sole possession of first place in the WCC by half a game.
GAME NOTES
- The Gaels picked up their second consecutive reverse sweep victory, a first in program history.
- Paired with LMU's loss today, the Gaels sit at 7-1 in WCC play, good for sole possession of first place in the conference.
- Saint Mary's has now surpassed their win tally of 11 from a year ago, sitting at 12-8.
- After hitting over 0.200 just once in non-conference play, the Gaels have done so in seven straight games here in conference play.
- Three different Gael hitters hit over 0.300, middle blockers Ava Galvan (10 kills, 0.500 Att%), Anaya Thrower (8 kills, 0.389 Att%) and Makenzie Jackson (13 kills, 0.357 Att%).
- Antonie Kelnarova added three more aces to her docket, bringing her season tally to 50, tying the single season program record set by Alexsa Parker in 2018.
- Kelnarova is also the ninth player in WCC history to record at least 50 aces in a single season.
- Libero Alayna Pearson led the Gaels with 12 digs and three aces. She now has 13 aces in her last three matches.
- Sadie White went for 45 assists and 11 digs, good for her sixth this year.
The Gaels return home to host Denver (Oct. 22) and San Diego (Oct. 24) next week. A win over Denver would tie the program record for best WCC play, and a win thereafter over San Diego could break the program record. Tickets for the games are on sale at smcgaels.com/tickets and the games can be streamed 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 VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
SMC
SCU
Kills
62
58
Errors
23
25
Attempts
152
151
Hitting %
.257
.219
Points
78.0
72.0
Assists
56
54
Aces
10
4
Blocks
6
10
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Saturday, October 17
Thursday, October 15
Monday, October 12
Monday, October 12
