Thursday, October 8
Moraga, CA
6:30 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
Seattle U
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
VB | Gaels Host Seattle U and Portland in First Home Week of WCC Action
10/6/2026 10:32:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MORAGA, Calif. — Already with a pair of WCC road wins under their belts, the Saint Mary's Gaels will be back in UCU Pavilion for the first time in the month of October, hosting the WCC Pacific Northwest sides of Seattle U and Portland to open up their home conference slate. The Gaels have opened conference play at 3-1 in an early road gauntlet, and currently sit in second place in the WCC standings two weeks in.Â
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Seattle U Redhawks
Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.Â
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Portland Pilots
Saturday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.Â
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
CHASING 2010
With three wins in their first four conference contests, Saint Mary's has matched its best conference start since 2022. For their best start beyond 3-1 in conference play, you'd have to go back to 2010, in which the Gaels opened conference play at 8-1 en route to a 12-2 WCC record and a second place conference finish. With the Gaels having already played three of the four teams picked to finish better than them in the preseason conference poll. Matching or surpassing this 8-1 conference start is within reach.
AN EARLY LOOK AT RPI
The inaugural RPI rankings came out for NCAA Volleyball this week, with the Gaels coming in as the sixth best West Coast Conference school. That said, the Gaels (RPI: 192) already have wins over Cal (RPI: 45), Pepperdine (RPI: 51), and San Diego (RPI: 58), and will look to continue to climb in those rankings, with a chance to knock off another opponent ranked above them in the RPI, taking on Portland (RPI: 148) on Saturday. A year ago, the Gaels did not have a single win over a team ranked in to top-100 in RPI from 2020-2025.Â
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS
The Seattle Redhawks are in the midst of a six game losing streak, having dropped their final three non-conference matches before dropping their first three WCC contests against Portland, San Francisco and Santa Clara. In those six matches, Seattle has won just one set, but will look to re-find their footing in their two game trip south to Northern California, taking on the Gaels and Pacific Tigers. Head Coach Dan Behnke is now in his third year leading the Redhawks, and after having success at the NAIA level with Huston-Tillotson and at the NCAA DII level with Saint Martin's, will look for his first winning season with Seattle. The brightest spot on the young campaign for Coach Behnke's squad is sophomore transfer Lexi Jones. Jones came to Seattle from NAIA side Montana State Northern where she was the Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year, and has proven to be a formidable force at the net, averaging 1.18 blocks per set. Seattle has never beaten Saint Mary's in five previous meetings.Â
ABOUT THE PILOTS
Portland is off to a 9-3 start, the best under seventh year head coach Megan Burton and the best since their program-record 20 win season in 2018. Coach Burton is a familiar face around Moraga, as she graduated as the Gaels' all-time attack percentage leader (0.311) in 2009. Like the Gaels, the Pilots have just one conference loss, falling to Santa Clara in straight sets last Thursday night. They rebounded, however, with a sweep of San Francisco on Saturday. On the court, Portland is led by senior middle blocker Taina Kaauwai, who ranks second in the nation with a 0.502 hitting percentage. The Gaels lead the all-time series against Portland, 50-28, but the two sides have split their last four meetings. The Gaels have not lost to Portland in Moraga since 2017.Â
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
Â
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Seattle U Redhawks
Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.Â
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Portland Pilots
Saturday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.Â
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
CHASING 2010
With three wins in their first four conference contests, Saint Mary's has matched its best conference start since 2022. For their best start beyond 3-1 in conference play, you'd have to go back to 2010, in which the Gaels opened conference play at 8-1 en route to a 12-2 WCC record and a second place conference finish. With the Gaels having already played three of the four teams picked to finish better than them in the preseason conference poll. Matching or surpassing this 8-1 conference start is within reach.
AN EARLY LOOK AT RPI
The inaugural RPI rankings came out for NCAA Volleyball this week, with the Gaels coming in as the sixth best West Coast Conference school. That said, the Gaels (RPI: 192) already have wins over Cal (RPI: 45), Pepperdine (RPI: 51), and San Diego (RPI: 58), and will look to continue to climb in those rankings, with a chance to knock off another opponent ranked above them in the RPI, taking on Portland (RPI: 148) on Saturday. A year ago, the Gaels did not have a single win over a team ranked in to top-100 in RPI from 2020-2025.Â
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS
The Seattle Redhawks are in the midst of a six game losing streak, having dropped their final three non-conference matches before dropping their first three WCC contests against Portland, San Francisco and Santa Clara. In those six matches, Seattle has won just one set, but will look to re-find their footing in their two game trip south to Northern California, taking on the Gaels and Pacific Tigers. Head Coach Dan Behnke is now in his third year leading the Redhawks, and after having success at the NAIA level with Huston-Tillotson and at the NCAA DII level with Saint Martin's, will look for his first winning season with Seattle. The brightest spot on the young campaign for Coach Behnke's squad is sophomore transfer Lexi Jones. Jones came to Seattle from NAIA side Montana State Northern where she was the Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year, and has proven to be a formidable force at the net, averaging 1.18 blocks per set. Seattle has never beaten Saint Mary's in five previous meetings.Â
ABOUT THE PILOTS
Portland is off to a 9-3 start, the best under seventh year head coach Megan Burton and the best since their program-record 20 win season in 2018. Coach Burton is a familiar face around Moraga, as she graduated as the Gaels' all-time attack percentage leader (0.311) in 2009. Like the Gaels, the Pilots have just one conference loss, falling to Santa Clara in straight sets last Thursday night. They rebounded, however, with a sweep of San Francisco on Saturday. On the court, Portland is led by senior middle blocker Taina Kaauwai, who ranks second in the nation with a 0.502 hitting percentage. The Gaels lead the all-time series against Portland, 50-28, but the two sides have split their last four meetings. The Gaels have not lost to Portland in Moraga since 2017.Â
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
Â
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