VB | Middle Blockers Shine in Four Set Win at Portland

Thursday, November 12

Portland, OR

6:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

15-11,10-4WCC

Portland

11-11,4-9WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Saint Mary's (CA)	25	23	25	25	3
Portland	17	25	18	19	1

Anaya ThrowerL 13 Kills (Career-High), 5 Blocks

Photo by: @edszaperturee/UP Athletics

11/12/2026 9:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Highlights

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Saint Mary's volleyball team finished off its season series sweep of the Portland Pilots tonight at the Chiles Center, downing the host Pilots in four sets. Saint Mary's relied heavily on their middle blockers in tonight's contest, with the duo of Anaya Thrower and Ava Galvan combining for 21 kills and 14 blocks in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels took the first three points of the match, and while Portland was able to hang tight and knot things up at eight all, another 3-0 run from the Gaels would give them all the momentum they would need to see out the set 25-17. Ava Galvan carried the Gaels across the finish line nearly single handedly, with three blocks and a kill over the final four points of the set. She finished the first frame with a team-high four blocks, while Makenzie Jackson led the offense with four kills.

Saint Mary's jumped out to another early lead in set two, this time pulling ahead 14-10 in the early goings. Portland battled back to level things at 15 apiece, and the two sides traded blows all the way to 19-19. This time, it was the Pilots with a decisive run, rattling off four straight points, and while the Gaels played well with their backs against the wall, they ultimately fell in set two, 25-23, despite five kills each from middle blockers Ava Galvan and Anaya Thrower.

Out of the intermission, it was all Gaels, who opened the third set on a 6-0 run and never looked back, winning set three 25-18. After recording just five kills in the first two sets, Antonie Kelnarova had five on six swings without an error in the third. In similar fashion, libero Alayna Pearson, doubled her dig tally in the third set, entering the set with five for the match, and heading into the fourth with 10.

Set four was a near mirror image of set three, as this time, the Gaels started on a 7-2 run, and led wire-to-wire, clinching the match with a 25-19 decisive set win. The blocking came back to life in the final frame, led by three massive roofs from Anaya Thrower.

GAME NOTES

With tonight's victory, the Gaels have now reached 15 wins, guaranteeing them their first 0.500 or better record since 2023.
The win also guaranteed the Gaels their first winning road record since 2023.
Saint Mary's got a massive boost from their middle blockers, Anaya Thrower and Ava Galvan, who combined for 21 kills and 14 blocks, hitting a combined 0.400.
This is the second time this year that Galvan and Thrower have combined for 20+ kills and 10+ blocks in a match, also doing so against Fresno State (26 Kills, 11 Blocks) on Sep. 19.
Antonie Kelnarova (14 kills) led a group of three Gaels with double figure kills, as she was joined by Thrower (13 kills) and Makenzie Jackson (11 kills)
The 13 kills were a new career-high for Thrower, whose previous career best of 12 came last year at San Francisco (Nov. 13, 2025)
Ava Galvan set a new career-high with nine blocks, as did Makenzie Jackson with six, helping the Gaels to their most blocks in a WCC match this season.
Kelnarova added another ace to her WCC single season record tally of now 58.

UP NEXT
The Gaels will make the 170 mile trek up I-5 to take on the Seattle U Redhawks on Saturday, November 14. First serve for that match is set for 1 p.m. 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!

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