BVB | Gaels Get First Full Look at the West Coast Conference in the West Coast Midseason Challenge

Friday, March 27

Santa Cruz, CA

Saint Mary's College of California

WCC Midseason Tournament

Photo by: Ayanna Williams/SMC Athletics

BVB | Gaels Get First Full Look at the West Coast Conference in the West Coast Midseason Challenge

3/26/2026 3:00:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

MORAGA, Calif. — It's been a stellar start to the 2026 Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball campaign. The Gaels sit at 10 games over .500, including a signature ranked win over Hawaii in the Aloha State. Now, the Gaels will get their first full look at the WCC in Santa Cruz at the West Coast Midseason Challenge. Saint Mary's has seen two conference foes, Pacific and Pepperdine, already this season, but will have a chance to revisit the Tigers and Waves, as well as the rest of the WCC on Friday and Saturday.

The Gaels are coming off of their home opening weekend, in which they hosted Pacific and 18th ranked Washington for a pair of matches each. Saint Mary's went a perfect 10-0 in their two matchups with the Tigers, dropping just two sets in the combined two dual matches. Against the Huskies, the Gaels dropped both contests by a narrow 3-2 margin. Out of the fives, Barett Nolan and Hannah Glick went unbeaten on the weekend, moving their record as a pair this season to 11-0. At the top of the Gaels lineup, the number one flight of Hannah Couch and Genevieve Bane, as well as the number two flight of Clarissa Klein and Angelina Bour, went 3-1, each with a win against the respective one and two pairs from the Huskies. Now at 16-6, the Gaels are just five wins away from setting a new single season win record as a team.

The format of the West Coast Midseason Challenge will begin with modified pool play on Friday. The Gaels will open up in Pool 1 at 11 AM, taking on the San Francisco Dons at 11 AM. The Dons are 6-11 this year with wins over like opponents to SMC, San Jose State and Pacific. Match two for the Gaels on Friday will be either against Pacific or LMU. A win will guarantee a matchup with the winner of the Pacific-LMU dual at 1 PM and a spot in Saturday's Gold Bracket, whereas a loss will mark a matchup with the loser of the aforementioned dual at 3 PM and a spot in the Silver Bracket.

Bracket play will begin on Saturday with every team guaranteed two more matches that day. The four teams in the Gold Bracket will occupy spots 1-4 in the final standings, while the three teams in the Silver Bracket will occupy spots 5-7.

#GaelsRise