Thursday, September 24
San Diego, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
6-7,1-0WCC
3
at
2
San Diego
5-6,0-1WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 10 | 25 | 12 | 25 | 16 | 3 |
| San Diego | 25 | 19 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 2 |
Layne Dent (9) reached 15 kills for the 3rd time this season
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
VB | Gaels March Into San Diego, Hand Toreros First Conference Loss Since 2024
9/24/2026 10:21:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Entering tonight's conference opening match, the San Diego Toreros owned both a 20 game conference unbeaten streak and a 15 game win streak against Saint Mary's. The Gaels, however, stormed into Jenny Craig Pavilion unfazed by the gaudy Torero resume, and moved to 1-0 in conference play, winning a five set thriller against USD.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Toreros looked the part of defending conference champs in set one, building an early 4-0 lead and never relinquishing it, all the way to a 25-10 victory. The Gaels looked re-energized in set two however, erasing an early 3-1 deficit with a 4-1 run of their, taking the lead at 5-4, and extending it all the way out to 13-8. San Diego refused to bow out of the set, regaining the lead at 16-15, but Saint Mary's would close out the set on a 10-3 run, to level things up at one set apiece. Layne Dent and Anaya Thrower willed the Gaels to the set two victory, combining for eight kills on 17 swings and just two errors to hit at 0.353.Â
Out of the intermission, the Gaels came out a bit flat, and, like in set one, never led in the third frame, falling 25-12. As was true for the first two sets, however, the Gaels had a response after dropping one. Set four featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. Neither side led by more than two until a Torero kill put them ahead 12-9 nearing the midway point of the frame. The Gaels would be gifted a sideout on the next USD serve via the service error, and would hand the ball to Natalie Peete. On the back of Peet's service, the Gaels would rattle off four straight points to level things at 13 apiece. Again, neither team could separate from that point, and at 19-17 in favor of the Toreros, Coach Tyler Hildebrand called a timeout. Whatever was said in that huddle lit a fire for the Gaels, who would finish the set on an 8-1 run to force a fifth, 25-20. The Gaels had an incredible 24 digs in set four, with eight coming from Alayna Pearson and six from Antonie Kelnarova.Â
The start of the fifth set truly mirrored the fourth, with neither side leading by more than two through the first 12 points. A Torero ace would put them in the driver's seat at 8-5, and they would keep the Gaels at arm's length all the way to set point at 14-10. With their backs against the wall, the Gaels turned to Layne Dent, who recorded back-to-back kills to bring the score to 14-12. Alayna Pearson kept the pressure on from the service line, as her signature knuckling float serve gave fits to the Toreros, who would not sideout for the remainder of the contest, as the Gaels would pull the upset by taking the final six points of the match, 16-14.Â
GAME NOTES
The Gaels will soon be back in transit, heading to Denver to take on the conference newcomer on Saturday, September 26. First serve from Hamilton Gymnasium is set for 12 p.m. pacific.Â
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Toreros looked the part of defending conference champs in set one, building an early 4-0 lead and never relinquishing it, all the way to a 25-10 victory. The Gaels looked re-energized in set two however, erasing an early 3-1 deficit with a 4-1 run of their, taking the lead at 5-4, and extending it all the way out to 13-8. San Diego refused to bow out of the set, regaining the lead at 16-15, but Saint Mary's would close out the set on a 10-3 run, to level things up at one set apiece. Layne Dent and Anaya Thrower willed the Gaels to the set two victory, combining for eight kills on 17 swings and just two errors to hit at 0.353.Â
Out of the intermission, the Gaels came out a bit flat, and, like in set one, never led in the third frame, falling 25-12. As was true for the first two sets, however, the Gaels had a response after dropping one. Set four featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. Neither side led by more than two until a Torero kill put them ahead 12-9 nearing the midway point of the frame. The Gaels would be gifted a sideout on the next USD serve via the service error, and would hand the ball to Natalie Peete. On the back of Peet's service, the Gaels would rattle off four straight points to level things at 13 apiece. Again, neither team could separate from that point, and at 19-17 in favor of the Toreros, Coach Tyler Hildebrand called a timeout. Whatever was said in that huddle lit a fire for the Gaels, who would finish the set on an 8-1 run to force a fifth, 25-20. The Gaels had an incredible 24 digs in set four, with eight coming from Alayna Pearson and six from Antonie Kelnarova.Â
The start of the fifth set truly mirrored the fourth, with neither side leading by more than two through the first 12 points. A Torero ace would put them in the driver's seat at 8-5, and they would keep the Gaels at arm's length all the way to set point at 14-10. With their backs against the wall, the Gaels turned to Layne Dent, who recorded back-to-back kills to bring the score to 14-12. Alayna Pearson kept the pressure on from the service line, as her signature knuckling float serve gave fits to the Toreros, who would not sideout for the remainder of the contest, as the Gaels would pull the upset by taking the final six points of the match, 16-14.Â
GAME NOTES
- Saint Mary's logged their first first win over San Diego since 2018, ending a 15 game winless streak against the Toreros. The Gaels also became the first WCC school to beat USD since 2024, ending their 20 match conference unbeaten streak.Â
- The Gaels open conference play 1-0 for the first time since 2022.Â
- For the third straight game, the Gaels had a pair of players record double-doubles, with Antonie Kelnarova going for 15 kills and 20 digs, and Sadie White adding 40 assists and 11 digs. Kelnarova and White have been the two players to record those double-doubles in all three instances.Â
- 20 digs marks a new career-high for Kelnarova, besting her previous high of 19 set against Valparaiso last year when she was playing for UIV.Â
- For the third time this season, Layne Dent reached 15 kills in a match.Â
- Anaya Thrower had eight kills without committing an attack error, her highest kill tally in an errorless match for her career.Â
- The win marks the Gaels first true road win since defeating Seattle U on November 1, 2025.
The Gaels will soon be back in transit, heading to Denver to take on the conference newcomer on Saturday, September 26. First serve from Hamilton Gymnasium is set for 12 p.m. pacific.Â
Don't miss a second of Saint Mary's Volleyball action in 2026! Tickets are on sale here!
#GaelsRise
Â
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballL/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
SMC
SD
Kills
56
53
Errors
32
17
Attempts
176
148
Hitting %
.136
.243
Points
67.0
78.0
Assists
49
49
Aces
6
8
Blocks
5
17
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Thursday, September 24
Saturday, September 19
Saturday, September 19
Thursday, September 17
