The Collegian

Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of www.smcgaels.com Christy Payne '11 (left), Megan York '11, and Alita Fisher '10 contibuted heavily to the Central Valley sweep.

Neither Roadrunners nor Bulldogs could disrupt the volleyball team's 5-0 start this past weekend as both became the latest victims of the Gael's rampage. What makes their run even more impressive is the fact that all their victories have come on the road.

Although the Roadrunners were the first to fall, they proved to be quite the challenge, pushing the Gaels to five games 30-24, 30-22, 23-30, 22-30, 15-13. Saint Mary's made a few early mistakes in the first game, but soon righted themselves, spurred on by a six point serving streak courtesy of Alita Fisher '10 and never looked back. Sophomore Megan Burton, who would tally a .458 hitting percentage for the match, ended the opening game with three kills and chalked up four block assists.

Cal State Bakersfield jumped out to the early lead in the second game, only to relinquish it at the 21-20 mark. Freshmen Kapua Kamana'o and Megan York came up big as they contributed 13 assists and eight kills, respectively. The Roadrunners led throughout the next game as an opening ace from Bakersfield set the tone.

Despite freshman Shannon Lowell's five key kills in the fourth game, the Roadrunner defense built on its momentum and again kept the Gaels in check. Game five turned into a point-for-point battle. Saint Mary's was able to pull way on consecutive kills by Taylor Groess '09 and Burton. While Bakersfield, continued to play hard for the remainder of the game, the minor lapse would end up costing them the match.

Playing their second game in as many days, the Gaels found the Bulldogs to be a much tamer opponent, beating Fresno State in three straight games 30-23, 30-21, 30-22. Offensively, Burton compiled another 13 kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while York boasted 20 kills and nine digs, one short of her fourth double-double of the year. Game one was controlled by Saint Mary's from the start with a Kelly Huston '11 six-point serve streak. York and Burton each had five kills, Burton hitting .883 in the process.

The second game included three separate five-point runs for the Gaels. York dominated with nine kills and four digs. The final game was marked by defense as Fisher collected 13 digs. Her 39 digs for the match were a team-high, setting her average-per-game at an incredible 13. The Saint Mary's defense held Fresno State to a meager .131 hitting percentage in the final game.

The Gaels will finally bring their long road trip to an end next weekend as they compete in the Stanford Invitational. Saint Mary's will play host #2 Stanford in the opener followed by BYU and Cal Poly SLO on consecutive days.

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