SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The third seeded Gaels (19-16) took care of business against the fourth seeded Santa Clara Broncos (13-19) in the morning match, before falling to second seeded Pepperdine (22-15) in the WCC Tournament Semifinals. The win over Santa Clara was the Gaels fourth this season over the Broncos, punching their ticket to the semis for the first time since 2021. Against Pepperdine, the Gaels battled valiantly with their backs against the wall, down 2-0 early, but despite forcing third sets in the 1, 2 and 4 pairings, would eventually fall 5-0.
After three of the first five sets to the Broncos, including the fives match, the Gaels responded with three straight wins to knock out Santa Clara, returning the favor after SCU bounced SMC from the WCC Tournament a year ago.