Moraga, Calif. - Four Tigers finished with double-figure kills, but the Pacific volleyball team fell to Saint Mary's Thursday in four, 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21.

Emily Baptista led the Tigers with 15 kills while Lexi Elman finished with 14 kills and 19 digs for her 47th career double-double.

Janie Feldsher added a career-high tying 13 kills while hitting .440, and Ashlyn Fleming hit .611 with 11 kills.
 
Andie Shelton tallied nine kills, 31 assists and 13 digs, while Jessica Diederich handed out 25 assists. Katrin Gotterba posted 17 digs, while Maycie LaBass added 12.

The Tigers hit .260 for the match, out-hitting the Gaels at .219. But the Gaels won the serve battle with 20 aces or points on errors to the Tigers seven.

Pacific falls to 14-13 overall and 8-7 in West Coast Conference play.


In set one, the Tigers opened to a 4-2 lead on kills from Fleming and Shelton, but a pair of aces from Emily Bible brought the Gaels even at 6-6. Feldsher and Fleming sparked a Tiger surge for a 9-7 lead, which Elman stretched to 12-9 on a kill. But the Gales answered with three straight to tie and the two sides locked into a tightly contested set. Skylar Wine and Baptista tallied back-to-back kills to end a run of five-straight ties for an 18-16 lead, but again the Gaels found a 3-0 run. Saint Mary's stretched the lead to 21-19 before Baptista tallied a kill and Elman delivered a kill to tie the set at 23-23. But the Gaels received a kill from Lindsey Calvin and a block from Alexis Salmons and Hannah Liserra for a 1-0 lead, 25-23.  The Tigers out-hit Saint Mary's, .300 to .167 in the set, but the Gaels owned a points advantage in the service game, with three aces

Shelton opened the scoring in set two, but the Gales stepped in front 4-3 on an ace from Madi Wilkerson. Feldsher and Shelton responded with kills to tie at 7-7. Baptista was blocked but delivered on her next attempt for a 9-9 tie. Alex Holt provided a block and a kill as the Tigers led 11-9. After the Gaels rallied, Fleming slammed home an overpass for a 14-13 Pacific lead.  Elman, Feldsher and Holt all tallied as Pacific stretched the lead to 21-17. Lindsey Knudsen posted a kill and an ace as SMC trimmed the gap to 22-20 and back-to-back attack errors by the Tigers tied the set at 22-all. Down one, Baptista answered with a kill, but the Gaels received a kill from Payton Rund and a Tiger attack went just long as Saint Mary's led 2-0, 25-23.

In set three, Pacific used a 9-2 run to turn a 12-8 deficit into a 17-14 lead, as Elman racked up four kills in the trench and Baptista added two as well. But the Gaels chipped away to pull even at 19-19. Fleming responded with a  kill for the lead, while Elman and Feldsher delivered back-to-back kills for a 23-21 advantage. SMC picked up two points to tie, but Shelton finished off a kill and then posted a service ace to extend the match, 25-23.

Elman tallied three kills early in set four for a 4-3 lead, but the Gaels reeled off three straight. Despite two more kills from Elman and a Feldsher finish, Saint Mary's stretched the margin as Rund and Knudson sparked a 3-0 run for a 16-12 lead. Baptista ended the run with a kill and Diederich served up back-to-back aces to pull within 16-15. Fleming added a kill, but Calvin answered for the Gaels who led 20-17. Shelton responded with a kill, and Feldsher and Alicja Wilk delivered a block, but Salmons tallied for SMC. Baptista's kill brought the Tigers within 23-20, but Salmons finished a slide to set up match point, and after Baptista's 15th kill, a call at the antenna went against the Tigers for a 25-21 Gaels win.

The Gaels improve to 11-15 overall, 6-9 in West Coast Conference play. Knudsen led Saint Mary's with 15 kills, while Calvin and Rund each tallied nine.

The Tigers will be back in action next week, with a trip to Gonzaga (Thursday, 6 p.m.) and Portland (Saturday, 1 p.m.)