SAAC September and October Broncos of the Month Announced

SAAC September and October Broncos of the Month Announced

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Ryan Werner of men's water polo and Taylor Odom of volleyball were named the Broncos of the Month for October by SAAC.

Werner tallied 23 goals and 13 assists for the Broncos who won all four games at the Gary Troyer Tournament (Oct. 4-5) and three of four at the team's annual Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament (Oct. 25-27). The senior earned Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week after he posted 13 goals and three assists while drawing one kickout and one 5-meter penalty shot at the Gary Troyer Tournament.  

Odom set the tone for Santa Clara volleyball at the net in October as she totaled 64 blocks (2.21/set) to help the Broncos go 6-2. The Bellevue, Washington native matched a career-high mark with 12 blocks in a victory at Pacific on Oct. 24 and followed up with a career-high 14 blocks in a victory at Saint Mary's on Oct. 26. At one point, Odom led the NCAA in both total blocks and block average.

The honorees in September were Emil Christensen of men's soccer and Julia Sangiacomo of volleyball.

Christensen, a sophomore central defender, spearheaded the Santa Clara defense which posted back-to-back shutout wins on the road at Lipscomb (in Nashville, Tenn.) on Sept. 27 and at Evansville (Evansville, Ind.) on Sept. 29 by the same 2-0 score in both matches.  

The Nr. Snede, Denmark native played the full 90 minutes in both matches.  Both Lipscomb and Evansville last played a week earlier having a full week's rest before facing the Broncos.  

Against Lipscomb, which advanced to the Sweet 16 in last season's NCAA Tournament, the Broncos limited the Bisons to just one shot on goal (out of 12 shots).

And against Evansville, Santa Clara held the Purple Aces to just four shots total, playing in mid-90 degree weather.

Sangiacomo earned the first West Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week honors for 2019 on Sept. 2. She totaled 54 kills (4.15/set) to help the Broncos win all four matches at the season-opening Indiana Invitational. The Sonoma, California native racked up a team-best 131 kills (3.2 per set) over 11 contests in the month. Sangiacomo logged double-digit kills in her first six collegiate matches and 11 of the first 15 overall as the Broncos went 10-5 to start the season.

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