SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Fresh off a stretch of four matches in two days, Santa Clara beach volleyball is back on the sand Wednesday. The Broncos host Sacramento State at 2 p.m. at Los Gatos High School.
Santa Clara played four Bay Area opponents, including two from the West Coast Conference, as part of a season-opening event last weekend at Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium. The Broncos fell to Saint Mary's and the 13th-ranked Cardinal on Saturday and dropped matches against Pacific and Cal on Sunday.
The No. 2 Bronco pairing of Kirsten Mead/Jensen Cunningham posted the best results through four matches, going 2-2 in duals and 5-5 in sets. Santa Clara's No. 4 team of Tatiana San Juan/Michelle Gajdka swept Pacific's Janie Feldsher/Alex Holt in the morning match on Sunday. Hailey Lindberg/Taylor Laugero (No. 3) and Ngozi Nwabuzoh/Erin Reineking (No. 5) also won sets for the Broncos.
Nikki Hess/Allison Kantor played all four matches at the No. 1 spot and four of the team's eight sets were decided by two points. Hess, a preseason All-WCC selection, went 12-4 overall and 28-9 in sets for the Broncos in 2016.
Half of the Bronco pairs are made up of newcomers this season — Kantor, Laugero, Gajdka, Nwabuzoh and Reineking are all in their first seasons with Bronco beach volleyball. Mead/Cunningham is the only pair made up of two returning Broncos from 2016.
Sacramento State is playing its season-opening match on Wednesday. The Hornets are coming off a 1-21 campaign last season. Santa Clara has won both meetings in the series: 4-1 on April 1, 2015 and 5-0 on April 5, 2014.
SCORING UPDATES
Follow @SCUVolleyball on Twitter for scoring updates.
ADMISSION AND PARKING
Admission to Santa Clara beach volleyball home matches is free. Parking is also free at Los Gatos High School in the lot adjacent to the sand volleyball courts north of New York Ave. The courts are located between the football stadium and baseball field (Helm Field). Click here for a map view.
