LOS GATOS, Calif. — Bronco beach volleyball scored its first victory of 2017 Wednesday afternoon. Santa Clara defeated Bay Area and West Coast Conference rival San Francisco 3-2 at its home venue, Los Gatos High School.
The Broncos (1-9, 1-3 WCC) captured three of the day's first four duals against the Dons (0-13, 0-5 WCC) en route to the win.
"It's good to get our first win and beat USF ahead of next week's WCC Championship," head coach Jon Wallace said. "The girls have been working hard coming out of spring break. I've been really pleased with training, and their efforts showed in the result today."
Here are a few looks from today's victory over San Francisco! #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/fm3Z71yPZd
— SantaClaraVolleyball (@scuvolleyball) April 13, 2017
The afternoon's most competitive matchup was also the tilt that decided the contest. Santa Clara's Tatiana San Juan/Michelle Gajdka (No. 4) withstood a late rally by Shannon Levinson/Kate Ashman to win the first set 24-22, then took the second frame 21-17.
Ngozi Nwabuzoh/Erin Reineking (No. 5) won for the first time as a pair on Wednesday. The tandem of newcomers to the team in 2017 won a close first set 21-19 over Montana Green/Trish Koutsoukos before dominating the second set 21-7.
Just prior to the match-clinching win, Kirsten Mead/Jensen Cunningham (No. 2) put the Broncos up 2-1 with a sweep of Marjolijn Oskam/Camille Araujo. Santa Clara's most successful pair this season took 42 of 63 points as part of its fourth dual win.
"We had some solid efforts from our pairs, especially Kirsten and Jensen; they played really well," Wallace said.
RESULTS
No. 1 - Nora Buvarp-Lavik/Emily Reed (USF) def. Nikki Hess/Allison Kantor (SCU); 21-19, 21-15
No. 2 - Kirsten Mead/Jensen Cunningham (SCU) def. Marjolijn Oskam/Camille Araujo (USF); 21-9, 21-12
No. 3 - Dane Miller/Carly Lowry (USF) def. Hailey Lindberg/Taylor Laugero (SCU); 21-15, 21-11
No. 4 - Tatiana San Juan/Michelle Gajdka (SCU) def. Shannon Levinson/Kate Ashman; 24-22, 21-17
No. 5 - Ngozi Nwabuzoh/Erin Reineking (SCU) def. Montana Green/Trish Koutsoukos (USF); 21-19, 21-7
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 2, 4*, 1
* - Clinched Match
NEXT MATCH
The Broncos host San José State (6-8) to close out the regular season Thursday afternoon at Los Gatos High School. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
SCORING UPDATES
Follow @SCUVolleyball on Twitter for scoring updates on Thursday.
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.
