LOS GATOS, Calif. – Santa Clara beach volleyball took down Pac-12 opponent Oregon 4-1 Friday at Los Gatos High School, winning its second match in as many days.
With the win over the Ducks (1-4), the Broncos (7-1) continued their strong play and extended their win streak to six.
The No. 3 pairing of Sarah Vaccaro and Hailey Lindberg was able to clinch the match victory by taking down Oregon's Amanda Benson and Lindsey Vander Weide. After dropping the first set 16-21, the duo, playing in just its second match together, rebounded nicely to take the second set 21-11. They then took control early of the decisive third set and Lindberg put away a kill to finish it 15-6.
"To have those girls step in the three spot and get two good wins against San José State and Oregon, it doesn't get any better than that," head coach Aaron Mansfield said. "We're super proud of how they responded after losing the first game; they've never lost a game together and the way they responded to win the next two was really great."
At the No. 4 slot, Lacey Maas and Jensen Cunningham also battled for a three-set victory, defeating Lauren Page and Maddy Silberger-Franek. As the first match of the afternoon, Mass/Cunningham set the tone nicely for the rest of their teammates, finishing off a back-and-forth third set 18-16, with Maas providing the game-sealer with a big block.
"Playing two matches in two days is tough and the way our girls showed up today they were really focused. For Jensen and Lacey to start off with a three game deuce victory gave our next two teams a little bit more confidence," Mansfield said.
Danielle Rottman and Nikki Hess continued their strong play at the No. 2 pairing, beating Martenne Bettendorf and Taylor Agost, 21-15, 21-10, and at the No. 5 spot Madison Dutra and Mary Shepherd cruised to a victory over Haley McLaren and August Raskie, 21-18, 21-9.
"Madison and Mary continued to dominate at that fifth spot, and Dani and Nikki played about as well as they've played all season; it was good to see a lot of the things they've been working on all season come to fruition in the match," Mansfield said.
The sole loss for the Broncos came in the No. 1 grouping where despite taking the first set, Sabrina Clayton and Kirsten Mead fell to Liz Brenner and Kacey Nady.
The Broncos' next match will be Tuesday at Los Gatos High School where they will take on WCC rival Pacific at 2 p.m.
Results:
No. 1 - Liz Brenner/Kacey Nady (ORE) def. Sabrina Clayton/Kirsten Mead (SCU); 16-21, 21-18, 15-9
No. 2 - Danielle Rottman/Nikki Hess (SCU) def. Martenne Bettendorf/Taylor Agost (ORE); 21-15, 21-10
No. 3 - Sarah Vaccaro/Hailey Lindberg (SCU) def. Amanda Benson/Lindsey Vander Weide (ORE); 16-21, 21-11, 15-6
No. 4 - Lacey Maas/Jensen Cunningham (SCU) def. Lauren Page/Maddy Silberger-Franek (ORE); 21-14, 14-21, 18-16
No. 5 - Madison Dutra/Mary Shepherd (SCU) def. Haley McLaren/August Raskie (ORE); 21-18, 21-9
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
