Championship Central | WATCH: Nikki Hess Previews WCC Championship
Note: The winner of the conference championship does not receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. There are no automatic qualifiers for the postseason.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara beach volleyball wraps up its 2016 season Friday and Saturday at the inaugural West Coast Conference Championship in Santa Monica, Calif. The third-seeded Broncos (No. 20 — DiG Magazine) open the seven-team, double-elimination tournament Friday at 9 a.m. against sixth-seeded Loyola Marymount at Ocean Park Beach.
The Broncos set a program record for wins in a single season by notching 10 victories this year. They went on a six-match winning streak from March 12-April 8 and posted a 2-1 record against ranked opposition.
"We are very proud of the work we have put in on the sand and in the weight room as a group up until this point," Bronco head coach Aaron Mansfield said. "I think our record of 10-3 — versus our 7-7 record last year — is a reflection of our commitment to improve and to push ourselves physically and mentally every day."
The Lions (5-14, 0-1) played 12 of 19 contests against teams ranked in the Top 20. Santa Clara and LMU's matchup plays into the No. 2 vs. No. 7 tilt of San Francisco (13-2, 4-1 WCC) and Portland (0-7, 0-3); the winners from those two contests meet at noon on Friday while the non-advancing teams face off in an elimination match at 1:30 p.m.
There are a total of eight matches on Friday and either four or five matches on Saturday. Once two teams remain, the one-loss team must win twice to claim the championship.
"We know every team we face will be a challenge; engaging in our preparation and daily routine will put us in the best position possible to win each dual," Mansfield said. "We have put in the work — it's now time to go play free and do whatever it takes to get a win."
Santa Clara's top two pairings of Kirsten Mead/Sabrina Clayton (No. 1) and Danielle Rottman/Nikki Hess (No. 2) teamed up for all 13 matches. Rottman/Hess led the Broncos with a 10-3 dual record and went 23-7 in sets. The Broncos are at least 8-5 in duals across all five positions.
Sarah Vaccaro won nine duals altogether, including eight at the No. 3 spot. Jensen Cunningham/Lacey Maas went 7-5 as the No. 4 pair while Mary Shepherd/Madison Dutra finished 8-4 with 20 set wins at No. 5.
"We look forward to watching our first sand class of Dani Rottman, Sarah Vaccaro, and Lacey Maas compete in a SCU jersey for the last time," Mansfield said. "We are all grateful for the amount of work they have to put to this program and hope they can leave it all on the court in Santa Monica."
The Broncos and Lions have not played head-to-head in 2016. The team swept Portland in its season opener and split a pair of 3-2 matches against San Francisco to finish 2-3 in conference play.
No. 2 Pepperdine (17-3, 1-0) and the No. 13 Dons earned the top two seeds, respectively. The Waves spent most of the season as the top team in the country and San Francisco lost only two of its 15 matches.
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Go Broncos!
