Sept. 8, 2001
Santa Clara vs. Creighton Box Score
UC Santa Barbara vs. North Carolina Box Score
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Senior Jami Bari posted her first career 20-kill performance to lead the 24th-ranked Santa Clara University volleyball team to a four-game victory over Creighton in the second match of the SCU Invitational, hosted by the Fremont Marriott, this afternoon at the Leavey Center. Game scores were 30-23, 26-30, 32-30, 30-20.
With the victory, Santa Clara improves to 5-1 on the season, while Creighton falls to 1-3.
In the tournament's opening match, 13th-ranked UC Santa Barbara defeated North Carolina 30-19, 30-15, 30-21. Gaucho (1-2) firepower dominated the match as the team outhit UNC .425 to .095. UCSB was led by Danielle Bauer's 17 kills, 10 digs and five blocks. North Carolina (3-2) was led by Laura Greene's 13 kills.
In the second match of the early doubleheader, the Broncos opened their home schedule strong, recording a .486 hitting percentage in the first game, including a Bari kill that ended the frame.
Creighton rallied for an early lead in the second, taking advantage of multiple Bronco hitting errors to expand that lead to 14-8 before SCU was able to close the game at 23-22. The Broncos took their first lead at 26-25, but more hitting woes set up game point for the Blue Jays. A service ace by Kelli Koochi closed the frame for Creighton. Santa Clara finished the frame hitting .070 on with 13 hitting errors.
The Blue Jays opened the third set with another early lead and held that edge with the scoreboard 21-17. The Broncos pulled within two on a block followed by a Becky Potter kill. She exited the match moments later--after spraining her left ankle--with the Broncos holding a brief lead at 26-24. A left-handed kill by Creighton's Lisa Meekins set up the Jays' first game point. The Broncos rallied, tied it at 29 and again at 30, before one of freshman middle blocker Toni Muratore's 19 kills on the night ended the game favoring the home squad 32-30.
Senior Merrin Thompson opened the final game with two service aces. The Broncos continued to pull away when a Bronco block by freshmen Megan Johnston and Jennifer Ryan put the score at 9-4. Two side outs later, Bari served six straight points to build the lead to 17-5 before Creighton came back. Time ran out when a kill by freshman middle blocker Christina Vick handed Santa Clara its fifth win of the season.
The SCU Invitational, presented by the Fremont Marriott, continues this evening at the Leavey Center. Creighton returns to the court for a 5 p.m. match against North Carolina. The showdown between nationally ranked squads in host Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara will begin at 7:30 p.m.
A complete schedule of the tournament's matches can be found by Clicking Here.