Nov. 3, 2001
SPOKANE, Wash. - The 20th-ranked Santa Clara University volleyball team swept Gonzaga in West Coast Conference action tonight at the Martin Centre. Game scores were 30-26, 30-23, 30-23.
With its second straight sweep, the Broncos remain in second place in the league standings, with a 17-7 overall mark and a 9-2 record in the WCC. The Bulldogs fall to 7-13, 3-6.
The teams played a balanced opening game with Gonzaga registering 16 kills and Santa Clara finishing with 15. Sophomore middle blocker Becky Potter had five kills in the opener while Natasha Kozen led the Zags' attack with four kills. Potter turned it up even more in game two as the Broncos took a quick 20-13 lead with Potter hammering down five more kills. Kozen kept the Zags in the contest with five kills but Gonzaga hit only .047 in the game two defeat.
In the final game Santa Clara played a variety of players as the Broncos rolled to an early 19-9 lead. Gonzaga made a late rally with Zuzana Tumova knocking down five kills. Sophomore outside hitter Jessie Mechem stepped up for Santa Clara in the final game with three kills as the Broncos downed Gonzaga for the 14th straight time.
Kozen led the Zags with 12 kills and Tumova added 10 kills for Gonzaga. Potter led all players with 14 kills. Gonzaga did outplay Santa Clara in the defensive battle at the net as GU finished with 20 blocks compared to only seven for Santa Clara. Abby Cullen and Tumova each finished with five blocks.
The Broncos close out the West Coast Conference at home next weekend. Santa Clara will host No. 13 Pepperdine on Friday and Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Both contests will begin at 7 p.m. at the Leavey Center. The match against the Waves will feature free giveaways by Asics, while Saturday night's match against the Lions will give fans a chance to say thank you to seniors Jami Bari and Merrin Thompson, who will be playing one of their final home matches in a Bronco uniform. Fans that bring a canned food item will receive admission on Saturday night for only $2.