Aug. 31, 2002
IRVINE, Calif. - The 24th-ranked Santa Clara University volleyball team picked up its second straight win to open the season on Saturday, defeating the University of New Orleans by a score of 3-0 in the morning session of day two at the Marriott Sunset Showcase hosted by UC Irvine.
The Broncos defeated the Privateers by scores of 30-19, 30-13 and 30-27 to improve their season mark to 2-0, led by junior Becky Potter and freshman Cassie Perret's 12 kills in the match. Junior Kelli Sousa posted 47 assists in the win, moving her career total to just 47 assists shy of 2,000.
Santa Clara took the Privateers out of the match early on, hitting .333 as a team in game one and .480 in game two, while UNO had negative numbers in the same category, hitting -.097 in game one, and -.125 in game two.
Game three was closer as the Broncos hitting slipped a little, falling down to .250 while the Privateers managed to hit a respectable .238 in the three-point loss.
Sophomore Megan Johnston had the highest hitting percentage on the floor, registering eight kills on the day with no errors in 13 attacks, good for a .615 percentage. Junior Becky Biniek stepped it up in the middle, recording a career high in kills with nine while committing only one error and posting two block assists.
For the second-straight game, senior co-captain Cindy Hirsch posted a match-high 10 digs, while her sister and co-captain Chrissy Hirsch posted four digs and added one assist from the Libero position.
The Broncos return to action Saturday evening against UC Irvine in the final game of the Marriott Sunset Showcase. The Anteaters disposed of the Privateers in their match last night by a score of 3-1, with UNO taking the third game by a score of 30-25.
Following the weekend tournament in Irvine, the Broncos will continue their 12-match road trip with three games in the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. Santa Clara will face Eastern Illinois, Idaho and Northern Arizona over the two-day tourney.