Sept. 7, 2002
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The 24th-ranked Santa Clara University women's volleyball team ran its season-opening match winning streak to five Saturday morning as they defeated the University of Idaho by a score of 3-0 in the third match of the Northern Arizona University Fiesta Bowl Tournament.
The Broncos (5-0) defeated the Vandals (1-4) by scores of 30-17, 30-15 and 30-27 to avenge its home loss from the 2001 season when Idaho took three straight from Santa Clara just before the NCAA Tournament in the Leavey Center.
Freshman Cassie Perret led the way for the Broncos in the morning match, posting a career-high 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .375. Junior Becky Potter also added 15 kills in the match to go along with 10 digs for her first double-double of the season.
Fellow junior Kelli Sousa added 41 assists in the game while Megan Johnston and Chrissy Hirsch tied Potter for the team lead in the game with 10 digs.
As a team the Broncos hit .205 for the match and had 24 total blocks which limited the Vandals to a .038 hitting percentage that included 25 errors.
Anna-Marie Hammond led Idaho with nine kills but also had nine hitting errors in the match which was also a team-high. Mandy Becker recorded 24 of the Vandals' 28 assists in the match while libero Jessica Yearout had a match-high 12 digs.
The five-match win streak to open the season is tied for the second-best start in Santa Clara's history, tying the start from the 2000 season and trailing only the 1979 team who started that year 6-0.
The Broncos will conclude their play in the NAU Fiesta Bowl Tournament Saturday evening when they play the host Lumberjacks at 7:30 p.m.