Santa Clara travels south this weekend to take on the two Los Angeles-based West Coast Conference schools.  Santa Clara (9-12, 4-6 WCC) will play in Firestone Fieldhouse at No. 14 Pepperdine (17-5, 11-0 WCC) on Thurs., Nov. 3 at 7 pm.  It will then travel to LMU on Sat., Nov. 5 at 1 pm in attempt to sweep the season series with the Lions (13-11, 6-5 WCC).

Santa Clara is still without two starters who are nursing bad ankles in Tanya Schmidt and Alexandra Palmer. Both were lost Oct. 14 and Oct. 15, respectively.  Santa Clara has received consistent production from two-time WCC Player of the Week Dana Knudsen. The junior MB hits a team-best .374, is first in kills with 2.69 kpg and has provided a steady presence on the court. Katherine Douglas is second on the team with 2.67 kpg and 2.51 dpg.  Bridget O'Hara leads the team with 3.85 dpg.

Alyssa Anderson averages 7.67 apg and is tied for second with 0.15 sapg.  Santa Clara was running the 6-2 until Palmer went down with a severe ankle sprain which may sideline her the rest of the year.

Knudsen and O'Hara continue their climb in the Santa Clara history books.  Knudsen has 206 block assists in her career, which is No. 10 all-time.  Bridget O'Hara is No. 3 on the all-time list with 3.86 dpg.  She needs four digs to hit 1,000 career digs.

Santa Clara is 25-35 vs. Pepperdine all-time and has lost three straight to the Waves after winning six straight over Pepperdine.  In its 3-1 loss to then-No. 19 Pepperdine on Oct. 13, Santa Clara hit .078 with 40 kills (30e, 129att.).  The Broncos collected 50 digs, 40 assists, 4.5 team blocks, one ace and seven service errors.  Pepperdine hit .336 with 55 kills (13e, 125 att.).  The Waves collected 48 digs, 51 assists, 18 team blocks, three aces and eight service errors. 

Individually for the Broncos vs. the Waves, Douglas led the Broncos with 12 kills and 10 digs.  Schmidt had six kills, hitting .111.  Knudsen had eight kills, hitting .200.  Taylor Milton collected 10 digs and four kills.  O'Hara had a match-high 13 digs.  Anderson had 21 assists to Palmer's own 14.  Palmer added seven digs. 

Pepperdine was led by Lilla Frederick's 19 kills, hitting .567.  Kim Hill had 11 kills, hitting .273.  Samantha Cash scored nine kills, hitting .533.  Kellie Woolever, Frederick and Stevi Robinson all had 10 digs each.  Kellie Woolever had 43 assists.  Victoria Adelhelm had 10 block assists and Cash had six block assists and a block solo.

Pepperdine has won a season-high 11 consecutive matches including each of its last 12 sets. After a 6-5 start, their record has soared during conference play and they remain unbeaten in WCC contests. Last week the Waves swept Portland, Gonzaga and then-No. 17 San Diego in dominating fashion. Robinson was one of four players nominated for WCC Player of the Week Honors, as she averaged 4.22 dpg and .78 sapg.

The Waves have received a number of impressive individual performances this year. Hill leads the offensive attack with 3.68 kpg and is third on the team in hitting, blocking and service aces. Frederick is first in service aces with 0.26 and is second with 3.01 kpg and 3.16 dpg. Cash leads the team in hitting at .326, in blocks with 1.21 bpg, and she is also fourth in kills. Robinson paces the team in digs with 3.44 dpg and 0.25 sapg. Woolever leads the team with 10.94 apg. Adelhelm is second in both hitting and blocking.

Santa Clara is 30-31 all-time vs. LMU.  Santa Clara won in straight sets when the two teams met in Santa Clara on Oct. 20, 2011.  Santa Clara scored 51 kills (11 e, 105 att.), hitting .381.  They collected 50 digs, 48 assists, three service aces, eight service errors and two team blocks.  LMU scored 38 kills (12 e, 106 att.), hitting .245.  They collected 41 digs, 35 assists, two service aces, eight service errors and 4.5 team blocks. 

Individually vs. the Lions, Santa Clara was led by Kayla Lommori's 14 kills, hitting .571 (2e, 21 att.). Durket (.280) and Knudsen (.667) both scored 10 kills each.  Douglas had nine kills (.250) with eight digs.  O'Hara had 15 digs for the Broncos and Anderson scored 44 assists and eight digs.

For the Lions no one had double figure kills.  Emily Cheek scored nine kills, hitting .533.  Alyse Hensley had seven kills as did Jasmine Rankins.  Ashley Maxfeldt had 18 assists and Olivia Bailey added 17.  Betsi Metter scored a match-high 18 digs.

LMU (13-11, 6-5) saw its record dip below .500 to 11-12 after a 3-0 sweep at Santa Clara on Oct. 20, but have since found its rhythm en route to three straight wins. Back home at Gersten Pavilion, the Lions will be looking to get even after last month's defeat to the Broncos. Click here for more on last month's 3-0 win over the Lions.  LMU takes on BYU on Nov. 3 in Utah before heading home to host Santa Clara.

LMU out-lasted Gonzaga in five sets in its last match, with Jasmine Rankins leading all players with 17 kills, hitting .34. Litara Keil, Alyse Hensley and Emily Cheek had 12 kills each. Betsi Metter, who ranked second in the WCC in service aces last week, served-up a career-high five on the match while contributing 27 digs. Against Portland Kenna Crouse recorded a match-best 14 kills on 23 swings for a .435 hitting percentage while Rankins contributed 11 kills of her own. Olivia Bailey dished-out 38 assists and had a career-high four aces. Metter added 29 digs in just three sets played. 

Individually the Lions have relied on the production of OH/OPP Rankins. The senior leads the team with 3.23 kpg and is second with 0.32 sapg and 2.25 dpg. Keil leads the team in hitting and blocks, is second in kills and third in service aces. Alyse Hensley is second in hitting at .217 and is tied for second in 2.31 kpg. Bailey scores 9.91 apg while Metter averages a team-high 5.00 dpg and 0.43 sapg.