Santa Clara enters this weekend's home series with Portland and Gonzaga with a 12-5 record, including 2-2 in the WCC. The Broncos will host Portland on Oct. 9 and Gonzaga on Oct. 10. Last week the team played three WCC matches in a single week: defeating Pacific 3-0 at home on Sept. 30, coming from behind at No. 24 San Diego to post a 3-1 win and then falling 3-0 at No. 10 BYU.
SantaClaraBroncos.com (SCU) sat down with Bronco head coach Jon Wallace (JW) earlier this week to talk about last week, this weekend's matches and what the team is working towards in practice this week.
SCU: Last week you played three matches for the first time in the WCC. This week you play back-to-back days.
JW: I've been in this conference for 25 years and last week was the first time where we had three matches in one week so it was a very interesting week for the WCC. Our schedule in particular was very challenging.
SCU: You started off with a 3-0 win on Tuesday vs. a top 30 team in Pacific.
JW: We were able to beat them in three, which was a great win for us.
SCU: Then you hit the road for one of the tougher road trips anyone in the country can take – at No. 24 San Diego and at No. 10 BYU. Both are traditionally powerhouses in the WCC.
JW: For us to go down to San Diego and beat them on their home court in four was a terrific. We played really well. They played tough. They were determined to battle as hard as they could all night. San Diego has some great players, but our team really stayed true to the scouting report, executed at the right times and was able to come away with a win.
SCU: After a seven-hour delay in the Las Vegas Airport on Friday, you got to Provo on Friday night. You lost in three at No. 10 BYU Saturday night.
JW: It was a tough challenge and we weren't up for that, but I think we learned a lot about ourselves. We learned a lot about the toughness that we're going to need going forward in order to compete in this conference night in and night out. Getting two wins last week, one on the road, was excellent. We walked away from the BYU match a stronger team, a more united group and more determined as ever to get better this week.
SCU: When you talk about what your team learned from the BYU match, is there something specific you are talking about?
JW: At times we played to a level of BYU and we've just got to be able to sustain that over time and throughout an entire match, not just a couple times. Every one of our attackers - whether it be Nikki, Sabrina or Taylor - they have the ability to play with those girls. We just need to get more consistent and emphasize our own execution greater this week in practice. We can do it once or twice. We need to do it six or seven times. That's our goal and we realize that. We know that we can play with those girls; we've just got to get more consistent with it and play at that high level more often.
SCU: What is the focus for this week?
JW: What's encouraging for the staff is that we feel all three of our middles, Lacey Maas, Natasha Calkins, and Kaity Edwards, can get better. We are determined to get better this week and we're going to start using them a lot more within our offense.
We want to work on our first ball contact, which is passing and digging. We also want to work on our second ball contact - getting the ball up so our dynamic hitters can take better swings at the ball. We also want to cut down some of our attack errors that we had at BYU.
SCU: This week you host Portland and Gonzaga. Portland got a game off of both LMU and Pepperdine this weekend at home so they're improving this season. Have you seen them on tape?
JW: Portland is very well-coached - their new coach was an assistant at Saint Mary's before taking the job this winter. They're on their way to being a very good program. For us, it's good that we understand we play similar styles. We're are used to their style and should be able to respond to their offense in a good way. I know for a fact our girls will be ready and motivated to play Portland.
SCU: The next night, Friday, you host Gonzaga. The Zags swept both Pepperdine and LMU at home last weekend and they're much improved.
JW: They're very good, extremely competitive and they believe that they're going to win every match when they take the floor. Savannah Blinn leads them with that kind of attitude. We'll have our hands full against her and their team. The outside hitters, McKayla Ferris and Jordan Gasser, are also having a great year. Their coach does a great job.
SCU: You had a terrific crowd vs. Pacific. How much does a good crowd help?
JW: We'll have to be real good on Thursday night. And we'll have to be real good on Friday night as well. We hope that our crowd will come out to support us and get us through these matches at home.
