Watch EYEBRONCO's Highlights and Post-Match Interviews from the Victory!
Battling all night, Santa Clara came away with a 3-1 victory over Portland Thursday night in the Leavey Center. Set scores were 25-20, 16-25, 25-21 and 26-24. The Broncos move to 13-5 and 3-2 in the WCC and Portland moves to 5-11 and 0-5 in the WCC.
"It was an ugly win, but it was a win. Portland made it very difficult for us to do what we wanted to do. They dug the ball well and put a lot of pressure on our hitters all night long," said Bronco head coach Jon Wallace. "In this conference, anytime we get a win, it's a good win so I am proud how we fought tonight. I am excited to get on the court tomorrow night and play again!"
The Broncos hit .137 with 51 kills (30 e, 153 att.). They collected 50 assists, seven aces, nine service errors, 63 digs and 12.0 team blocks.
Sabrina Clayton led the Broncos with 17 kills, hitting .180 (8 e, 50 att.). She also added two aces and six digs. Kirsten Mead had 43 assists, 10 digs, three aces, one block solo and five block assists. Nikki Hess had seven kills and 14 digs. Taylor Milton had nine kills and 12 digs. Danielle Rottman led the team with 19 digs and three assists.
"Kaity Edwards had a good night and Sabrina Clayton battled all night," said Wallace. "Lacey came off the bench and battled for us. It was really good to see her compete."
The Pilots hit .158 with 46 kills (23 e, 146 att.). They collected 45 assists, four aces, 10 service errors, 62 digs and nine team blocks.
Makayla Lindburg had 17 kills for the Pilots. Katie Sullivan added 10 and Emily Liger scored 12. Djurdjina Milovic had 36 assists. Katie Mardesich added a team-high 16 digs.
SCU opened the match with a 3-1 run. Portland scored four straight points, including an ace, to take a 5-3 lead. Portland scored three of the next five to go up 8-5. The teams kept battling, with Portland taking a 10-7 lead. The Broncos pulled within one point three times and tied it up 13-13 after Lindburg's hitting error down the line. Hess scored cross court and Hess and Edwards collected a block and the Broncos led 15-13. The Pilots scored a couple of kills to tie it up 15-15. The Pilots hit it way out twice and the Broncos led 17-15. Portland scored a pair of points, but a kill by Hess and a team block by Edwards and Mead made it 19-17 Broncos. Timeout Portland.
Edwards scored cross court in two of the next three points. After a Pilot sideout, Mead scored a block solo, 22-19 SCU. After a Pilot sideout, Rodriquez hit her serve into the net and Milton's kill off the block made it 24-20. Timeout Portland. Hess and Calkins scored a team block to end the set, 25-20. SCU hit .216 with 13 kills and Portland hit .067 with 11 kills.
The Broncos opened the second set on a 3-1 run, including an ace by Clayton. Portland took a 4-3 lead on a couple of Bronco errors an a kill by Lindburg. SCU laced together two points to get a 5-4 lead. Hess crushed it in the back row for a sideout. The teams tied it up five times before Portland scored four straight to take a 13-9 lead. Timeout Broncos.
Edwards smacked it down in the back court for a sideout, 21-15 Pilots. Portland added two more to push its lead to 23-15. Clayton's cross court kill cut the Pilot rally momentarily. Portland scored two more to close out the set 25-16. SCU hit -.179 with six kills and Portland hit .409 with 11 kills.
The teams battled back and forth in the third set, tying it up six times. Clayton's block solo was followed by her own cross court kill to put SCU up 8-6. Portland scored a couple to tie the match up for the seventh time at 8-8. A kill by Lacey Maas, an ace by Mead and an error by Portland made it 11-9 SCU. Portland scored a couple to tie it up 11-11. Clayton scored a sideout off the block, Edwards and Milton added a team block and Milton collected a kill to put SCU up 15-12. The teams traded sideouts, with Edwards adding a kill from the middle and Clayton tipping down the overpass, 17-14 SCU. Portland scored twice to pull within one, before SCU called for time, leading 17-16.
Coming out of the timeout, Mead scored on a dump and a team block by Maas and Mead made it 19-16 Broncos. Timeout Pilots. Rottman added an ace out of the timeout. Portland scored twice and the Broncos got the sideout after a long rally on a kill off a free ball, 21-18 SCU. Portland tacked on two before SCU called for time, up 21-20. A kill by Maas off the outstretched arms of a Pilot player gave SCU a sideout. Sarah Savoca smacked it way out, 23-20 SCU. After a Bronco service error, Maas scored a kill in the back for a Bronco sideout, 24-21. Milton crushed it down between two defenders for a 25-21 set three win. SCU hit .275 with 16 kills in set three and Portland hit .159 with 13 kills.
Hess and Clayton opened the fourth set with blistering back-row kills. The teams traded points twice as the Broncos went up 4-2. Portland scored five times, including an ace, to go up 7-4. Timeout Broncos. Maas and Hess scored kills between a Bronco error to pull within one, 8-7 Portland. Emily Liger scored a kill off the Bronco block for a sideout. Hess crushed it hard in the back row, then added a block solo and Mead and Edwards scored a team block to put SCU up 10-9. Portland scored twice, including an ace. Hess tied it up at 11 with a kill off the block. The teams tied it up twice before Portland marched ahead 15-13. The teams traded points with the Pilots going up three on a Bronco error and a team block, 18-15 Portland. Timeout Broncos.
SCU twice out of the timeout, including a block solo by Hess. Portland made its lead three and then Hess hit it long and Edwards crushed one, 21-19 Portland. A Bronco team block pulled SCU within one, but Sullivan scored a kill to get the ball back. Clayton scored back-to-back kills to tie it up at 22. Timeout Portland. Portland was whistled for a double-hit, but the Broncos collected back-to-back hitting errors to give Portland set point. Clayton tipped the ball down for a kill to tie it up at 24. Clayton scored off the team block to give SCU set point, leading 25-24. Timeout Portland. Mead collected her third ace of the night to score match point and the Broncos won the set and match 26-24. SCU hit .146 with 16 kills and Portland hit .114 with 10 kills.
