Scoring a match-high 22 kills with 14 digs and three aces, Nikki Hess led Santa Clara to a 3-1 victory at WCC rival Saint Mary's on Thursday night. Set scores were 25-20, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-18. The Broncos move to 16-6 and 6-3 in the WCC and Saint Mary's is 6-13 and 2-7 in the WCC.
"We kept them on their heels tonight, but we did some really nice things tonight as well," said Bronco head coach Jon Wallace. "Chloe did a nice job of making good decisions. The decisions and the maturity of Sabrina and Nikki was really amazing tonight. They were really good. We are very solid right now with Dani as our libero. She isn't just passing the ball well, but she is giving a lot of confidence with her passing offensively. It is giving us a lot of stability."
The Broncos hit .274 with 59 kills (16 e, 157 att.). They collected 53 assists, eight aces, three service errors, 72 digs and 10 team blocks.
Hess hit .360 with 22 kills (4 e, 50 att.). Sabrina Clayton scored 17 kills, hitting .244 (6 e, 45 att.). Taylor Milton clinched the match with a kill, collecting on the night.
Chloe Sliger scored 47 assists, nine digs, a block solo and four block assists. "Chloe stepping in to the moment and doing her job was really special tonight," said Wallace.
Danielle Rottman continued to pace the defense with a match-high 27 digs, adding two aces and three assists.
The Gaels hit .233 with 59 kills (22 e, 159 att.). They collected 54 assists, five aces, seven service errors, 68 digs and 9 team blocks.
SMC had four players with double digit kills: Clare Powers (15), Samantha Tinsley (12), Alexis Salmons (11) and Natalie Loos (10. Dalas Dodd collected 44 assists and Madi Wilkerson added 20 digs.
The teams were tied up six times before Saint Mary's took a 15-13 lead on a kill by Loos. The Broncos scored five straight to go up 18-15, including an ace by Hess. The Broncos took a 20-16 lead on an 8-1 run when Saint Mary's called for time. A kill by Clayton put the Broncos up five, 22-17. The Broncos scored two of the next three on kills by Clayton and Hess, snaring set point, up 24-19. A team block by the Gaels was followed by a kill by Hess as the Broncos won set one 25-20. Hess scored seven kills and two Gaels scored five kills each.
The Broncos took an early 5-2 lead in the second set, including another kill by Hess. The Broncos marched ahead to a 8-5 lead team block by Edwards and Sliger. The teams tied it up four times moving forward. SMC scored two points and then a kill by Hess got the Broncos the ball back, down 14-13. Kills by Hess and Clayton tied it up and a team block by Edwards and Sliger gave SCU a 16-15 advantage. The teams tied it up two more times, but kills by Natasha Calkins and Clayton put SCU up two, 19-17. A kill by Dodd and an ace by her as well tied it up 19-19. Timeout Broncos. Milton crushed the ball for a sideout, but SMC scored a couple more to take a 22-19 lead when SCU called for time again. SMC outscored the Broncos to win set two 25-22 on a kill by Powers.
SMC rallied to take a 4-2 lead in the third set, but the Broncos scored a couple to tie it up 4-4 on a kill by Hess and an error by Loos. Scoring five straight, a kill by Clayton made it 9-6 Broncos. Kills by Milton, Calkins and another by Hess pushed the Bronco lead to 15-9. A kill by Hess made it 17-11 SCU. The Broncos scored straight, including a kill by Clayton, before SMC called for time. Mary Shepherd scored an ace out of the timeout, 19-12 SCU. A kill by Alexis Salmons brought SMC within three, down 20-17, but SCU scored five of the next eight to win the third set 25-20. A kill by Hess clinched the third set.
The two teams were tied five times to start the fourth set. After kill by Hess and an attack error by Salmons, the Broncos led 7-5. The Gaels tied it up, but the Broncos continued to score, taking a 11-8 lead on a Milton kill. SMC tied it up 12-12 by scoring four of the next five. The Broncos scored four of the next five to take a 16-13 lead on a team block by Edwards and Clayton. Clayton scored a kill and SMC collected a couple of hitting errors to make it 19-14 SCU. Timeout Saint Mary's. SCU scored three of the next four, but a kill by Tinsley gave SMC a sideout with SCU leading 21-16. The Broncos scored two of the next three, taking a 23-17 lead on back-to-back kills by Clayton, with SMC calling for time. Milton clinched the set and the match with the final kill, helping SCU to a 25-18 victory.
