SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball begins its longest road trip of the season when it heads to Albuquerque, N.M. for this weekend's Lobo Classic. The Broncos face host New Mexico Friday, Sept. 4 at 6:30 p.m. PDT, followed by Saturday, Sept. 5 matchups with SMU (9:30 a.m.) and Cal State Fullerton (4 p.m.). Santa Clara plays its next nine matches away from the Leavey Center through late September.
THE SLATE
SANTA CLARA at New Mexico
Friday, Sept. 4, 2015 • 6:30 p.m.
Game #4 • Road Game #1 • Albuquerque, N.M.
Series: New Mexico leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 1994 in Albuquerque — New Mexico won 3-0
SANTA CLARA vs. SMU
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 • 9:30 a.m.
Game #5 • Neutral Game #1 • Albuquerque, N.M.
Series: Santa Clara leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 2011 in Austin, Texas — Santa Clara Won 3-2
SANTA CLARA vs. Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 • 4 p.m.
Game #6 • Neutral Game #2 • Albuquerque, N.M.
Series: Tied 9-9
Last Meeting: Aug. 24, 2007 in Santa Clara — Santa Clara Won 3-0
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Stats: www.lobostats.com
Live Video (UNM match only): www.campusinsiders.com/network/mw/live
Twitter: @SCUBroncos
THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara swept all three matches it played at the Santa Clara Tournament last weekend (Friday, Aug. 28/Saturday, Aug. 29):
The Broncos defeated Weber State 25-20, 25-21, 26-24 Friday night in their first home-opening match since 2004. Kirsten Mead (38 assists, 11 digs) and Nikki Hess (18 kills, 11 digs) each started the new campaign with double-doubles. (MATCH RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS)
Santa Clara delivered its second sweep in as many matches when it defeated Rutgers 25-21, 25-13, 25-19 Saturday morning. The Broncos built up at least an eight-point lead in all three sets to improve to 2-0 on the young season. They led the entire way in the first two sets and trailed for only three points of the final set, while never facing a deficit greater than one point. (MATCH RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS)
The Broncos overcame a late first-set deficit and closed out the second set with a 6-0 run en route to defeating UC Riverside 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 Saturday night. The Broncos were the only team in the SCU/San Jose State Tournament and the only team in the West Coast Conference to go undefeated on opening weekend without dropping a set. (MATCH RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS)
Hess, a 2015 preseason All-WCC selection, hit .337 and posted 47 kills for a 5.22 kills/set average alongside 26 digs — she averaged just under 16 kills/match. Mead, also a 2015 preseason All-WCC selection, notched 105 assists and set the Broncos to a .302 hitting percentage in their first three contests. Danielle Rottman tops the Broncos with 43 digs and Jensen Cunningham leads the team with 12 total blocks.
Head coach Jon Wallace is in his 17th season with the Broncos. He enters the weekend with a 311-168 career head coaching record (.649 winning percentage).
THE OPPONENTS
New Mexico went 2-1 at the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge on opening weekend. The Lobos defeated Belmont 3-0 and Albany 3-1 Friday, before falling to the host Cardinals 3-2 on Saturday. New Mexico's balanced offense features three players with 30+ kills: Simone Henderson (38), Devanne Sours (34) and Cassie House (32). Jeff Nelson is in his ninth season as head coach of the Lobos.
SMU went 2-1 last week as host of the SMU Doubletree Classic; the Mustangs defeated UTEP 3-1 and fell to Arizona 3-1 Friday night, then swept Texas State 3-0 Saturday night. Morgan Heise is the reigning American Athletic Conference player of the week. She produced 80 digs in three matches on opening weekend, including 36 in the Mustangs' match against the Wildcats. Lisa Seifert is in her 20th season as head coach of the Mustangs.
Cal State Fullerton fell in all three matches last weekend as co-host of the 2015 Long Beach State/CSF Baden Invitational: 3-0 against Duke Friday night, followed by a 3-2 loss against Alabama and 3-0 loss against Saint Mary's Saturday. Mackenzie Olsen tops the team with 93 assists and Kyra Smith has 11 total blocks entering the weekend. Ashley Preston is in her first season as head coach of the Titans.
BRONCO RETURNERS
The Broncos return four starters and a libero from last year's team, including a 2014 All-WCC First Team selection in Hess and the 2014 WCC Freshman of the Year in Mead. Santa Clara was picked to take second place in the WCC preseason poll.
Hess played in 31 of the team's 32 matches last year and led the Broncos with 405 kills for a 3.68 kpg average. She also recorded 242 digs for a 2.20 dpg average.
Mead played in 30 matches during her collegiate debut season and notched a team-high 1,255 assists. She finished second in the nation in assists per set with 11.94, just behind category leader Madi Bugg of Stanford at 12.1. Mead recorded five double-doubles (assists and digs) while posting 50+ assists nine times last season.
Three additional Broncos return to the roster after seasons in which they played 111 or more sets last year: senior Danielle Rottman alongside juniors Sabrina Clayton and Mary Shepherd.
BRONCO NEWCOMERS
The Broncos welcome three freshmen to the squad for the 2015 campaign: Hailey Lindberg, Anna McCreadie and Taylor Odom.
A 6-foot-2 outside hitter/middle blocker, Lindberg was a four-year varsity starter and 2014 team captain for coach J.J. Utchen at Monte Vista High School. She led the Mustangs to their first East Bay Athletic League championship in 19 years with a 13-0 league record (27-6 overall) last season on her way to earning first-team All-EBAL honors. She was named to the 2014 AVCA All-American Watch List and ended her senior year averaging three kills/set while hitting .440.
A standout off the court as well, Lindberg was a four-year academic All-American, named to the National Honor Society and served three years in school government.
Odom, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, attended Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, Wash., where she captained the 2014 squad to an undefeated 9-0 record in the 1A Emerald City League standings. Her team competed in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) 1A playoffs and finished the season with a 13-4 record.
In 2013, Odom earned first-team All-Emerald City honors after leading her team to the state playoffs for the first time since 2005.
McCreadie, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter, played all four years on the varsity squad for head coach Bonnie Foote at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Wash. She directed the Wildcats to a 12-6 record in 2014, their first at the 4A level, and earned KingCo 4A co-MVP honors.
The KingCo 4A league leader in kills with 303 on the season, McCreadie totaled 68 kills in back-to-back five-set matches last season. She tied a school record with 37 kills in a match against Bothel on Oct. 7 and followed that with 31 against Inglemoor on Oct. 9.
Away from the game, McCreadie served as Mount Si Associated Student Body president, following in the footsteps of her mother, Susan, who was also the ASB president at Mount Si in 1987.
2015 SCHEDULE
Santa Clara began the season with three home matches in the Santa Clara/San Jose State Tournament. Following opening weekend, the Broncos hit the road for three consecutive tournaments: the Lobo Classic Sept. 4-5, Texas Classic Sept. 10-11 and Sacramento State Invitational Sept. 18-19. Among the highlights of their road trip is a stop in the Lone Star State to face AVCA preseason No. 3 Texas Friday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
The Broncos play three matches in a two-day span during four consecutive weekends leading up to West Coast Conference play, which begins Sept. 24 against San Diego in the Leavey Center. Two days later, Santa Clara hosts 2014 national runner-up and 2015 WCC favorite BYU in their second conference contest of the season.
The Broncos make their way out to Provo during the homestretch of the year for a Nov. 24 contest against the Cougars and continue on to San Diego two days later to face the Toreros in their second-to-last match of the regular season. Also on the conference docket is a Halloween night matchup at Portland.
GO BRONCOS!
