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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball is set for its busiest stretch of 2015 West Coast Conference play, which features a span of three matches in five days this week. The Broncos travel to Moraga, Calif. to face Saint Mary's Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning to the Leavey Center for a 6 p.m. match Thursday against Portland and a 2 p.m. match Saturday against Gonzaga.
The Broncos defeated No. 10 BYU 3-1 last Saturday for the team's first win against a Top 10 opponent since 2005 as well as its fourth straight home victory over the Cougars. Santa Clara has appeared on the AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time this season, receiving three points on multiple ballots Monday.
SANTA CLARA (10-4, 1-1 WCC) at Saint Mary's (5-7, 0-2 WCC)
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 • 7 p.m. PDT
Game #15 • Away Game #5 • Moraga, Calif.
Live Stats: www.smcgaels.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml
Video: TheW.tv
Series: Santa Clara leads 47-22
Last Season: Oct. 23, 2014 in Moraga— Santa Clara won 3-1
Nov. 25, 2014 in Santa Clara — Santa Clara won 3-0
SANTA CLARA (10-4, 1-1 WCC) vs. Portland (11-3, 1-1 WCC)
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015 • 6 p.m. PDT
Game #15 • Home Game #6 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Stats: www.santaclara.statbroadcast.com
Video: TheW.tv
Series: Santa Clara leads 51-8
Last Season: Oct. 9, 2014 in Santa Clara— Santa Clara won 3-1
Nov. 8, 2014 in Portland — Santa Clara won 3-0
SANTA CLARA (10-4, 1-1 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (11-4, 2-0 WCC)
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015 • 2 p.m. PDT
Game #16 • Home Game #7 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Stats: www.santaclara.statbroadcast.com
Video: TheW.tv
Series: Santa Clara leads 46-10
Last Season: Oct. 10, 2014 in Spokane— Gonzaga won 3-2
Nov. 6, 2014 in Santa Clara — Santa Clara won 3-2
THE BRONCOS
In its first West Coast Conference match of the 2015 season, Santa Clara fell to San Diego 25-13, 18-25, 20-25, 17-25 Thursday night. The Broncos hit .583 in the opening set, the most decisive of the evening, and the Toreros rallied to take three straight sets en route to winning the match.
The Broncos snapped BYU's nine-match winning streak as part of the 15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20 victory over the 10th-ranked Cougars Saturday. The win marked the first time in 16 tries that Santa Clara defeated an opponent ranked in the Top 10. The Broncos recorded wins over No. 5 Stanford and No. 5 Arizona as part of their NCAA Tournament Final Four season in 2005. Their last Top 10 win in the regular season came against No. 10 Arizona on Sept. 4, 2003.
Kirsten Mead tallied 89 total assists and averaged 11.1 assists/set during the opening week of WCC play. She added eight kills and a .400 hitting percentage alongside 18 digs, six block assists and two service aces. Mead's 89 assists against San Diego and No. 10 BYU are the most for the Bronco sophomore in back-to-back matches this season.
Santa Clara is the only team in the WCC that has at least one player ranked in the conference's top three for all five major statistical categories (per set):
Aces — Sabrina Clayton 0.53/s (1st)
Kills — Nikki Hess 4.35/s (3rd)
Assists — Kirsten Mead 11.02/s (3rd)
Digs — Danielle Rottman 4.83/s (1st)
Blocks — Jensen Cunningham 1.31/s (2nd)
The next closest team is BYU, who has players ranked in the top three of three major statistical categories.
THE OPPONENTS
Saint Mary's won five of six matches in late August and early September to start the season at 5-2. The Gaels have faced touch competition in their last five outings, including three Pac-12 opponents in No. 8 Washington, Cal and No. 8 Stanford. Saint Mary's was swept by Portland and Gonzaga last weekend, and has lost 15 consecutive sets. Rob Browning is in his 11th season as head coach of the Gaels.
SMC Category Leaders in the WCC's Top 10
Hitting Percentage — Alexis Salmons .330 (7th)
Assists — Mary Hernandez 9.7/s (6th)
Service Aces — Lindsey Knudsen 0.44/s (3rd)
Digs — Madi Wilkerson 4.17/s (3rd)
Portland went on a 10-match winning streak in non-conference play in which the Pilots lost only six sets. They began WCC action with a sweep of Saint Mary's Thursday at home, followed by a 3-1 loss to No. 23 Pacific Saturday. The Pilots lead the WCC with 14.92 d/s. Brent Crouch is in his second season as head coach of Portland.
UP Category Leaders in the WCC's Top 10
Hitting Percentage — Brittney Markwith .350 (4th)
Kills — Emily Liger 4.14/s (4th)
Assists — Djurdjina Milovic 10.76/s (4th)
Blocks — Markwith 1.08/s (t-9th)
Digs — Hannah Troutman 3.64/s (8th)
Gonzaga has gone on three winning streaks of three matches or longer this season, including the team's current four-match winning streak ahead of this Thursday's contest at USF. The Bulldogs defeated No. 23 Pacific 2-1 Thursday and swept Saint Mary's Saturday — they are one of only two WCC teams to go 2-0 on opening week. Gonzaga ranks second in the WCC with 2.74 b/s. Dave Gantt is in his seventh season as head coach of the Bulldogs.
GU Category Leaders in the WCC's Top 10
Kills — Savannah Blinn 4.13/s (5th)
Assists — Faith Smith 6.17/s (10th)
Blocks — Paige Folger 1.23/s (5th)
Digs — Morgan Douglass 3.87/s (6th)
GO BRONCOS!
