SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball played its second five-set contest in as many matches, and defeated Pacific 25-19, 21-25, 25-7, 20-25, 15-6 Thursday night in the Leavey Center. The Broncos hit .357 to record their best attack percentage in a West Coast Conference match this season and Kirsten Mead tied a season-high effort with 51 assists.
Santa Clara has won seven of its last eight matches and is 7-1 in eight home matches at the halfway point of conference play. Four Broncos hit .381 or better in the back-and-forth bout.
"I have a feeling that's going to be a typical type of match in WCC from here on out," head coach Jon Wallace said. "I'm proud of our girls — how hard they fought and the adjustments they made to turn the tide in our favor."
Pacific forced a deciding set with a 25-20 fourth-stanza victory, and Santa Clara quickly took control of the fifth frame. The Broncos (16-5, 7-2 WCC) got out to a 9-2 lead over the Tigers (13-7, 4-5 WCC) in a span that included four kills from Nikki Hess. The junior from Scottsdale, Ariz. tallied six kills in the final set, including the match-winner. She led all players with 19 kills and topped the team with 13 digs for a double-double.
The Broncos used a 5-0 run that featured two kills from Jensen Cunningham to take a 15-9 lead in the opening set. Pacific cut the deficit to two at 20-18 before Santa Clara won five of the next six points to claim the first frame, which Anna McCreadie finished off with a kill. Cunningham, McCreadie and Lacey Maas each tallied a match-high five total blocks in the victory.
"The girls played great defense. Dani Rottman and Kirsten Mead made plays and Anna McCreadie had some great blocks," Wallace said.
Santa Clara hit .536 in the opening set, and after Pacific won the second frame, the Broncos posted a .500 hitting percentage in a decisive third set. Cunningham had two kills while Hess added a kill and an ace as the Broncos won 10 of 11 points to begin the third frame. They held no less than an eight-point lead the rest of the way to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Broncos remain in third place in the WCC as BYU and San Diego swept their matches to improve to 8-1 in conference play. Santa Clara hosts Saint Mary's (6-13, 1-8) Saturday at 1 p.m. The Gaels were swept by San Francisco on the Hilltop Thursday.
"The girls did a great job today," Wallace said. "Now, our focus is on to Saint Mary's. We have to find a way to beat them on Saturday."
