PORTLAND, Ore. — Santa Clara volleyball battled back after trailing by one set twice Saturday afternoon in the Chiles Center, and ultimately fell to Portland 20-25, 25-13, 18-25, 25-22, 6-15. Three Broncos set career highs on the afternoon including Danielle Rottman with 34 digs, the third-most in program history for a single match.
The Broncos (18-6, 9-3 WCC) remain in second place in the West Coast Conference behind co-leaders BYU and San Diego (both 9-2). The Cougars swept the Toreros Friday night in the only match this week for both teams. Santa Clara's last two losses have come in five-set matches.
The Pilots (13-10, 3-8) won six straight points to take a 12-6 lead at the outset of the match, and led by at least four the rest of the way in a first-set victory. Emily Liger had four of her team-high 20 kills in the first set. Djurdjina Milovic tallied 49 assists for Portland.
Anna McCreadie helped the Broncos seize momentum early in the second set. The freshman notched kills on the first two points and totaled four kills as Santa Clara took a 9-2 lead. McCreadie finished the stanza with six kills and had a career-high 14 kills for the match.
After Portland won the third set, Santa Clara broke a 20-20 tie with a 4-0 run, including a kill by Sabrina Clayton and three kills by Nikki Hess, on its way to forcing a fifth set. Clayton had six of her career-high and match-high 22 kills in the fourth set alongside 12 digs. She joined Hess (15 kills, 17 digs) and Kirsten Mead (season-high 52 assists, 19 digs) as the three Broncos with double-doubles Saturday.
Hannah Troutman's three kills helped the Pilots pull ahead 7-2 in the decisive set, and Portland led by at least five on its way to winning the match. The Pilots had a 14-4 advantage in blocks on the afternoon, including a 9-1 edge in the final three sets.
Rottman's 34 digs are the most in a single match for Santa Clara since Caroline Walters had 33 against LMU on Oct. 22, 2004. Lia Young set the program record for digs in a single match with 38 in 1993.
The Broncos return home for their only match of next week Thursday against San Francisco (16-9, 3-9).
