SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara volleyball team continued its home dominance, sent its senior class out with a win and kept pace in the league race Saturday afternoon.
The Broncos (21-6, 12-3) rolled to a 27-25, 25-19, 25-13 sweep of Pepperdine and moved into a tie for second place in the West Conference standings after San Diego (19-8, 12-3) was upended 3-0 Saturday on the road at Portland. BYU (23-3, 13-2) leads by one game after escaping on the road vs. Gonzaga Saturday with a 3-2 win.
Junior Nikki Hess posted a match-high 19 kills and sophomore Kirsten Mead added a match-best 46 assists to lead the Broncos to their 11th win in 12 home matches this season. That win total ties a single-season school record and they swept the season series from Pepperdine (17-12, 8-8), as well as winning for the sixth time in the last seven outings.
"Our players have worked hard to defend Leavey Center and taken a lot of pride in doing that," head coach Jon Wallace said.
Seniors GiGi Cresto, Lacey Maas and Danielle Rottman, playing in their final home game, were recognized before the match.
"A great senior day and a great celebration. It was great to see them go out with a win and I'm very happy for them and their families," Wallace said.
The Broncos were pushed in the opening set before taking control of the match.
More than two points separated the teams on only one occasion in the first set. A kill by Maas, off a feed from Mead, increased the Bronco lead to 20-17, but the Waves, who were led by nine kills from Jenna Tunnell and 27 assists from Becca Strehlow, knotted the set four more times before a pair of attack errors gave the Broncos ended it at 27-25.
"That first set was either let's lose this so we can start playing better or eke it out and know that we were on thin ice," Wallace said. "Our girls have been responding really well all year."
The Broncos snapped an 11-all tie in the second with four straight points and extended the lead to 21-13 on a service ace by Hess.
In the third set, Pepperdine was within 7-6, but the Broncos reeled off the next eight points and never looked back.
Santa Clara has a showdown with BYU on Thursday. The teams will meet in Provo, Utah, at 6 p.m.
"We're playing really well right now and we're finding new ways to win," Wallace said.
