SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball begins its final road swing of the 2015 season with matchups at West Coast Conference-leading BYU Thursday and San Diego Saturday. The Broncos played their first two 2015 conference matches against the Toreros and Cougars at home in late September, and have been battling for WCC positioning with this week's opponents for the latter half of the season.
At 13-2 in conference play, the No. 12 Cougars are in first place entering the week. The Broncos and Toreros are tied for second place at 12-3 in the WCC. Santa Clara fell 3-1 to San Diego in the conference opener Sept. 24 and defeated then-No. 10 BYU 3-1 on Sept. 26.
"We are making our sprint to give our best shot at winning the conference," head coach Jon Wallace said. "The great thing about this group is that we are approaching each match as its own entity and right now we're focused on BYU and getting ready to play with our best effort against them."
SANTA CLARA (21-6, 12-3 WCC) at No. 12 BYU (23-3, 13-2)
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 • 6 p.m. PST
Game #28 • Away Game #11 • Provo, Utah
Live Stats: byu.statbroadcast.com
Video: BYUtv
Series: BYU leads 6-4
Previous Meeting: Sept. 26, 2015 in Santa Clara — Santa Clara won 3-1
Last Season: Oct. 4, 2014 in Provo — BYU won 3-0
Oct. 30, 2014 in Santa Clara — Santa Clara won 3-0
SANTA CLARA (21-6, 12-3 WCC) at San Diego (19-8, 12-3)
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 • Noon PST
Game #29 • Away Game #12 • San Diego, Calif.
Live Stats: sandiego.statbroadcast.com
Video: TheW.tv
Series: Santa Clara leads 34-31
Previous Meeting: Sept. 24, 2015 in Santa Clara — San Diego won 3-1
Last Season: Oct. 2, 2014 in San Diego — Santa Clara won 3-1
Nov. 1, 2014 in Santa Clara — Santa Clara won 3-2
THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara recorded its 20th win of the season Thursday night by sweeping Loyola Marymount 30-28, 25-22, 25-15 in the Leavey Center. The Broncos also picked up their 10th home win in the West Coast Conference victory.
Santa Clara has hit the 20-win mark for the third time in the last four seasons and ninth time in Jon Wallace's 17 seasons as head coach. The Broncos reached the NCAA Tournament in each of Wallace's other eight seasons when they won at least 20 games.
Santa Clara continued its home dominance, sent its senior class out with a win and kept pace in the league race Saturday afternoon. The Broncos 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 was upended 3-0 Saturday on the road at Portland.
The Broncos won their 11th home match of the year, which tied a single-season program record set in 1998. They finished the home campaign at 11-1; their only loss was in the WCC opener against San Diego.
Santa Clara has players ranked in the top four of five different major statistical categories in the WCC (per set), the most of all conference teams:
Aces — Sabrina Clayton 0.48/s (1st) | Kirsten Mead 0.38/s (3rd)
Kills — Nikki Hess 4.05/s (4th)
Assists — Mead 11.2/s (2nd)
Digs — Danielle Rottman 4.92/s (1st)
Blocks — Lacey Maas 1.33/s (2nd) | Jensen Cunningham 1.15/s (5th)
The next closest teams are BYU and Pacific; the Cougars and Tigers have players ranked in the top five of three major statistical categories. Clayton ranks 10th in the nations in aces/set and Mead ranks 24th in the nation in assists/set.
THE COUGARS
BYU is one of 11 teams in the country with three losses or fewer entering the week. The Cougars have won five matches in a row and 12 of their last 13 contests overall. They are 9-0 at Smith Fieldhouse this season. BYU defeated Portland 3-1 Thursday and Gonzaga 3-2 Saturday to close out its 2015 road slate last week.
BYU Category Leaders in the WCC's Top 10
Hitting Percentage — Amy Boswell .384 (1st)
Kills — Alexa Gray 4.91/s (1st)
Assists — Camry Willardson 9.16/s (8th)
Aces — Boswell 0.33/s (4th)
Blocks — Boswell 1.41/s (1st)
Digs — Ciara Parker 3.92/s (6th)
THE TOREROS
San Diego has won three of its last four matches entering the week, and hosts San Francisco this Thursday night. The Toreros were upset by Portland 3-0 in the Chiles Center last Saturday night. Their only other conference losses were both against BYU. San Diego has also been a steady home team this season; the Toreros are 9-1 in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
USD Category Leaders in the WCC's Top 10
Kills — Lisa Kramer 4.38/s (3rd)
Assists — Kristen Gengenbacher 9.75/s (6th)
Blocks — Addie Picha 1.12/s (8th)
Digs — Hunter Jennings 4.31/s (2nd)
Go Broncos!