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SANTA CLARA, Calif. —Santa Clara volleyball returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many seasons and third time in the last four years this weekend. The Broncos travel to Los Angeles for a first-round matchup with Michigan Friday at 5:30 p.m. PST in the John Wooden Center. The winner takes on either No. 14 UCLA or Lipscomb Saturday at 7 p.m. for a second-round matchup.
The Broncos (22-8, 13-5 WCC) are looking for their first NCAA Tournament victory since a five-set win over Kansas State in 2008. They won 20 games or more under head coach Jon Wallace for the ninth time this season, and are headed to the postseason for the 13th time in Wallace's tenure. Their .733 winning percentage is the best since 2006 and .722 winning percentage in West Coast Conference play is the best since 2007.
SANTA CLARA (22-8, 13-5 WCC) vs. Michigan (19-12, 9-11 Big 10)
Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 • 5:30 p.m. PST
Game #31 • Neutral Game #6 • Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats: cstv.com/gametracker
Live Video: pac-12.com/live
Series: Michigan Leads 2-1
First Meeting: 1992 — Michigan Won 3-1 | Last Meeting 2011 — Michigan Won 3-1
If Santa Clara Defeats Michigan:
vs. No. 14 UCLA (23-7, 14-6 Pac-12) or Lipscomb (23-8, 13-1 Atlantic Sun)
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 • 7 p.m. PST
Game #32 • Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats: cstv.com/gametracker
Live Video: pac-12.com/live
Series: UCLA Leads 4-1 | SCU, Lipscomb Have Not Met
First Meeting: 1984 — UCLA Won 2-0 | Last Meeting 2013 — UCLA Won 3-1
THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara played 116 points in the first two sets against Pacific in the regular season finale Tuesday, Nov. 24 at the Spanos Center, and split the pair of stanzas that each went past the 25-point mark. The Broncos dominated the Tigers after the break and rolled to a 32-30, 26-28, 25-15, 25-10 West Coast Conference victory.
In their last two postseason appearances, the Broncos fell in the first round against Hawai'i 3-0 in 2012 and Oregon 3-0 in 2014. They are 7-15 all-time in the tournament.
THE OPPONENTS
Michigan won 10 straight matches to start the year and finished in ninth place in the highly-competitive Big 10. The Wolverines played 12 games against ranked opponents and went 3-9 in those contests. They won three of their last four games against ranked opposition, including a 3-1 victory at then-No. 4 Penn State on Nov. 18. The Wolverines ranked second in the Big 10 in digs, kills and assists.
The Broncos' only win over the Wolverines was a 3-2 victory on Sept. 14, 2002 at the Nebraska U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic.
UCLA won nine of its first 10 matches this season and took fourth place in one of the toughest conferences in the country this season. The Pac-12 features three Top 10 teams: Washington (1), USC (2), Stanford (6). In their second-to-last match of the regular season, the Bruins dealt USC its second loss of the year. Jordan Anderson ranks 15th in the NCAA with 4.49 kills/set.
Lipscomb closed out the regular season by winning 10 in a row and 15 of its last 16 contests, including regular season and tournament titles in conference play. The Bisons lost only one match between October and November. Kayla Ostrom ranks 2nd in the NCAA with 12.1 assists/set.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE AWARDS
After one of the most successful regular season campaigns in recent memory, five Broncos received All-West Coast Conference honors, announced by the WCC Tuesday. Junior Nikki Hess and sophomore Kirsten Mead were named First Team All-WCC and Anna McCreadie was named to the All-Freshman team. Senior Danielle Rottman and junior Sabrina Clayton picked up Honorable Mention accolades.
Hess and Clayton have earned an all-conference award in three consecutive years. Mead — the 2014 WCC Freshman of the Year — and Rottman have been recognized by the WCC for the second straight season.
Go Broncos!
