BERKELEY, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball is off to the best start in program history following two victories Saturday to win the Cal Classic. The 19th-ranked Broncos opened with a 16-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-21 win over West Virginia, then extended their perfect mark to 9-0 with a 16-25, 25-19, 25-13, 29-27 win against Cal at Haas Pavilion.
The Broncos swept Grand Canyon Friday night and won all three matches at the Bears' two-day tournament. Nikki Hess earned Tournament MVP honors while Hailey Lindberg and Taylor Odom were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Hess led the Broncos with 34 kills and six aces over three matches. She added 35 digs — second only to libero Taylor Laugero. Lindberg hit a team-high .403 with 31 kills and 10 total blocks. Odom had eight kills and led the Broncos with 15 blocks (three solo, 12 assists).
Santa Clara's previous best start to a season was 7-0 in 2005 as part of the team's most successful campaign. The Broncos finished 27-5 that year and reached the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 19 SANTA CLARA 3, WEST VIRGINIA 1
Sabrina Clayton (18 kills, 13 digs) and Hess (16 kills, 13 digs) each tallied their fourth double-doubles of the year. In her second career start, freshman Callie Jones had 41 assists. Laugero finished with 18 digs and Mary Shepherd added 14.
In the second set, Clayton bookended an early 5-0 run with kills to give the Broncos a 10-6 advantage. Santa Clara led 23-18 and Cal got itself back in the set on a 5-0 stretch to level the score. Kills from Clayton put the Broncos on set point at 24-23 and 25-24 before Jensen Cunningham and Lindberg combined for a block of West Virginia's Payton Caffrey to clinch the second stanza.
Santa Clara had a pair of key runs in the third set — the first one put them up 6-2 and the second one turned a one-point lead into a 21-15 edge. The Broncos hit .333 as a team in the stanza. They never trailed in the fourth set en route to closing out the match.
The Mountaineers (4-4) broke an 8-8 first set tie with a 9-3 run to take control of the frame and grab the early lead. Caffrey led all players with 20 kills and five aces while Gianna Gotterba had a match-high 25 digs. West Virginia hit .406 in the first set and was held to a .178 hitting percentage for the rest of the afternoon.
NO. 19 SANTA CLARA 3, CAL 1
Lindberg posted 12 kills and Hess chipped in 10 along with 16 digs for the Broncos. Jones posted 36 assists and eight digs. Laugero registered a team-best 18 digs.
The Bears (5-3) nearly sent the match to a fifth set despite trailing 23-15 in the fourth. Christine Alftin, who had a match-best 15 kills as well as 10 digs, led the comeback. Her seventh kill of the set knotted the score at 24-all and Cal went on set point at 25-24 after an attack error by Clayton. The Broncos won the next two points and broke a 27-27 tie on two attack errors from Cal's Maddie Haynes to win the match.
Santa Clara trailed 3-0 in the third set before scoring 11 of the next 13 points to take control. They outhit Cal .250 to -.026 in the team's most decisive set since it took a 25-11 second frame over No. 7 USC in the second match of the season.
After winning the opening stanza, the Bears held an early lead in the second before the Broncos tied the score at 9-all. Santa Clara then tallied nine of the next 10 points with Lindberg accounting for three via kills. Cal never got closer than five for the rest of the set.
The Broncos posted a .149 hitting percentage in the nightcap, including a match-high .333 from Lindberg. The Bears hit at a .080 clip.
UP NEXT
Santa Clara plays its final three nonconference matches of the regular season at next week's Boise State Classic. They begin with a Friday doubleheader against Arizona State and Boise State, followed by a Saturday tilt against UC Davis.
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Go Broncos!
