PROVO, Utah — In its 13th straight match away from home to start the season, Santa Clara volleyball was swept by No. 13 BYU Thursday night. The Broncos and Cougars met up for the first West Coast Conference match of the year at Smith Fieldhouse.
Sabrina Clayton topped Santa Clara with 11 kills and Callie Jones had 31 assists alongside a team-high eight digs. The Broncos (9-4, 0-1 WCC) tallied 10 blocks to BYU's eight; Hailey Lindberg and Taylor Odom each recorded five total blocks.
Lacy Haddock had a match-high 14 kills for the Cougars (12-1, 1-0 WCC) and her twin sister Lyndie Haddock led all players with 38 assists. Mary Lake turned in a match-high 11 digs.
BYU got out to a fast start in the first set by winning three of the first four points and using a 5-0 run, including two kills and a block solo by Whitney Howard, to take an 8-2 lead. Trailing 10-3, the Broncos won six of the next seven points to cut the deficit to 11-8; Sabrina Clayton had three of her five first frame kills during that stretch. Lacy Haddock closed out the set with a block of Lindberg.
Santa Clara seized the early lead in the second frame, and led by as many as four at 12-8 after winning five points in a row. The Cougars took 13 of the next 18 points to pull in front 21-17 and outlasted the Broncos to claim the 56-point set prior to the break. The Broncos outhit the Cougars .188 to .102 in the second stanza, in which BYU committed 13 attack errors.
The Cougars hit .438 in the final frame en route to completing the sweep. Neither side went up by more than two until late in the set, when BYU led 17-15 and used an 8-2 stretch to complete the victory.
Thursday marked the first sweep defeat for Santa Clara in 36 matches going back to a loss against No. 4 Texas on Sept. 11, 2015. The Broncos held without an ace for the first time in 45 matches since an NCAA Tournament contest against Oregon on Dec. 4, 2014.
Santa Clara plays its second straight road match against a ranked opponent when it heads to San Diego for a Saturday tilt with the No. 7 Toreros at Noon.
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