SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Following a stretch of 14 straight matches away from home to start the season, Santa Clara volleyball returns to the Leavey Center Tuesday night for a West Coast Conference matchup against Pacific. The Broncos and Tigers take the court for first serve at 7 p.m. Tuesday marks the first match on Santa Clara's new Leavey Center floor, which features a one-of-a-kind design that incorporates an image of the iconic Mission church.

Santa Clara opened WCC play last weekend with a tough pair of road matches and fell at No. 13 BYU on Thursday and No. 7 San Diego on Saturday. The Broncos are in a stretch of five matches in 10 days at the outset of conference play.GAMDEDAY INFORMATN

THE BRONCOS

Sabrina Clayton led the Bronco offense last weekend by posting 11 kills against both BYU and San Diego. She is one of five Broncos with 13+ aces on the season alongside Nikki Hess (15), Mary Shepherd (15), Jensen Cunningham (13) and Taylor Laugero (13). Clayton, who has 15 aces this year, has led the WCC in aces/set in each of the last two seasons. Hess has a team-high 174 kills.

Laugero enters the second weekend conference play ranked second in the WCC with 4.58 digs/set. She ranked fifth in the NCAA in digs/set after the first weekend of the season and third after the second weekend. The freshman had 20+ digs in four straight matches Aug. 27-Sept. 3. Her 32 digs Sept. 3 against Auburn tied for fourth-most in single-match program history during the rally scoring era.

Middle blockers Cunningham and Hailey Lindberg are among the conference's most efficient hitters. Cunningham ranks third in the WCC with a .344 hitting percentage while Lindberg ranks fourth at .333. Lindberg's 53 total blocks are tops on the team and the Broncos are outblocking opponents 120.5-91 on the year.

The Broncos have played their last eight matches without 2015 AVCA All-Pacific North Region and First Team All-WCC selection Kirsten Mead. She suffered an ankle injury in practice prior to the Cal Classic Sept. 9-10, which the Broncos won by defeating Grand Canyon, West Virginia and Cal. Mead averaged 11.3 assists/set (249 total) and 2.55 digs/set (56 total) alongside three double-doubles in six matches. The Broncos hit .259 and went 6-0 with Mead in the lineup; they have hit .201 and gone 3-5 without Mead.

Callie Jones has started the last eight matches at setter. The freshman totaled 284 assists for a 9.47 assist/set average over the last three weekends. She recorded 60 assists between two matches last weekend.

VB | After 14 matches away from home to start the season, the Broncos host Pacific Tuesday night at 7 p.m.! TICKETS: https://t.co/HfmYb7NFB8 pic.twitter.com/gtFXmywsWq

— Santa Clara Broncos (@SCUBroncos) September 27, 2016

SCU SEASON NOTES

• Santa Clara began the year with its best start in program history at 9-0, which marks just the fourth time in the 54-year program history that the Broncos started 6-0 or better. The team's previous best start was 7-0 in 2005, when it reached the NCAA Tournament's Final Four. The Broncos clinched their best start to a season with a four-set win over West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Cal Classic.

• Santa Clara's nine straight regular season match wins in 2016 (10 straight dating back to the 2015 regular season finale against Pacific) marked the longest streak since the team won 15 matches in a row in 2005.

• Santa Clara defeated No. 7 USC 3-1 on Aug. 27. The Trojans are the highest-ranked team the Broncos have defeated in SCU regular season history. Santa Clara defeated No. 5 Arizona and No. 5 Stanford in back-to-back weeks during the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

• Kirsten Mead took home her second career West Coast Conference Player of the Week award Aug. 29.

• Santa Clara played its first 14 contests away from the Leavey Center, which matches the longest stretch to start a season in program history. The Broncos had six true road matches and eight neutral site contests leading up to Tuesday's home opener. They had 14 straight contests away from home to start the 2012 campaign, and went 10-4 to open the season.

• The Broncos have earned three Tournament MVP awards and 10 All-Tournament team selections in the first four weeks of the season:
  • USC Baden Invitational: Kirsten Mead (MVP), Nikki Hess, Taylor Laugero
  • Active Ankle Challenge: Jensen Cunningham (MVP), Nikki Hess, Hailey Lindberg
  • Cal Classic: Nikki Hess (MVP), Hailey Lindberg, Taylor Odom
  • Boise State Invitational: Nikki Hess

PACIFIC

The Tigers enter the match at 8-6 on the season, including a 2-0 record in WCC action. They opened up conference play with a 3-1 win over Portland last Thursday and a sweep over Gonzaga last Saturday. Pacific has won five of its last six matches.

Katrin Gotterba leads the WCC in total digs (252) and digs/set (4.85). Andie Shelton ranks first in the conference with 525 total assists and Ashley Fleming tops all WCC players with 61 total blocks.

MORE INFO 

Dick's Sporting Goods Conference Home Opener

Student Promotion: Students from orientation can redeem vouchers at the marketing table to receive their cell phone wallet sleeve with proof of download and account activation of Ruff Riders Rewards app. 

Giveaway (All Fans While Supplies Last): First game on new Nike designed court - postcard giveaway at the door.

Tickets: Season or single-game tickets are available. Click here to purchase online or contact the ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Group discounts are also available through our ticket office sales and service consultants. Doors to the Leavey Center, as well as its ticket office, are open one hour prior to the start of the match. 

Parking: For weekday matches, the Leavey Center lot, located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is free beginning one hour prior to first serve. Any other parking facility on campus will be subject to normal daily rates or restrictions, including the main structure, located adjacent to Stevens Stadium on Palm Drive. During the weekend, campus parking facilities are free (except for permit required locations). Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions.

Connect with the Broncos on Social Media

Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Volleyball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Go Broncos!