SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Coming off a tough five-set loss in its home-opening match against Pacific, Santa Clara volleyball hits the road for West Coast Conference tilts against Gonzaga and Portland this week. The Broncos are in a stretch of five matches in 10 days and play away from the Leavey Center in 17 of their first 18 matches this season.
Santa Clara faces the Bulldogs on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the Pilots on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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THE BRONCOS
Sabrina Clayton led the Bronco offense last weekend by posting 11 kills against both No. 13 BYU and No. 7 San Diego, then added 13 kills Tuesday night against Pacific. Clayton has double-digit kills in four straight matches and five of her last six matches overall.
Clayton is one of five Broncos with 13+ aces on the season alongside Nikki Hess (16), Mary Shepherd (15), Jensen Cunningham (14) 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 took 69 of Santa Clara's 164 attacking attempts against the Tigers and came away with a match-high 22 kills.
Laugero entered the second weekend conference play ranked second in the WCC with 4.58 digs/set and tied for a match-high 22 kills alongside Pacific's Lexi Elman. 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 .339 hitting percentage while Lindberg ranks fourth at .325. Lindberg's 58 total blocks are tops on the team and the Broncos are outblocking opponents 134-98 on the year. They have won the block battle in 11 of 15 matches.
The Broncos have played their last nine 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 3-6 without Mead.
Callie Jones has started the last nine matches at setter. The freshman totaled 331 assists for a 9.46 assist/set average over the last three weekends. She recorded 60 assists between two matches last week and matched a career-high with 47 assists against the Tigers.
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
The Bulldogs enter Thursday's match at 7-5 on the season, including an 0-2 mark in WCC action. Gonzaga fell in four sets against Saint Mary's last Thursday, then was swept by Portland on Saturday. They won four straight matches to start the season and six of their first seven contests overall, but are 1-4 in their last five tilts.
Emmy Allen and Mckayla Ferris are tied for fourth in the WCC with 3.67 kills/set. The Bulldogs are outblocking opponents 109-85. They have won nine of 12 first sets and are 3-1 in five-set matches.
The Pilots enter the weekend at 8-6 on the season, including a 1-1 record in WCC action. They host San Francisco on Thursday. Portland fell in four sets at Pacific last Thursday, then rebounded to defeat Saint Mary's in five sets on Saturday.
As a team, Portland ranks 9th in the NCAA in aces/set (1.81) and 10th in the NCAA in total aces (103); both marks are tops in the WCC. Cali Thompson has a team-high 21 aces.
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