SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball has three wins in its last four matches, and looks to keep that stretch going this week with matchups at Pacific on Thursday and Saint Mary's on Saturday. The Broncos are coming off a home split last week, which started with a loss against Loyola Marymount followed by a dominant victory over Pepperdine.
THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara lost for the first time in three matches in a 25-14, 25-19, 25-19 contest against Loyola Marymount last Thursday. The Broncos rebounded to beat Pepperdine 28-30, 25-10, 25-11, 25-14 on Saturday — they outscored the Waves 75-35 over the last three sets. Nikki Hess hit .333 with a match-high 19 kills, Jensen Cunningham added 15 kills and Taylor Odom set a new career-best mark with 10 block assists on Saturday.
As a team, the Broncos recorded 12 service aces, 28 block assists and 14 total blocks against Pepperdine. All three of those figures are match-high efforts for the season. Santa Clara also had 28 block assists and 14 total blocks Sept. 27 vs. Pacific.
Nikki Hess has double-digit kills in five of her last six matches, including a season-high 22 against Pacific Sept. 27. Sabrina Clayton has double-digit kills in 13 of 20 matches and multiple aces in four of her last six matches — she ranks fifth in the WCC with 0.31 aces/set. Hailey Lindberg has hit .300 or better 11 times on the year and leads the team with 70 total blocks alongside Jensen Cunningham.
Taylor Laugero ranks second in the WCC with 4.40 digs/set. She has posted double-digit digs in 17 of 20 matches this season and topped the 20-dig mark seven times. She ranked fifth in the NCAA in digs/set after the first weekend of the season and third after the second weekend. Her 32 digs Sept. 3 against Auburn tied for fourth-most in single-match program history during the rally scoring era.
Callie Jones has started the last 14 matches at setter in place of the injured Kirsten Mead. The Phoenix native has totaled 511 assists for a 9.76 assist/set average since entering the starting lineup. She had 42 assists and set the Broncos to a .326 hitting percentage against Pepperdine. Her 9.46 assists/set are good for third in the WCC.
Mead, a 2015 AVCA All-Pacific North Region and First Team All-WCC selection, 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 .216 and gone 6-8 without Mead.
As a team, the Broncos have held four of their last six opponents to less than a .200 hitting percentage (Pacific .194, Portland .181, USF .111, Pepperdine .132). They held their first five opponents this season to below .200.
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 their home opener against Pacific, and posted a 9-5 record in that stretch. They had 14 straight contests away from home to start the 2012 campaign, and went 10-4 to open the season.
- The Broncos 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 Tigers enter the weekend at 11-9 overall and 5-3 in WCC play. They defeated the Broncos in five sets on Sept. 27. Pacific swept Saint Mary's in its only match of last week on Oct. 15. Pacific is tied for third in the conference standings with LMU.
Katrin Gotterba leads the conference with 358 total digs and 4.71 digs/set. As a team, the Tigers are second in the WCC in digs/set (15.46) and total blocks (180.5).
The Gaels enter the week at 8-11 overall and 3-5 in WCC play. They are the only WCC team Santa Clara has not faced this season. Saint Mary's has been swept in three straight matches against three of the conference's top teams in BYU, San Diego and Pacific. The team hosts San Francisco Thursday night.
Lindsey Knudsen leads the team with 198 kills (2.96/set) on the season. Emily Bible has 19 service aces (0.31/set).
