Volleyball Hosts San Francisco Friday for Senior Day, Home Finale

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball plays its final home match of the 2018 season Friday night in a West Coast Conference battle against San Francisco. First serve is set for 6 p.m. The Broncos will honor Hailey Lindberg, Taylor Odom and Tatiana San Juan prior to their Senior Day match. 

The Broncos (6-22, 1-15 WCC) and Dons (8-19, 1-15) produced the same results on the WCC's toughest road trip last week; each team was swept by No. 1 BYU and fell to San Diego in four sets. Santa Clara has lost seven straight contests since defeating Pacific at home on Oct. 18 and San Francisco has lost 15 straight since sweeping Santa Clara in the first meeting between the teams on Sept. 20. 

THE SENIORS

Hailey Lindberg played for the Broncos from 2015 through 2017. The middle blocker appeared in 64 matches and 223 sets, including all 60 matches in her final two seasons as a Bronco. She led the team with a .301 hitting percentage in 2016.

Taylor Odom has played in 76 matches and 282 sets in three years with Santa Clara. The middle blocker leads the Broncos with 1.05 blocks per set this season. Earlier this year, she set a single-match career-high by compiling 12 blocks against Grand Canyon.

Tatiana San Juan has played in 77 matches and 177 sets over four years at Santa Clara, including at least 16 matches in all four seasons. The libero led the Broncos with 3.54 digs per set in 2017. She continues to serve as a defensive specialist for the Broncos this season and has totaled 296 career digs.

THE BRONCOS

Alexa Dreyer has become more of a focal point in the Santa Clara attack over the last few matches. The middle blocker led the Broncos with 13 kills on .440 hitting Saturday at San Diego. Dreyer is averaging 2.83 kills/set over the last three matches, nearly a kill per set higher than her season average (1.98). Dreyer also has five-plus blocks three times in the last four matches, and is averaging 1.19 blocks/set over that stretch.

Chloe Loreen totaled 35 digs over seven sets last week to build off of a career-best 27 digs against Gonzaga on Nov. 3. The libero has 62 digs in 12 sets (5.17/set) over the team's last three matches.

Dreyer, Loreen and Michelle Shaffer have played in all 28 matches and all 101 sets to this point in the season. Shaffer had 10-plus kills eight times in 10 matches from Oct. 4-Nov. 3, including four double-doubles.

Liliana Light has led the Broncos in assists for the last seven matches and has multiple blocks in four straight contests. The setter has produced 15 of her 31 blocks on the year over the last four contests.

Kamrin Caoili led Santa Clara with 15 kills on .423 hitting at top-ranked BYU. Caoili produced 45 kills in a three-match span (3.75/set) from Nov. 1-8 (Portland, Gonzaga, BYU).

Roster Breakdown

• The Broncos return 11 players from the 2017 roster, nine of whom saw the court last season.

• Michelle Gajdka and Taylor Odom played in all 30 matches and 115 of 116 sets a year ago. Gajdka led the team with 361 kills (3.14/set) and ranked third with 277 digs. Odom tied for the team lead in block assists (97) and was second with 108 total blocks (.94/set).

• Allison Kantor and Tessie Powers each took the court in 29 of 30 matches. Kantor, a 2017 WCC All-Freshman Team selection, posted seven double-doubles on the season and closed out the year with six double-digit kill efforts in her last seven matches. Powers finished second on the 2017 team with 287 digs and posted 10-plus digs 16 times.

• Brittany Gillingham (25 matches), Tatiana San Juan (23), Gretchen Reinert (19), Chloe Loreen (16), and Anna McCreadie (11) round out the returners that took the court. Laura Willems did not play last season and Kathryn Decker redshirted. 

• Santa Clara welcomes six newcomers: UCLA transfer Alexa Dreyer — who joins the team with two years of eligibility remaining — as well as freshmen Alex Anthony, Kamrin Caoili, Liliana Light, Natalia Rentsch and Michelle Shaffer.

• 2017 players lost to graduation: setter and 2017 West Coast Conference assists leader Kirsten Mead (1,232 assists, 10.62/set), middle blocker Jensen Cunningham (team-best 114 total blocks), setter Erin Reineking. Mead also led the team with 33 aces.

Head Coach Jon Wallace

• Jon Wallace, the winningest coach in program history, is in his 20^th season at the helm in 2018. His overall record is 367-226 (.619).

• The Broncos have reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times in Wallace's 19 seasons.

Captains

• Redshirt juniors Anna McCreadie and Taylor Odom, junior Alexa Dreyer and freshman Liliana Light are the 2018 team captains. 

Class Breakdown

• Seniors: 1 - Tatiana San Juan

• Juniors: 6 - Alexa Dreyer, Michelle Gajdka, Anna McCreadie (RS), Taylor Odom (RS), Tessie Powers, Laura Willems

• Sophomores: 4 - Brittany Gillingham, Allison Kantor (RS), Chloe Loreen, Gretchen Reinert

• Freshmen: 6 - Alex Anthony, Kamrin Caoili, Kathryn Decker (RS), Liliana Light, Natalia Rentsch, Michelle Shaffer

• By State: California (12), Oregon (2), Washington (2), Colorado (1)

THE DONS

• Santa Clara is 67-14 against San Francisco in a series that dates back to 1975. 

• 2018: 9/20 USF won 3-0 @ USF

• 2017: 10/6 SCU won 3-0 @ SCU | 11/3: SCU won 3-0 @ USF 

• The Dons defeated the Broncos for the first time in eight meetings earlier this season. Santa Clara swept the previous seven meetings.

• Last USF win @ SCU: 9/26/13 3-2 (Santa Clara has won four straight at home)

Kathya Garcia led San Francisco with 19 kills on .320 hitting in the first meeting with Santa Clara. She leads the Dons with 228 kills and 2.78 kills/set on the year. Anna Dalla Vecchia ranks third in the WCC with 399 kills. She produced 21 or more kills five times in six matches from Sept. 1-15 and the Dons went 5-1 in those contests.

The Dons were picked to finish last of 10 WCC teams in the 2018 preseason poll, while the Broncos were picked to finish sixth. San Francisco won seven of 11 matches in nonconference play this season to equal its overall win total from the last two seasons (seven wins in 62 contests).

PROMOTIONS

Senior day trading cards available at the marketing table while supplies last.

TICKETS

Season and 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 Leavey Center are open one hour prior to first serve. Pricing is subject to change.