SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Allison Kantor (14) and Julia Sangiacomo (13) combined for 27 kills, and Michelle Shaffer and Liliana Light each notched 19 assists and 10 digs to lead Santa Clara volleyball to a convincing 21-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-11 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday in the finale of the South Bay Battle.
The Broncos (8-2) dominated the final three sets, outhitting the Bears .455 to .076 and nearly doubling them in kills (41 to 21). Santa Clara also held a 7.0 to 3.0 total blocks in the match in claiming its second win in the event that began on Thursday.
Shaffer had eight of the team's 11 aces, which matched the school's individual single-match record. It was just the fourth time a Santa Clara player hit that mark, including first since Oct. 13, 1989 (Tina Kohler vs. Portland).
HIGHLIGHTS | Michelle Shaffer tied a single-match program record with EIGHT ACES, including five in the final set, of today's victory over @UNC_BearsVB!#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/wh4X6GGexM
— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) September 14, 2019
In the final three sets, Santa Clara trailed only briefly, falling behind early in the fourth.
The Broncos scored 12 of the first 15 points in the second set highlighted by three aces from Shaffer. The sophomore also had four aces during a 12-0 run in the fourth set that turned a one-point deficit to a 15-5 lead. The Bears were never closer than nine points the remainder of the final set.
Kaley Jo Ince had 10 kills and Daisy Schultz contribute 24 assists and nine digs for Northern Colorado (5-4), which went 1-2 in the three-day tournament that was co-hosted by the Broncos and San Jose State.
Alexa Dreyer had nine kills on a .615 attack percentage for the Broncos. Sangiacomo and Kantor also had nine digs each and teammate Gretchen Reinert tallied 10.
The Bears had an efficient and balanced offensive attack in the opening set, outhitting the Broncos .343 to .167 and having six players record at least two kills, but the Broncos flipped the momentum in the second set.
The Bears swept the Spartans at home on Friday evening after falling to Marist 3-2 earlier in the afternoon at Santa Clara. The Red Foxes rebounded by sweeping the Broncos Friday evening in Leavey Center.
NOTES
• Michelle Shaffer doubled her previous career-high in aces with her school-record tying performance. She had four vs. Pacific on Oct. 18, 2018. Shaffer's total was also the most aces by a Bronco in the rally-scoring era (which began in 2001) since Sabrina Clayton's seven at Fresno State (Aug. 31, 2013)
• Alexa Dreyer's .615 hitting percentage was a career-high. She hit .550 vs. UT Martin (Aug. 30, 2019) when she had 12 kills.
• Julia Sangiacomo had double-digit kills for the eighth time this season and has had at least eight in each of the 10 matches. Allison Kantor had double-digit kills for the sixth match.
ALL-SOUTH BAY BATTLE TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Marist - Megan Fergus (Most Outstanding Player), Sarah Austin, Sophia Theriot
• Santa Clara - Alexa Dreyer, Michelle Shaffer
• Northern Colorado - Kailey Jo Ince
• San Jose State - Thaliana Grajeda
QUOTABLE
INTERVIEWS | @Coach_ELindsey and Allison Kantor chatted with @kevo408 on @TheWCCNetwork after today's victory over Northern Colorado! Full audio interviews:
— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) September 14, 2019
��️Lindsey ▶️ https://t.co/LMyHafDfk1
��️Kantor ▶️ https://t.co/2hsEMrtNLg#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/2Y2vEmb65F
UP NEXT
The Broncos head to Colorado next week for three matches. They face Montana and Denver in the Thin Air Challenge on Friday and Air Force the following day in Colorado Springs.
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