SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball battled in a West Coast Conference road match on Thursday night and fell at San Diego. The Toreros took the tilt 25-23, 25-22, 25-18 at Jenny Craig Pavilion. Each team held at least a two-point lead in all three sets.
San Diego won its conference-leading 11th straight match on a balanced offensive performance, led by Megan Jacobsen's 10 kills on .471 hitting. Thana Fayad added 10 kills while Grace Frohling and Katie Lukes chipped in eight kills apiece for the Toreros (13-5, 6-0 WCC), who hit .198, their second-lowest hitting percentage on the season.
Taylor Odom led Santa Clara with nine kills on .600 hitting (15 error-free swings) and had seven blocks. The Broncos (12-6, 2-3) hit a season-low .094, marking the first time in 18 contests that they were held below .100 hitting for the year. Julia Sangiacomo added eight kills and a team-high nine digs.
San Diego pulled ahead in a back-and-forth first set by going on an 8-2 run to take a 21-16 lead. Frohling produced two kills and an ace during the stretch and Fayad had two kills. Trailing 24-20, Santa Clara fought off three set points before Lukes produced a kill to give the Toreros the early lead.
In the second set, the Toreros won four points in a row and six of seven to break a 14-all deadlock; Lukes had two kills during the spree. Santa Clara fought off another two set points before Jacobsen clinched the frame with a kill.
The Broncos won seven straight points, six on Michelle Shaffer's serve, to take a 7-1 lead in the third stanza. The Toreros won nine of the next 12 points to tie the set at 10-all. Facing an 18-16 deficit, San Diego won nine straight points to close out the match. Three Toreros (Jacobsen, Fayad, Anna Newsome) produced multiple kills down the homestretch and San Diego had kills on each of the last six points.
QUOTABLE – HEAD COACH ERIN LINDSEY
Overall: "I was really pleased with the way we came out to compete tonight. The team and coaching staff talked about putting together a match where we brought a high level of competition and focus the whole time; we did that. We held them to .000 hitting in the second set, which for as offensive of a team as they are, showed what we did from the service line and blocking."
On the difference in the match: "What it came down to is we weren't getting enough kills in transition. It was obvious that we were right there and right in it. We ended up in a tough rotation at the end and Frohling really got going on her serve and made it hard for us to get out of that rotation."
On Taylor Odom's play: "Taylor keeps teams off balance with her block so teams can't just set up on our pins. When teams are focused on her, that opens up space for our pins to score as well."
NEXT UP
Santa Clara stays on the road to face No. 9 BYU on Saturday at noon Pacific. The Cougars swept San Francisco on Thursday night.
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