SAN FRANCISCO — Santa Clara volleyball dropped its lone match of the week on Friday night. The Broncos fell against San Francisco 26-24, 25-17, 25-22 in a West Coast Conference tilt at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, snapping a four-match winning streak.
Kathya Garcia led all players with 19 kills on .288 hitting for the Dons (6-16, 2-9 WCC). Ally Wada had a match-high 32 assists and set USF to a .211 hitting percentage. Allison Kantor topped the Broncos (16-8, 6-5 WCC) with an 11-kill, 14-dig double-double. Julia Sangiacomo collected eight kills and led the team with 15 digs. Santa Clara hit .089 for the contest.
The teams battled in a close first set that featured 15 ties and nine lead changes; neither side led by more than two points in the frame. Trailing 22-20, the Dons rallied to win six of the last eight points, including saving a set point, to take the early match lead. Garcia racked up eight kills in the frame.
San Francisco won the first four points of the second set and used a 3-0 run to pull in front 12-7; the hosts led by at least four the rest of the way en route to a 2-0 advantage. Neither team built more than a three-point lead in the third set; Sophie Sydenham's kill broke a 16-all tie and the Dons remained in front for the rest of the set.
QUOTABLE – HEAD COACH ERIN LINDSEY
"We played in a 5-1 for the first time this season tonight. The team was ready to fight and came out determined. San Francisco played some exceptional floor defense, their blocking really got going and they were serving us tough as well so we didn't get in to much of an offensive rhythm. Having next week to continue to work on the new system will give us more consistency within it. There are great opportunities for us to be really balanced and we saw that at times in this match; we just didn't do enough to win tonight."
NOTES
• Santa Clara leads the all-time series 68-16.
• Michelle Shaffer recorded a career-high 30 assists.
• The Broncos were outblocked 12-5, marking just the second time they lost the block battle this season.
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