Volleyball Hosts Pepperdine, LMU; Senior Day set for Saturday

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball begins a three-match homestand to conclude the 2019 regular season this week. The Broncos host Pepperdine Thursday at 7 p.m. and Loyola Marymount Saturday at 1 p.m. in West Coast Conference play. 

SCU will honor the five members of its senior class in a ceremony after Saturday's match: Alexa Dreyer, Michelle Gajdka, Allison Kantor, Anna McCreadie and Taylor Odom. 

The Broncos (18-10, 8-7 WCC) are 6-3 in their last nine matches, including a sweep at Portland last Thursday and a 3-1 victory at Gonzaga on Saturday. The Waves (16-10, 12-3) enter the week on a five-match winning streak, including a sweep of Saint Mary's and a four-set victory over Pacific last week. The Lions (15-12, 9-6) swept the Tigers and defeated the Gaels in four sets last week. 

THE BRONCOS

Julia Sangiacomo totaled 30 kills, 23 digs, nine blocks and four aces last week. The freshman hit .294 with 18 kills against the Bulldogs. She has produced double-digit kills in eight of the last nine matches and 20 times in 28 matches on the year. The outside hitter has 411.0 points on the season, good for second in the WCC and first among freshmen.

Taylor Odom leads the NCAA with 1.61 blocks per set and ranks second with 163 total blocks. Odom already owns Santa Clara's single-season total block record in the rally-scoring era. She needs 17 more blocks over the final three matches to set the single-season block record (179 by Stacey MacDonough in 1988.) Odom's block average is also second all-time (Annalisa Muratore – 1.77 in 2004).

As a team, the Broncos lead the WCC with 278.5 total blocks (14^th NCAA) and 2.65 blocks/set (20^th NCAA). Their opponent hitting percentage of .163 is second in the WCC and 26^th in the nation.

Kathryn Decker put up a career-high marks with 16 kills and 16 digs at Gonzaga while hitting .389. She has played in five straight matches (four straight starts) after seeing action in only five of the first 24 matches.

Michelle Shaffer registered a career-best 48 assists against the Bulldogs. She has topped her career-high in that category three times in the last five matches to go along with six-plus digs and multiple blocks in four straight contests.

Allison Kantor totaled 10-plus kills in seven straight matches from Oct. 17-Nov. 9, and nearly made it eight in a row with nine kills last Thursday at Portland. Kantor has double-digit kills in each of her last four matches and eight double-doubles on the season.

Gretchen Reinert tallied a career-high 24 digs against Gonzaga. The effort marked her fifth match of the season with 20 or more digs, three of which have come in the last seven matches.

MISCELLANEOUS SEASON NOTES

Michelle Shaffer tied the program record of eight aces in a single match and became the first Bronco to hit that mark in 30 seasons (1989) as the team rolled through the second, third and fourth sets to defeat Northern Colorado 3-1 in the South Bay Battle on Sept. 14. The Thousand Oaks, California native is the fourth Bronco to serve up eight aces in a match and the first in the rally scoring era (2001-present). She had three aces in four points as part of a 7-0 Bronco run in the second set and five aces in six points as part of a 12-0 Bronco run in the fourth set en route to all-tournament team honors.

Shaffer logged Santa Clara's first 20-20 match since 2017 in Santa Clara's matchup against Denver on Sept. 20, posting 22 assists and 22 digs. Shaffer had a 12-kill, 24-assist, 11-dig triple-double Aug. 31 against Marshall, and is the first Bronco since 2003 and second in program history to record a triple-double and a 20-20 match in the same season (Becky Potter).

Julia Sangiacomo was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 2, 2019 following the first action of her debut season at the Indiana Invitational. Sangiacomo had 54 kills (4.15/set) on .341 hitting to go along with 25 digs, nine aces, two block solos and 66.5 points en route to all-tournament team honors. SCU was one of only two WCC teams to finish opening weekend undefeated.

Allison Kantor served up four consecutive aces in the first set of a sweep victory over Indiana on Aug. 31.

Santa Clara started 6-0 for the fifth time in program history (1979, 2002, 2005, 2016) and won all four matches to claim the Indiana Invitational crown on opening weekend (Aug. 30-31). The Broncos also posted their best start through 13 matches since 2014 (10-3, five seasons). The team had a perfect 6-0 record in neutral-site tournament matches and SCU was the only WCC program to win 10 matches in nonconference play.

HEAD COACH ERIN LINDSEY

Erin Lindsey is in her first season as head coach of Santa Clara in 2019. Lindsey joins the Broncos after winning a national championship as an assistant coach at Stanford in 2018. She is the 10th head coach for a program that dates back to 1963 and enters her second stint as a head coach after leading Dartmouth from 2011 to 2015. Her overall record as a head coach is 72-79 (18-10, 8-7 WCC at SCU) and she is the first head coach in Santa Clara history to start 6-0 in her debut season.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN + WCC PRESEASON POLL

• The Broncos return 13 players from 2018, 12 of whom saw the court last season; they posted a 6-24 record. 2019 returners accounted for the following percentages of last year's team stats:
1,220/1,315 kills (93 percent)
839/1,224 assists (69)
87/109 aces (80)
1,039/1,615 digs (64)
191.5/214.5 blocks (89)

• Senior Alexa Dreyer and sophomore Michelle Shaffer played in all 30 matches and all 108 sets a year ago. Shaffer, a 2018 West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team selection, led the team with 297 kills (2.75/set) and ranked second with 294 digs; she had the second-most digs among WCC freshmen. Dreyer led the team in hitting percentage (.273), total blocks (93) and block assists (87).

• Sophomore Liliana Light took the court in 27 of 30 matches, primarily as a setter, and led the team with 687 assists (6.87/set). She finished third on the Broncos in digs (187) and posted six double-doubles.

• Senior Michelle Gajdka and junior Allison Kantor each appeared in 25 matches as outside hitters. Gajdka had 10-plus kills in four straight matches from Aug. 25-31. Kantor started 20 of the last 21 matches after appearing in four of the first nine matches, all off the bench.

• Brittany Gillingham (24 matches), Gretchen Reinert (23), Kamrin Caoili (22), Taylor Odom (20), Anna McCreadie (17), Alex Anthony (14) and Kathryn Decker (14) round out the returners that took the court. Natalia Rentsch did not play last season.

• Santa Clara welcomes five newcomers: freshmen Claire Doud, Haley Flanagan, Katie Lawton, Kamaile Manol and Julia Sangiacomo.

• By Class: Seniors (4), juniors (3), sophomores (6), freshmen (5).

• By State: California (11), Washington (3), Oregon (2), Colorado (1), Hawai'i (1).

• The Broncos were picked to finish 9^th of 10 teams in the 2019 West Coast Conference preseason poll. BYU was the unanimous pick to win the conference title.

PEPPERDINE

• 2019: 16-10 (12-3 WCC) | 2018: 22-9 (14-4 WCC) | NCAA Tournament Second Round
• Picked to finish 3^rd of 10 in 2019 WCC preseason poll
• All-time series: Pepperdine leads 43-33 (first meeting 1982)
• 2019: 9/28 PEP won 3-1 @ PEP
• 2018: 9/29 PEP won 3-0 @ SCU | 10/25 PEP won 3-1 @ PEP
• Pepperdine has won three straight in the series

Pepperdine finished nonconference play at 4-7 and is 12-3 over its last 15 matches, all in WCC play. The Waves lead the conference and rank 22^nd in the NCAA with 177 aces; Rachel Ahrens has a conference-best 47 aces (22^nd NCAA) and .46 aces/set (26^th NCAA). Isabel Zelaya tops the conference with 9.79 assists/set.

Hannah Frohling led all players with 19 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double in Pepperdine's 3-1 victory over Santa Clara on Sept. 28. Kantor led the Broncos with 14 kills and 19 digs.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

• 2019: 15-12 (9-6 WCC) | 2018: 21-10 (10-8 WCC) | NCAA Tournament Second Round
• Picked to finish 4^th of 10 in 2019 WCC preseason poll
• All-time series: Loyola Marymount leads 42-35 (first meeting 1979)
• 2019: 9/26 LMU won 3-0 @ LMU
• 2018: 9/27 LMU won 3-0 @ SCU | 10/27 LMU won 3-2 @ LMU
• Loyola Marymount has won three straight in the series

Savannah Slattery leads the WCC with 3.6 kills/set and ranks second in the conference with 353 total kills. Megan Rice produced a stretch of nine straight matches with 14-plus kills from Sept. 28-Oct. 26, including 49 kills between two matches against Pepperdine (25 kills on Oct. 11) and Saint Mary's (24 kills on Oct. 17).

Loyola Marymount hit .337 with a match-high 14 kills by Slattery in a 3-0 win over Santa Clara on Sept. 26. Kantor led the Broncos with six kills in the WCC opener.

TICKETS

Season or 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, as well as its ticket office, are open one hour prior to the start of the match.

PARKING

For weekday matches, the Leavey Center lot (see below for access), located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is free beginning one hour prior to first serve. Any other parking facility on campus will be subject to normal daily rates or restrictions, including the main structure, located adjacent to Stevens Stadium on Palm Drive. During the weekend, campus parking facilities are free (except for permit required locations). Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions. The construction of the Stephen C. and Patricia A. Schott Athletic Excellence Center has necessitated the closure of the main entrance (off Accolti Way) to the Leavey Center parking lot. Access is now ONLY directly from El Camino Real (Route 82). If you are traveling east on El Camino Real, the Leavey lot entrance will be approximately 150 yards on the right (enter through the black iron gate) after you pass the main campus entrance. If you are traveling west on El Camino, make a u-turn at the main campus entrance at Palm Drive/Railroad Ave and follow the same directions.