SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara volleyball went toe-to-toe with nationally-ranked San Diego for the second day in a row, but the Toreros pulled away for a 25-17, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 victory on Wednesday in Leavey Center.

Thana Fayad (16 kills/17 digs), Roxie Wiblin (16 kills/13 digs) and Grace Frohling (14 kills/13 digs) each posted double-doubles for the 18th-ranked Toreros (6-0, 6-0 WCC) in the West Coast Conference tilt.

Julia Sangiacomo recorded a match-best 17 kills on .319 hitting, Sophia Tulino added 12 and Liliana Light produced a 16-assist, 12-dig double-double for the Broncos (0-2, 0-2). San Diego outhit the Santa Clara .261 to .233 and the Broncos outblocked the Toreros 9.0 to 3.0.

After Santa Clara won the second set, the Toreros rallied from a 6-0 deficit to win the third set and retake the match lead.

Santa Clara still led 16-13 on a kill from Michelle Shaffer, but the Toreros reeled off the next six points helped by a pair of kills from Fayad. Four times the Broncos crept within one point, but were not able to tie the set.

In the fourth set, neither team led by more than two until a 9-1 run by the Toreros, fueled by five errors, gave them a 17-11 advantage. Santa Clara was never closer than five the remainder of the match.

Sangiacomo keyed the decisive run in the second set. She recorded four kills during a 5-0 flurry which forged the Broncos into a 22-15 lead and Tulino capped the set with a kill set up by Shaffer.

Light also had three blocks, and Gretchen Reinert contributed 16 digs to help the defensive effort of the Broncos who also fell to San Diego, 3-1, on Tuesday in the team's season opener.

San Diego, which entered the back-to-back matchups with Santa Clara having dropped only one set on the season, got 22 assists from Camryn Tastad and 21 from Laura Madill.

NOTES

• San Diego now leads the all-time series Santa Clara 42-34 (first meeting 1979)

HIGHLIGHTS | Check out the best action from Wednesday's matchup against San Diego!#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/KQ9uJK0iE2

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) February 20, 2021

��️ Hear from @Coach_ELindsey on today's match against San Diego.

Postmatch interview presented by @ROATweets.#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/WjWfOq3Is2

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) February 18, 2021

NEXT UP

The Broncos continue the season at Pacific on Tuesday. They host the Tigers in Leavey Center on Wednesday.