SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball begins its final week of the Spring 2021 season with a pair of matches at West Coast Conference-leading BYU. The Broncos face the No. 14 Cougars on Tuesday and Wednesday in Smith Fieldhouse. Both matches are scheduled for noon PDT.
The Broncos (5-9, 5-9 WCC) split a home-and-home set against San Francisco to close out last week. Santa Clara won in three sets at home on Thursday before falling in three sets on the road on Friday. Santa Clara has split five of its last six matchups (Pacific, Portland, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Francisco).
GAME DAY LINKS |
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| Video |
Tuesday | Wednesday |
| Live Stats | Tuesday | Wednesday |
HOW TO WATCH ON BYUTV
Both matches will air on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv app.
THE BRONCOS
• This Season (Spring 2021): 5-9 (5-9 WCC, 4-3 Home, 1-6 Away) | Last Season (2019): 21-12 (10-8 WCC), NIVC Second Round
The Broncos enter the week at 19th in the NCAA and first in the WCC with 1.88 aces/set. Individually, Sohpia Tulino leads the conference with 0.46 aces/set and Julia Sangiacomo ranks sixth with 0.37 aces/set. Santa Clara has posted 10 or more aces three times on the season, and is averaging two aces/set over its last three matches.
Sangiacomo had 17 kills on .333 hitting against the Dons in the Bronco victory on Thursday. That marked her 15th straight match with 10-plus kills dating back to 2019, a streak which was snapped on Friday on the Hilltop. Sangiacomo ranks third in the WCC with 4.17 kills/set and second with 4.79 points/set.
Tulino has at least 11 kills in 12 of 14 matches this season. She ranks seventh in the WCC with 4.18 points/set and ninth with 3.54 kills/set. The freshman outside hitter has posted multiple aces five times, including four aces in each of Santa Clara's first two matches against then-No. 18 San Diego.
Michelle Shaffer posted a 32 assist, 12-dig, 11-kill triple-double in a five-set win at Gonzaga on March 12. Shaffer has two career triple-doubles and is tied for Santa Clara's all-time lead in that category, alongside Stacey MacDonough (1985-88), Jennifer Guigliano (1990-93) and Becky Potter (2000-03). Shaffer is one of only two Broncos all-time to record a triple-double with kills, assists and digs. She and Kathryn Decker achieved that feat last season.
Entering the week, Gretchen Reinert has taken the court for all 176 sets over the last two seasons. She has recorded 10 or more digs in all but one match this season and reached the 20-dig mark eight times in her career.
The Broncos are hitting .208 on the season and outblocking opponents 106-82.
THE COUGARS
• This Season (Spring 2021): 14-1 (13-1 WCC, 5-0 Home, 7-1 Away, 2-0 Neutral) | Last Season (2019): 26-5 (16-1 WCC), NCAA Tournament Second Round
• Picked to finish 2nd of 10 in 2021 WCC Spring preseason poll
• All-time series: BYU leads 15-4 (first meeting 1992)
• 2019: 10/12 BYU won 3-0 @ BYU, 11/7 BYU won 3-1 @ SCU
• BYU has won nine straight matchups in the series
The Cougars begin the week on a seven-match winning streak. They swept Saint Mary's in both matches last week in Moraga and have three straight sweep wins going back to a March 20 tilt against San Diego. BYU has dropped only four sets in that span.
As a team, the Cougars lead the WCC with a .304 hitting percentage (7th NCAA), 14.61 kills/set (7th NCAA), 13.78 assists/set (2nd NCAA) and 2.32 blocks/set (62nd NCAA).
Kennedy Eschenberg has taken home the last two WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Her 1.48 blocks/set are tops in the conference and 12th in the NCAA. She also leads the conference with a .454 hitting percentage, good for ninth in the country. Taylen Ballard-Nixon is averaging a team-best 3.96 kills/set to lead a balanced Cougar attack that features four student-athletes averaging 2.65 kills/set or better. Whitney Bower's 10.98 assists/set rank second in the WCC and 17th in the nation.
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GO BRONCOS!