SAN DIEGO - Santa Clara volleyball improved as the match went along, but that wasn't enough against No. 20-ranked San Diego.
The Toreros outhit the Broncos .302 to .125 and took advantage of 24 attack errors in posting a 25-13, 25-20, 25-23 West Coast Conference victory on Thursday.
Kaie Lukes had 15 kills and Grace Frohling chipped in eight for the Toreros (15-4, 9-1) who had 6.0 total team blocks.
Julia Sangiacomo led the Broncos with 14 kills and Michelle Shaffer contributed nine and Sophia Tulino seven.
Santa Clara (8-13, 4-7) looked poise to push the match to a fourth set before the Toreros finished with a flourish.
After San Diego scored six of the first eight points in the set, the Broncos and forged ahead 12-11 on an attack error.
Two kills from Sangiacomo in a 3-0 run, pushed Santa Clara into a 22-19 lead, but Lukes keyed the final stretch. She had three kills in a match-closing 6-1 flurry from the Toreros who improved to 6-0 at home this season.
San Diego shot a blistering .458 in the opening set. The Toreros led 10-7 but then took advantage of three attack errors to increase the lead to 16-9 and the Broncos were never closet than six points.
After trailing 16-9 in the third, the Broncos rallied within 22-19 on an attack error, but Lukes answered with a kill and then Isadora Tercariol finished off the set with one of her three kills.
Kat Georgiadis had 12 of Santa Clara's 38 digs. Sangiacomo had seven and Shaffer six.
San Diego had contributions throughout the lineup.
Leyla Blackwell had seven kills on a .700 attack clip, Alex Hoglund (11) and Tercariol (10) combined for 21 digs, and Camryn Tastad posted three of the team's five service aces.
NOTES
- San Diego now leads the all-time series, 44-34.
NEXT UP
The Broncos play at No. 7-ranked BYU on Saturday. First serve is set for noon PT.
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