SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara volleyball closed out its home schedule on a strong note downing Gonzaga 25-16, 25-12, 25-17 to sweep both the match and the season series.
Santa Clara (10-14, 6-8 West Coast Conference) was led by Michelle Shaffer who had a match-high 15 kills and Julia Sangiacomo with 13 on .522 and .500 hitting, respectively. The Broncos hit .429 overall, their second-best mark of the season, compared to just .143 for Gonzaga.
The Broncos also had nine service aces, including three each by Nive Tuileta and Anna Stucchi, against two for the Bulldogs.
On the other side, Zoe Thiros and Cara McKenzie paced the offense for Gonzaga (7-19, 3-12) with seven kills apiece.
After dropping the opening point in the first set, the Broncos reeled off seven straight and never looked back to take the set, 25-16. Four Broncos had multiple kills in the set led by Michelle Shaffer with six, all coming on error free swings. Santa Clara outhit Gonzaga .500 to .211.
The Broncos continued their dominance in the second set running away to a 25-12 win taking advantage of six Bulldog errors and outhitting them .423 to .000. Shaffer once again had the most kills in the set with five.
The Bulldogs kept the third set competitive early, tying up the score on three occasions after just one tie in the first two sets but Santa Clara eventually pulled away. The Broncos closed out the set on a 10-4 run to turn a tight two point lead to a 25-17 set victory.
NOTES
- Santa Clara leads the all-time series with Gonzaga, 54-15.
- Julia Sangiacomo's fourth kill of the match was the 1,000th of her career.
- The Broncos' hitting percentage of .429 was the highest in a WCC match this season. It trailed only a season-best .524 vs. Nevada (Sept. 3).
Sangiacomo. Match point. Does it get better than that?!?#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/088ajq2eua
— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) November 12, 2021
NEXT UP
The Broncos will next play at LMU on Thursday after Saturday's scheduled match against Portland was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Pilots program.
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