LOS ANGELES - Julia Sangiacomo had 19 kills and Nani Spaar chipped in a career-high tying 10 to lead a balanced offensive attack for Santa Clara volleyball which downed LMU 25-22, 28-26, 19-25, 26-24 on the road Thursday night.
Michelle Shaffer and Anna Stucchi each had six kills, and Sophia Tulino added five for the Broncos who posted a .276 attack percentage, including .464 in the fourth set.
Audrey Klemp recorded 16 kills, Megan Rice 15 and Rose Booth 13 for the Lions (15-11, 6-10) who had a .289 hitting percentage and held a 10.5 to 4.0 advantage in total blocks but lost their sixth-straight match.
Shaffer also had four of the 10 service aces for the Broncos (11-14, 7-8) who won their third-straight outing.
After LMU led from start to finish in the third set, the fourth was tied eight times before the Lions forged into a 17-13 lead on a service ace by Mary Schroll.
Sangiacomo's kill evened the set at 19-all, but the Lions scored three of the next four points.
Santa Clara went ahead 24-23 on an attack error and closed it out on back-to-back kills from Sangiacomo and Tulino.
Sangiacomo (5) and Spaar (5) combined for 10 of the team's 12 kills in the opening set, which, like the fourth game, was tied 12 times.
Jacquelyn Moore's kill pushed LMU into a 23-22 lead, but kills by Spaar and Sangiacomo were sandwiched around an attack error by the Lions giving Santa Clara a 1-0 lead in the match.
LMU led 12-8 in the second set, but the Broncos chipped away and pulled ahead 16-15 on an attack error.
The Lions had a chance to take the set, but Sangiacomo's kill with the Broncos trailing 24-23, staved off set point. A service ace thwarted the next set point. Santa Clara finished off the set with a kills from Alex Anthony and Nive Tuileta.
NOTES
- Julia Sangiacomo (19) logged 15 or more kills for the 11th match this season
- Nani Spaar's 10 kills matched her career high posted against Pacific on Feb. 23, 2021.
- Loyola Marymount now holds a 44-37 all-time lead in the series. The Lions had their three-match winning streak in the series snapped.
NEXT UP
The Broncos travel to Malibu, California, to face Pepperdine on Saturday at noon.
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