Oct. 14, 2003
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This Week: WCC Home Season Continues
The Santa Clara University volleyball team will continue its season long three match homestand this weekend with a pair of matches against Bay Area West Coast Conference rivals San Francisco and Saint Mary's. The Broncos and Dons square off Friday night while the Gaels invade the Leavey Center Saturday evening. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m.
No. 14 Santa Clara vs. San Francisco
The Broncos and Dons have met 50 previous times in the two program's history with SCU holding a commanding 46-4 advantage in the all-time series. Santa Clara has swept the season series between the two programs in each of the last 13 years, posting a 26-0 record during that time. The last time that San Francisco defeated the Broncos was on November 9, 1989. The Dons, however, are a different team this year, boasting a 17-2 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the conference. Brittanie Budinger leads the USF offense with her 4.84 kills per game while her 3.43 digs per game are also a team high. April Scoggin is averaging 12.24 assists per game while Teresa Russell is averaging 3.86 kills and a team-high 1.35 blocks per game.
No. 14 Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary's
The Broncos and Gaels have met 45 previous times entering this weekend's contest with SCU holding a 40-5 all-time record over SMC, which includes victories in each of their last 12 matchups. Saint Mary's, like USF, enters the contest a completely different team then what has been put on the floor over the last several seasons. The Gaels are currently 15-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. Jill Parmele leads the team with 4.75 kills per game, followed by Kaui Salzman's 3.41 kills per game average. Setter Mandy Bible is averaging 12.96 assists per game while Erin Gravert and Stacey O'Connor are each averaging over one block per game.
Last Weekend: Split Against Ranked Opponents
Santa Clara played two matches against opponents both ranked in the top-20 of the USA Today/AVCACoaches' Poll. The Broncos opened up the week with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at No. 9 California. SCU rebounded for a convincing 3-0 sweep of No. 18 San Diego Saturday night at the Leavey Center. The win over USD pushed the Broncos' record to 12-6 overall and a perfect 3-0 in West Coast Conference play.
Potter Posts Program's First Triple-Double in 12 Years
Just eight days after becoming only the 10th player in program history to attain a double-double (23 kills and 20 digs on September 30 at Sacramento State), senior middle blocker Becky Potter became only the fourth player in program history to post a triple-double. The All-American from Clovis, Calif., registered 19 kills, 13 digs and 11 total blocks in the Broncos' 3-2 loss at No. 9 Cal on October 8. The last time a Bronco posted a triple-double was on October 19, 1991 when Jennifer Guigliano attained the feat with 17 kills, 17 digs and 11 total blocks in a match at Gonzaga.
Sousa Moves into Second Place All-Time in Career Assists
Kelli Sousa has become one of the best setters in the nation during her career on the Mission Campus. As a junior she led the country in assists per game with her 14.38 average. She has picked up in 2003 right where she left off in 2002. Thus far this season Sousa has spread the ball around enough that three players ended 12 of the team's 18 matches with double-digit kills. With 945 assists this season, she now has 4,446 for her career, the second highest total in program history. She passed Kris Kosnoski , who posted 4,421 in her career, with her 45 assists against No. 18 San Diego on October 11. She trails only Roz Pelayo for the all-time record, who recorded 5,732 assists in her four year career at SCU.
Potter Gets Closer to All-Time Kill Record at SCU
After the first 18 matches of the year, senior Becky Potter has moved from fifth place all-time, to second place all-time in career kills at Santa Clara. Her 296 kills thus far in 2003 give her 1,586 for her career. She trails only Ynez Carrasco (1,748) for the all-time mark after passing Lia Young's mark of 1,496 against Sacramento State on September 30. Additionally, Potter has 957 digs in her career, leaving her only 43 shy of the 1,000 dig plateau. When she reaches the milestone, Potter will become only the sixth player in program history to accomplish such a feat.
Lantz Sets Career-High in Digs
Sophomore Alyssa Lantz set a personal career-high in the Broncos' 3-0 sweep of No. 18 San Diego, registering a match-high 16 digs to go along with 10 kills in the match. Her previous career best was 13 digs that was set earlier this year in SCU's 3-2 win over Miami at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
Six of Final 12 Matches Against Ranked Opponents
Santa Clara has faced and will continue to face one of the toughest schedules in the nation during the 2003 season. Through the first 18 matches, the Broncos have faced seven ranked teams, and 12 teams that appeared in the 2002 NCAA Touranemnt. Still to come are sixmatches against teams currently ranked in the top-25, including three against top-10 ranked squads.
In the Rankings
SCU began the season with its highest-ever preseason national ranking, coming out of the blocks at No. 14 n the AVCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll. Currently the Broncos are ranked No. 14 for the second consecutive week after spending the previous two weeks ranked at No. 16. SCU got as high as No. 13 in the Sept. 8 poll following four wins at the Wildcat Invitational, including one over then No. 10 Arizona. Additionally, the West Coast Conference has four teams ranked in the top-25 along with one other receiving votes.
Up Next: Roadtrip to No. 19 Loyola Marymount and No. 6 Pepperdine
Santa Clara continues its WCC season with a pair of matches in southern California, taking on No. 19 LMU and No. 6 Pepperdine. The Broncos and Lions will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday night, October 24. SCU and the Waves will tangle at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Octber 26. The match with Pepperdine will be broadcast live on CSTV.
