Oct. 31, 2003

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The 15th-ranked Santa Clara University women's volleyball team swept the University of Portland by a 3-0 score Friday night in West Coast Conference action at the Leavey Center. With the win the Broncos improve to 15-8 overall and 6-2 in WCC play while the Pilots fall to 11-12 overall and 1-7 in league matches.

Sophomore Cassie Perret's .647 hitting percentage paced the Broncos as her 11 kills came on only 17 attempts while she made no hitting errors on the night. All-American Becky Potter recorded match-highs in both kills and digs with her 15 and 12, respectively, whileToni Muratore chipped in with 10 kills.

Senior setter Kelli Sousa directed the offense with her 39 assists in the three games, while the match marked the 16th time this season that Sousa has spread the ball around enough that three Broncos reached double-digits in kills.

Santa Clara's block also added to the victory as the 16 block assists and two solo blocks led to 10 SCU points and limited the Pilots to a .080 hitting percentage for the match. Becky Biniek led the way with six block assists while Perret added five and Muratore notched two solo blocks and three block assists.

Heather Denison was the only Portland player to reach double-digit kills with her 12 that came with a .429 hitting percentage. No other UP player managed to hit above .200 in the match.

Sheena Surplus had 27 assists and was tied for the team lead in digs on the night with nine, joining libero Ali Boaz in the loss for the Pilots.

Santa Clara returns to the floor Saturday night, November 1, as they host Gonzaga University at 7 p.m. in the Leavey Center. Portland will fly to San Diego tomorrow morning for a 7 p.m. match later on that night at USD.