Aug. 31, 2004

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This Week
Santa Clara will open its fall schedule at home for the first time in five years, hosting Sacramento State on Wednesday, September 1 at 7 p.m. The Hornets return nine letterwinners and four starters from a team that won the Big Sky Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Championship. Santa Clara will offer a 2-for-1 admission discount to any fan who brings a recyclable Coca-Cola can. The Broncos will continue action this holiday weekend, hosting three matches. Arkansas and Pacific will play each other on Friday night to open the weekend. Santa Clara will take on Arkansas on Saturday evening and Pacific on Sunday afternoon. Live Video Streaming Available on the Internet
Santa Clara and CollegeSports.com are combining to expand live coverage of Bronco sports this season with the addition of live streaming video feeds of most of the school's home athletic events, beginning with volleyball's match against Sacramento State. A part of College Sports Pass, a subscription-based service provided by RealNetworks, the live video feeds will be available on Santa Clara's official athletic website at SantaClaraBroncos.com, as well as collegesports.com and real.com. The school will also continue to provide live statistical coverage of at least six sports through the popular Gametracker feature. Santa Clara remains on the cutting edge of technology, as it provides Bronco fans with some of the most comprehensive live web coverage of any school in the country for the past several years. By logging on, fans can now watch the games and view real-time statistics direct from the official scoring computer, all right from the convenience of a home computer." The Schedule
Santa Clara's schedule includes matches against four teams that finished last season ranked in the top 10 nationally by the AVCA. Santa Clara will travel to non-conference tournaments in Hawaii and Texas, and face national powers Hawaii and UCLA. The Rainbow Wahine advanced to the Final Four last season and closed the year ranked third, while the Bruins reached the Elite Eight and ended December listed fifth. The West Coast Conference season begins October 1, when the Broncos host Gonzaga. The quest for the 2004 league crown will be challenging, as six of the eight conference schools advanced to the postseason last year, displaying the national strength of the WCC. Santa Clara will close the conference season with three road games, including visits to the Los Angeles league schools. Sixth-ranked Pepperdine was a Sweet 16 team in 2003 and Loyola Marymount closed the year ranked 17th nationally. The regular season finale will take place at perennial power Stanford November 23. Santa Clara will then break for Thanksgiving and await the NCAA Selection Show. Fab Freshman Class
Santa Clara has recruited the ninth-best class in the country, according to PrepVolleyball.com in its annual rankings released in May. Nebraska received the website's top nod, followed by Florida, USC, Ohio State and Washington in the top five. Michigan, Wisconsin and Hawaii were listed ahead of the Broncos, while Kansas rounded out the top 10. West Coast Conference opponents Pepperdine and San Diego were ranked Nos. 24 and 25, respectively. Santa Clara is brining in five newcomers, who are expected to make an immediate impact on the program. They are Anna Cmaylo, Crystal Matich, Annalisa Muratore, Chelsea Reilley and Caroline Walters. In the Rankings
Santa Clara opens the 2004 season ranked 22nd by the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll, as selected by the AVCA. The Broncos received 271 points in the preseason listing. Six of Santa Clara's opponents are also ranked, including four top-10 teams: No. 3 UCLA, sixth-ranked Stanford, No. 9 Pepperdine and 10th-ranked California. In addition to the Waves, West Coast Conference rival Loyola Marymount was ranked 18th. Although not ranked, San Diego also received recognition, earning 105 points. CSTV to Televise Pepperdine Match
College Sports Television, the first 24-hour college sports television network, will televise the Broncos' Sunday, October 24 match against Pepperdine at the Leavey Center. First serve for the live broadcast is set for 3 p.m. The CSTV Sunday Night Spikes telecasts, featuring teams from 12 different conferences, will showcase some of the top players in pursuit of a national title. Carter Blackburn will handle play-by-play on CSTV Sunday Night Spikes, while Heather Cox and Krista Blunk will rotate analyst duties. The match will provide some drama, as Pepperdine has not lost a WCC match since the 2000 WCC finale against Santa Clara. College Sports TV, the fastest-growing independent cable network, is available to more than 20 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Comcast, Time Warner and Adelphia cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.collegesports.com/getcstv or call their cable or satellite operator. Broncos Tabbed Second in WCC Preseason Poll
Santa Clara has been picked to finish the West Coast Conference season in second place, according to a preseason poll selected by the league's coaches. The Broncos received two first-place votes in the poll. Pepperdine was predicted to claim the 2004 league crown, receiving five first-place votes. Santa Clara tied with Loyola Marymount with 50 points, while San Diego was tabbed to finish fourth. Rounding out the poll is Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Portland and Gonzaga. A Look Ahead: Tournament Time
Santa Clara will start a seven-match road trip, including participation in two tournaments. The Broncos will visit Honolulu, Hawaii, and participate in the Aston Imua Wahine Challenge, taking on UCLA, Hawaii and Southwest Missouri State. SCU will travel to Texas to play at a tournament hosted by TCU. The Broncos will play Appalachian State, Arkansas-Little Rock and the host Horned Frogs before returning to the West Coast. Although back in the Bay Area, Santa Clara will play a road contest at San Jose State. Season/Match Tickets on Sale
Season and individual match tickets for Santa Clara University's nationally-recognized volleyball team are on sale through the Department of Athletics' official website SantaClaraBroncos.com, and the athletic ticket office at 408-554-4660, between the hours of 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. In conjunction with its exclusive Internet partner, College Sports Online, the athletic department has developed an online ticket application that provides fans with the ability to purchase season tickets, family plans, individual matches or an all-sports pass via the official athletic website. A volleyball season ticket package that includes the 11 home matches is available for the adult price of $65 each in the reserved section, $45 for general admission, while a family plan provides a family of five admission to each match for the low price of $100. Youth (12 and under) and senior (over 65-years-old) season tickets are also available for $25. Single matches are priced at $7 for adult reserved, $5 for adult general admission, $3 for youths and seniors and $2 for SCU students as well Bronco Kidz members. Single match team passes are also available for $30. SCU Named One of Best Values in the West by U.S. News & World Report
For the 15th year in a row, Santa Clara was ranked second among 124 master's universities in the West by the U.S. News and World Report. In an additional ranking listing "great schools at great prices" in four regions across the country, U.S. News ranked SCU second in the West region. To determine which institutions offer the best value, the magazine uses a formula that relates a school's academic quality to the net cost of attendance for a student receiving the average level of financial aid. The Western region includes all colleges and universities from Colorado to the West Coast, including Texas. Additional highlights from the 2005 U.S. News rankings include: • SCU had the highest average graduation rate -- 82 percent • SCU had the highest average freshman retention rate -- 92 percent • SCU had the second highest peer assessment score -- 4.0 • SCU had one of the highest average alumni giving rates -- 24 percent The magazine's rankings relied on academic reputation, graduation rates, class size, percent of full-time faculty, student/faculty ratios, retention of students, student test scores and grades, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving. Complete rankings are on the U.S. News web site, www.usnews.com.