Sept. 6, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 19 Santa Clara volleyball team lost a intense, hard-fought battle, 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 30-19), to Wichita State Thursday night in the first match of the 2007 Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge. With the loss, the Broncos dropped to 5-2 on the season, while the Shockers improved to 5-2 overall.
Lindsy Evans once again produced a team-best 11 kills, while Brittany Lowe and Nina Sevastopoulos chipped in with nine kills each. Crystal Matich dished out 31 assists; just three assists shy of tying the match-high, and freshman Alex Scoffone recorded a team-high four total blocks. Meanwhile, senior libero Caroline Walters posted a season and match-high 19 digs.
Lowe opened game one for the Broncos, 1-0, and a quick run on points from Evans and Nichole Clark gave Santa Clara a 5-2 lead. However, the Shockers answered back with a 5-1 rally of their own to take control of the scoreboard, 7-6. The Broncos responded fast as Evans slammed the ball down off a quick set from Matich to tie the score, 7-7. Santa Clara and Wichita State then battled point-for-point throughout the middle of the first game. A WSU kill from Stephanie Tokarz knotted the score once again, 17-17, and another Shockers attack gave the team a two-point lead, 20-18. SCU continued to keep the score close, but a kill from Tokarz ended game one in WSU favor, 30-26.
Both the Broncos and Shockers found it hard to gain the advantage in the beginning of the second game, as the teams went head-to-head until Wichita State grabbed a three-point advantage on kills from Emily Stockman and Katie Niggemeyer, 8-5. WSU jumped to a 12-9 lead, but back-to-back kills from Nina Sevastopoulos and a block from Lauryn Down and Sevastopoulos brought the Broncos within one, 12-11, and forced the Shockers to take a timeout. After the short break, the Broncos tied the score with a kill from Kim Courtney, 12-12. The teams continued to tie the score four more times before WSU earned the one-point advantage, 17-16. However, the Broncos were not ready to give up quite yet, as Lowe got on top of the ball to knot the score, 18-18. Yet, solid serving from Stockman gave the Shockers a four-point gap in the score, 24-20. Wichita State won the second game, 30-23.
Game three began in a similar fashion as both teams went point-for-point, but two consecutive kills from Lowe gave Santa Clara an early lead, 6-4. Wichita State fought quickly to gain control. The Shockers tied the score for the last time, 10-10, before creating an 11-0 run behind Stockman serving to bring the score to 20-10. Clark halted the Shockers run, 20-11, and the Broncos followed suit producing an 8-3 last effort run on points from Dowd, Sevastopoulos, Scoffone and Lowe, 26-19. However, that as close as the Broncos would come as the Shockers ended game three, 30-19, to win the match.
Sara Lungren posted a match-high 14 kills for Wichita State, while Stockman chipped in with a double-double on 12 kills and 18 digs. She also registered a match-high five service aces.
The Broncos return to action on Friday, Sept. 7 for their second match of the 2007 Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge. Santa Clara will face Eastern Washington University at 8 p.m. PT.
