Sept. 11, 2007

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 22 Broncos volleyball team opens their 2007 home season on Thursday, Sept. 13 against the Aggies of UC Davis. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif. The following evening Santa Clara (6-3) welcomes No. 11 California, UC Santa Barbara and Notre Dame to the Leavey Center for the 2007 SCU Invitational.

2007 SCU Invitational Schedule
Friday, Sept. 14
Notre Dame vs. UCSB at 4:30 p.m.
No. 22 Santa Clara vs. No. 11 California at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 15
Notre Dame vs. No. 11 California at 4:30 p.m.
No. 22 Santa Clara vs. UCSB at 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 16
No. 22 Santa Clara vs. Notre Dame at 11 a.m.

The Broncos enter the weekend with a 6-3 overall record. Leading Santa Clara on the attack is sophomore Lindsy Evans. She is the only Bronco to reach three-digit kills thus far, as she has compiled 114 in nine matches. Right behind Evans is junior Brittany Lowe, who has tallied 97 kills and is third on the team with a .275 hitting percentage (97-32-236). Lowe also leads the team in service aces with 11. Sophomore Lauryn Dowd continues to lead the Broncos with a team-best 11 service aces and is third on the team in total blocks with 16. Seniors Crystal Matich and Caroline Walters continue to lead SCU in their respective categories as Matich has dished out 358 assists and Walters has posted 140 digs.

In their last outing, the Broncos face a tough four-game loss to then-No. 16 Hawaii, 3-1 (30-28, 20-30, 28-30, 27-30) in the final match of the 2007 Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge in Honolulu, Hawaii. Lowe recorded her second double-double of the season with 20 kills and 18 digs. Walters tied the match-high 20 digs and Evans tied her season-high four total blocks.

Follow The Broncos Online
Every Santa Clara home game and most road games are covered live on the Internet via www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. All home games will also feature a live video broadcast as well.

Matich Named to Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge All-Tournament Team
Senior setter Matich received her third non-conference all-tournament team accolade last weekend as she was named to the 2007 Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge All-Tournament team. She was the lone representative of the Broncos on the list.

In three matches, Matich dished out 112 assists and five service aces. She also tallied nine kills, four blocks and 24 digs.

Matich Moves Up To No. 4 In All-Time Assists Average
Senior setter Matich has held onto the quarterback position of the Broncos since stepping on the court in 2004. As the team's current assists leader and a 2005 All-American, Matich is riding a 57 match double-digit assists streak that dates back to Nov. 23, 2004. After last weekend's performance, dishing out 112 assists, Matich total assists increased to 3,307, which places her fifth on the all-time career assists list, and moves her above Kris Kosnoski (1990-93) in career assists average with 11.52 per game.

In 78 total matches played, Matich has dished out double digit assists in all but two, and has compiled 11 double-doubles.

In the first two matches of the 2007 season, she duplicated her opening numbers from a year ago, registering 39 assists against CSU-Fullerton (the same number against Pacific in '06) and 48 assists against Texas-San Antonio (posting the same against Kansas State in '06).

Kill-ing Time With Evans
Sophomore Evans is giving a pretty impressive show in her second season with the Broncos. With just nine matches under her belt, the opposite hitter is the only Bronco to produce triple-digit kills thus far. Evans has register 114 kills this season, averaging 4.07 per game.

In the first match of the season, against CS Fullerton, Evans set a new career-high with 16 kills and the following day, crushed that record with a new career-best 20 kills. The 2006 WCC all-freshman team selection has registered double-digit kills in all but one match this season and is just 25 kills shy of her freshman total of 139.

SCU's Block-buster
Freshman Alex Scoffone has definitely made a name for herself at the net for the Broncos as she leads the 2007 squad in blocks, averaging 0.95 per game. Against Boise State (Aug. 25), she posted her season-best six total, while registering team-bests in all but two matches. Adding to her credentials, Scoffone ranks fourth on the Broncos squad in kills (38) and hitting percentage (.268).

Libero Walters Continues Hunt For Program Record
After playing an important role in last weekend's Boise State Invitational, senior libero Walters recorded 56 digs to bring her career total to 1,551. She is now 265 digs shy of eclipsing the current school record of 1,860 set by Lia Young (1990-93).

Over the course of her three seasons at Santa Clara, Walters has earned two All-WCC honors as she controls the back row defense for the Broncos. Be sure to continue to check www.santaclarabroncos.com for updates as Walters closes in on making school history.

Santa Clara In The WCC
With week three of the season finished, SCU is tied for third in the West Coast Conference standings with Portland. Both teams own a .667 win-loss percentage (6-3). Gonzaga has jumped into the No. 1 spot with an 8-3 overall record. As a team, the Broncos rank second in opponent hitting percentage (.162), kills (16.83 per game) and service aces (1.89 per game). Santa Clara checks in at No. 4 in digs with 16.82 per game and assists with 14.82 per game.

Individually, Matich continues to lead the WCC in assists with 12.79 per game, while libero Walters moved up to the No. 2 spot in digs, averaging 5.00 per game. Sophomore Evans is sixth in the conference with 4.07 kills per game, while Lowe ranks eighth with 3.59 kills per game and Nina Sevastopoulos joins the group at No. 11 with 3.42 per game. Lowe also claims the No. 9 spot in service aces (0.41 per game) and the No. 14 spot in digs per game (3.11).

Scouting UC Davis
The Aggies enter Thursday's match with a 3-6 overall record, after going 1-2 at the 2007 Hallmark Inn Aggie Invitational last weekend. UC Davis' three wins of the season were against Idaho State (3-1), Cal State Bakersfield (3-1) and Boise State (3-1). In their last outing, the Aggies were blanked by San Francisco, 3-0.

Leading UC Davis this year is Kayla Varney with 130 kills. Renee Ibekwe is second on the team with 115 kills. Both players have tallied 10 service aces, along with Avreeta Singh. Singh is the team leader in digs with 153, while Kelly Patterson has posted a team-best 39 blocks this season. Against USF, Varney registered 12 kills, while Carson Lowden dished out a double-double with 40 assists and 10 digs.

Santa Clara's series against UC Davis began just last year, when the Broncos defeated the Aggies, 3-0, in Davis, Calif.

Scouting Cal
The Golden Bears begin the tournament with an 8-1 overall record and a No. 11 ranking in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/CSTV Top 25 Poll. California opened the season with a five match win streak that was halted by Colorado on Sept. 2. Yet, the Bears got back on track and enter the weekend on a three match winning streak.

In its last outing, California swept No. 12 Minnesota, 3-0 (30-16, 30-21, 30-19) at home. The Bears were led by Morgan Beck and Angie Pressey, who posted 11 kills each. Pressey also added 12 digs and a match-high four service aces to Cal's victory. For the season, Pressey leads the Bears in three categories. She is first on the squad in kills (86), service aces (13) and digs (61). Ellen Orchard and Kat Reilly are tied for first on the team in total blocks. Both players have posted 42 total blocks (four solo, 38 assists).

The series against California extends back to 1979. The Bears lead the series 8-24, and won the last meeting between the two teams, 3-2, in 2005.

Scouting UCSB
The Gauchos begin the SCU Invitational with a 2-7 overall record. UC Santa Barbara is currently on a six match drought, which began on Aug. 31 against UNLV. In their last outing, the Gauchos fell 3-1 (22-30, 22-30, 30-21, 28-30) to the Cavaliers of Virginia. For the match, Lauren McLaughlin recorded 18 kills and 13 digs, while Brett Quirarte and Rebecca Saraceno posted 14 kills each. Quirarte also handed out three service aces.

For the season, UCSB's attack is led by McLaughlin with 173 kill (4.94 per game). Setter Dana Vargas has dished out a team best 418 assists and is third on the team in total blocks with 21. Quirarte is first on the Gauchos squad with 39 total blocks (nine solo, 30 assists).

UCSB leads the series against Santa Clara, 3-15. The two teams last met on Sept. 10, 2005 in the SCU Invitational. The Broncos served up a 3-0 sweep of the Gauchos that afternoon.

Scouting Notre Dame
The lone Midwest opponent of the weekend is the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Irish enter the weekend with a 3-4 overall record and are currently receiving votes in the latest AVCA/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. In its seven matches thus far, three have been against ranked opponents with their last match resulting in a 3-1 (26-30, 30-25, 28-30, 23-30) loss to then-No. 13 Ohio at the Shamrock Invitational. Megan Fesl led the Irish with 14 kills, while Kellie Sciacca and Adrianna Stasiuk each posted 12 kills. Stasiuk also added four total blocks, while Justine Stremick led the match with eight total blocks (three solo, five assists).

Notre Dame team leaders include Fesl and Stremick. Fesl is first on the squad with 109 kills and is second in digs with 85. Stremick leads the Fighting Irish in total blocks with 41 (10 solo, 31 assists) and has recorded 60 kills thus far.

Santa Clara leads the series against Notre Dame with a 4-0 all-time record. The two teams last met on Sept. 3, 2006 in Indiana, and the Broncos dished out a 3-0 victory over the then-No. 20 Irish.

On Deck
The Broncos return to action on Friday, Sept. 21 at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif. Santa Clara will host San Jose State in the sixth annual rivalry series. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.