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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara volleyball team continues action at the Leavey Center this weekend as it hosts San Jose State Friday night in the sixth annual rivalry series. First serve is schedule for 7 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, the Broncos will then face UNLV at 1 p.m.

About the Rivalry Series
Since the initiation of the Rivalry Series in 2002, the Broncos have gone 5-0 in matches against the Spartans in volleyball action and 15-6 in games. On Sept. 12, 2006, Santa Clara edged San Jose State, 3-2 (28-30, 18-30, 30-27, 30-19, 15-6) at Spartan Gym. SJSU controls the overall series record with a 24-12 mark. The original opponent series began in 1979.

Last Week for the Broncos
SCU finished last weekend with a 1-3 record and a 7-6 overall mark. The Broncos opened their home schedule with a 3-1 victory over UC Davis Thursday night. Friday night, Santa Clara fell 3-0 to No. 11 California in their first match of the 2007 SCU Volleyball Invitational, and then faced a hard-fought 3-2 battle with UC Santa Barbara Saturday night. In the final match of the weekend, the Broncos lost another 3-2 heartbreaker to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

For the weekend, junior Brittany Lowe registered a team-high 54 kills, while handing out 16 assists and posting 42 digs and four total blocks. Senior setter Crystal Matich, who earned all-tournament team honors, compiled a .409 hitting percentage (24-6-44) in the four matches. She also registered a team-best eight total blocks (five solo, three assists) and lead the team in assists with 211.

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.

Bronco Blogging
All year long, Bronco fans can receive an inside look at the volleyball team by checking in with Caroline Walters' blog on SantaClaraBroncos.com.

Walters will be posting a new entry each week to let fans know what is going on with the team and its players both on and off the field.

To read Walter's blog along with other Bronco sports blogs, click on the link on the right side of the SantaClaraBroncos.com homepage.

Broncos Make Appearances In Record Books
Brittany Lowe makes her first appearance in the Broncos record books this week in career kills average. The junior outside hitter averages 3.22 kills per game, placing her eighth on the all-time list. Matich also enters a new category as she ranks third in all-time hitting percentage (.329). She also holds steady at No. 5 in career assists with 3,518 and climbs one spot to No. 3 in all-time assists average, dishing out 11.57 per game. After last weekend's six service aces, Matich moves into the all-time aces category, claiming the No. 9 spot with 106 total.

In single season records, Matich takes the No. 7 spot in hitting percentage with (.343) after a month of action and her assists average of 12.64 gives her the No. 8 spot. Caroline Walters captured the top two spots in digs average. In her first season with the Broncos she set a new digs per game mark with 4.93. Thus far this season, she has averaged 4.73, which is good for second place in the same category.

Kill-ing Time With Evans, Lowe and Sevastopoulos
Sophomores Lindsy Evans and Nina Sevastopoulos, along with junior Lowe have all been giving impressive shows this season. With just 12 matches complete, the trio has combined for 412 kills, which is more than half the Broncos' total. Opposite hitter Evans was the first Bronco to jump into triple-digits after the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge (Sept. 6-8). She leads the team with 155 kills, averaging 3.69 per game. Outside hitter Lowe had a powerful performance this weekend as she pushed her season total to 151 kills (3.51 per game). She is also second on the team with a .251 hitting percentage (151-55-382). Meanwhile, outside hitter Sevastopoulos entered triple-digits this weekend, tallying 106 for the season.

SCU's Block-buster
Freshman Alex Scoffone continues to hold the No. 1 spot in total blocks on the 2007 Broncos lineup as she has posted 33 total (two solo, 31 assists) and averages 0.79 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 is tied for fifth on the team in kills (55) and hitting percentage (.245).

Freshman Fire
Freshman Krista Kelley returned to the court this weekend and made an immediate impact as she finished second on the team in kills and hitting percentage, registering 47 and .284, respectively. She tallied a personal best and match-high 25 kills again Notre Dame on Sunday, while collecting 12 digs for her second career double-double. Against UC Santa Barbara, she recorded 17 kills.

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 1,669. She is now 192 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
After four weeks of action, the Broncos rank No. 4 in several West Coast Conference statistical categories. Santa Clara claims fourth place in opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills and digs.

Individually, Evans checks in at No. 8 in kills per game with 3.69 and points with 4.35 per game. Lowe claims ninth place with 3.51 kills per game and Sevastopoulos continues to hold the No. 11 spot, averaging 3.42 kills per game. In assists, Matich is tied with Kiah Fiers of Pepperdine with 569 total assists and rounds out the top 10 in service aces with 0.36 per game. Meanwhile, libero Walters moves up to the No. 1 spot in digs with 213 total and 4.73 per game.

Scouting San Jose State
The Spartans enter Friday's contest with a 6-5 overall record. They are 0-4 on the road this season and, in their last match, they lost 3-1 to Utah State. Junior Colleen Burke led the attack for San Jose State with 17 kills and a .382 hitting percentage. Burke also posted a team best two total blocks in that match. Senior Nia Freeman and junior Niki Clement also posted double-digit kills against Utah State. Freeman registered 11 kills, while Clement had a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs.

For the season, senior Jennifer Senftleben leas the Spartans with 171 kills (3.98 kpg), while middle blocker Burke owns a team-best .409 hitting percentage (112-15-237). At the net, senior Keri Anglin controls SJSU's blocking efforts with 53 total (nine solo, 44 assists), while Senftleben has posted 24 blocks and Burke has registered 27 blocks. Serving up a storm for the Spartans is freshman Emily Burke, who leads the team with 11 aces.

The Broncos and Spartans last met on Sept. 12, 2006 at Spartan Gym for the annual Rivalry Series. Santa Clara rallied back from a highly contested two game deficit to tie the score and send the match into a fifth and final game. The Broncos were victorious 3-2 (28-30, 18-30, 30-27, 30-19, 15-6) and are undefeated in Rivalry Series action.

Scouting UNLV
The Rebels enter the weekend after making program history. UNLV is currently riding a nine-match winning streak that includes victories over then-No. 12 BYU and Utah last weekend. The Rebels are one spot out of the AVCA/CSTV top-25 with a 10-1 overall record. In their last outing, the Rebels served up a 3-1 victory over Utah. Leading the match was middle blocker Lauren Miramontes with 20 kills, while outside hitter Maria Aladjova registered 18 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore Jessica Walters had 13 kills and 13 digs.

Overall, Aladjova is first on the UNLV roster with 172 kills and is second with 151 digs. Miramontes has 165 kills thus far this season and is second on the team with a .273 hitting percentage (165-6-400). She is also first on the team with 38 total blocks (11 solo, 27 assists).

Sunday's contest marks the third meeting of the two teams. The Rebels and Broncos last met on Sept. 3, 2005 when SCU topped UNLV, 3-1 at the Sunset Classic in Irvine, Calif.

On Deck
Santa Clara begins West Coast Conference action next week as it hosts Portland and Gonzaga. First serve against the Pilots is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, while the Broncos and Bulldogs face off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. Both matches will be held at the Leavey Center.