Oct. 9, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Redshirt freshman Kim Courtney and junior Taylor O'Brien revealed career performances Tuesday night as Santa Clara volleyball faced Sacramento State in non-conference action. Courtney registered personal bests with 14 kills and 12 digs and O'Brien tallied a career-high eight kills, however their solid attempts were not strong enough as the Broncos fell 3-0 (32-30, 30-22, 30-28) in a highly contested match against the Hornets. With the loss, SCU drops to 11-9 overall and Sacramento State improves to 18-3 on the year.
Junior Brittany Lowe added 11 kills for Santa Clara, while setter Crystal Matich dished out 40 assists and a match-high six total blocks. Outside hitter Nichole Clark added five total blocks and eight kills for the night and libero Caroline Walters collected 18 digs.
The Hornets took an early control of the match, but the Broncos fought back to knot the score 7-7 on points from O'Brien and Lowe. Although Sacramento State continued to hold the advantage, Santa Clara kept the score tight as it tied the score again, 25-25, on a kill from Courtney. The teams then went point-for-point as a kill from Lowe equalized the score for the final time. A kill from Missie Stidham, followed by a successful attack from Jennifer Ferguson ended the first game, 32-30, for the Hornets.
Lauryn Dowd opened the second game for the Broncos but the score was quickly tied by the Hornets. The teams went head-to-head for the majority of the beginning of the game before Sacramento State took a five-point edge on a kill from Stidham. SCU continued its fight, but the Hornets won game tow, 30-22.
The start of game three was quite similar to game one as Sacramento State opened with a 7-3 advantage. The Broncos rallied back to come within two, 12-10, on a block assist from Dowd and O'Brien, but was unable to catch the Hornets. A 6-1 run fueled by points from Courtney and Matich, brought SCU within three, 26-23, and another small three-point run starting with a kill from Courtney and a block assist by Matich and Clark made the score, 28-26. However, that was the closest the Broncos would get as the Hornets ended the match with a 30-28 game three victory.
For Sacramento State, Lindsey Haupt recorded a match-high 18 kills, while Stidham and Ferguson chipped in with 17 and 10 kills, respectively. Ferguson also tallied a match-high 18 digs.
The Broncos return to West Coast Conference action at the Leavey Center on Friday, Oct. 12, Santa Clara hosts Saint Mary's at 6 p.m.
