Nov. 15, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara volleyball team fell 3-0 to West Coast Conference foe Loyola Marymount Thursday night in Los Angeles. The match was decided by individual game scores of 30-28, 30-24 and 30-21. With the loss, the Broncos dropped to 10-3 in WCC play and 18-11 on the season, while the Lions improved to 15-11 overall and 7-6 in league play.
Outside hitter Krista Kelley led the Broncos with 14 kills, 10 digs and four total blocks. All four were team-bests. Junior Brittany Lowe tied the team-high 14 kills, while Nichole Clark and Lauryn Dowd posted three total blocks each. Setter Crystal Matich dished out 38 assists and a .444 hitting percentage, which was a SCU best.
The Broncos and Lions battled point-for-point in the start of the first game. Matich and Clark posted back-to-back block assists to give the Broncos a one-point edge, 7-6, and a kill from Clark pushed their lead to two, 8-6. Yet, Whitney Leonard responded quickly with a kill to knot the game again, 9-9. LMU earned a slight advantage, 19-17, but a kill from Lowe and a block assist from Dowd and Lindsy Evans tied the game again, 19-19. Although LMU took control of the scoreboard, Santa Clara fought hard to gain the advantage and came within one point on four occasions before a kill from Christianna Reneau ended the first game, 30-28.
Santa Clara starting things off in the second game as Lowe gave the Broncos a 2-1 lead. Yet, Loyola Marymount tied the score, 2-2, on an ace by Janie Motton and the two teams went head-to-head once again. The Lions were able to distance themselves earlier in the game and produced a 6-1 run to make the score, 15-10, but points from Lowe, Evans, Kelley and Kim Courtney rallied Santa Clara to tie LMU, 15-15. The score then remained tight until another kill from Reneau put the Lions up by one point, 21-20. That was the closest Santa Clara would get as LMU pushed ahead to win game two, 30-24.
A solo block by Kelley opened the third game but Loyola Marymount was quick to take control and developed a six-point lead, 16-10, on successful plays by Reneau, Heather Hughes and Emily Day. The Broncos fought hard to lessen the gap in points, but the Lions closed out the match with a 30-21 games three victory.
Santa Clara brings the regular season to a close on Saturday, Nov. 17 against Pepperdine. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.
