Aug. 30, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The Santa Clara volleyball team opened the 2008 season with a five-set victory (25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-0) against Utah Valley at Crimson Court Saturday in the second match of the Ute Invitational.
Senior Brittany Lowe led the Broncos with 20 kills. She also had seven digs and three blocks. Anna Cmaylo also posted double-figure kills with 12. Lindsy Davigeadono dished out a match-high 44 assists and two service aces.
In set one, Santa Clara scored the first three points of the first set with Kim Courtney serving two aces. Lowe turned in five kills on 16 attempts, while Krista Kelly was efficient on the attack with four kills on six swings. The Broncos jumped to a 14-10 lead on a kill by Cmaylo and then climbed to their largest lead of the set, seven-points, on a Wolverine attack error. A block by Tanya Schmidt and Nina Sevastopoulos brought Santa Clara to match point, 24-17, and a service error by Utah Valley ended the set, 25-18.
Utah Valley responded quickly in the second set with an early 4-1 run. The Wolverines jumped to an 8-5 lead after the Broncos rallied back to knot the score at 5-5 on a kill by Cmaylo. Utah Valley, however, would never relinquish its lead and took the set, 25-17.
After the break, Santa Clara assumed control of the match with a 4-0 run to open the third set. The Broncos' lead would grow to as many as five at a 6-1 margin on successful plays by Davigeadono, Lowe, Sevastopoulos and Schmidt. Utah Valley battled back to reduce the margin to two points on two occasions; yet, SCU held the advantage with a 4-0 run in the middle of the set to gain a 17-10 edge and cruise to a 25-20 third-set victory. The Broncos held the Wolverines to a .065 hitting percentage, connecting for eight kills on 31 attempts with six errors.
The two teams went point-for-point in the start of the fourth set before Utah Valley surged to a four-point lead at 16-12. Despite solid attacks from Lowe and Cmaylo, the Wolverines held on to win the set, 25-22.
The Broncos wasted no time and took all 15 points of the fifth set. Service was held by senior Taylor O'Brien, who brought the Broncos to match point, 14-0, with an ace. A kill by Lowe off a set from Davigeadono, drew the contest to a close. Lowe once again took charge with four kills in the determining set.
The Ute Invitational concludes tomorrow as Utah hosts Santa Clara at 4 p.m. at Crimson Court.
