Sept. 17, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara volleyball team will face Long Beach State in two road matches this weekend at the Walter Pyramid before beginning West Coast Conference play on Oct. 2. The Broncos and 49ers will play on Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20 in Long Beach with both matches starting at 7 p.m.
Follow The Broncos Online
Bronco fans can follow the volleyball team online with live stats via the GameTracker link on the main page of www.SantaClaraBroncos.com.
Last Time Out
Santa Clara defeated Sacramento State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 26-24) Tuesday night to open its 2008 home schedule at the Leavey Center. The Broncos dominated in the first set, hitting 41.4 percent compared to the Hornets 0.0 percent. Brittany Lowe and Anna Cmaylo registered match-high 12 kills each, while Tanya Schmidt added 10 kills. Cmaylo also led the match with four total blocks. SCU has defeated Sac State in eight of their last nine meetings.
Broncos Take Second At Stanford
The Broncos went 2-1 last weekend at the Stanford Invitational. Santa Clara defeated UC Santa Barbara in four sets and then swept New Mexico State before falling to then-No. 7 Stanford in three sets. Lowe averaged a team-best 3.80 kills per set, while Cmaylo compiled a 33.3 hitting percentage. Lindsy Davigeadono dished out 10.40 assists per set, while both she and Cmaylo posted a team-best 16 total blocks each.
Bronco Watch
Seniors Lowe and Cmaylo are the first two Broncos to register over 100 kills this season. Lowe averages 3.74 per set, while having 11 aces and 11 total blocks to her name. She leads the squad in solo blocks with six. Cmaylo averages 3.03 kills per set and leads the squad with 33 total blocks (2 solo, 31 assists). Junior Davigeadono's hitting percentage of 36.7 is a team-best, while she averages 10.94 assists per set and has posted nine aces and 30 total blocks. Senior Taylor O'Brien has collected a team-best 108 digs, while freshman Libby Morrison leads the Broncos serving efforts with 12 aces.
Closing In On 1,000
Senior outside hitter Lowe is the next member of the 2008 Bronco roster chasing after 1,000. Lowe is now nine digs away from her career 1,000. Lowe reached her career 1,000 kills in 2007 after tallying a team-high 452.
Broncos In The Polls
SCU continues to receive votes in the 2008 AVCA/CBS College Sports Top-25 Coaches Poll. The Broncos moved up five spots this week and are currently three spots out of the top-25. SCU is just one of six teams receiving votes this week.
In the WCC
Heading into week No. 4 of the season, Santa Clara is ranked in the top-4 in hitting percentage, blocks and aces.
Individually, seven different Broncos are ranked in the top-10 in all seven categories. The top honors this week go to Davigeadono (No. 5 - assists), Morrison (No. 5 - aces) and Cmaylo (No. 5 - blocks). The individual rankings can be seen on page 6 of the PDF.
Broncos And The Record Books
Broncos have already begun moving around the record books this year. Outside hitter Lowe is now eighth in kills (1,228), seventh in attempts, (3,167) and eighth in aces (121). She is two aces away from tying the 2007 WCC Player of the Year Crystal Matich.
Cmaylo holds steady to her No. 2 all-time hitting percentage. She moved up to No. 3 on the all-time block assists list with her performance against Sac State. She now has 336 block assists and is 24 away from claiming the No. 2 spot. Cmaylo is also just five solo blocks away from entering the career top-10. Thirteen more total blocks and she'll claim the No. 3 spot in that category as well.
Scouting Long Beach State
LBS enters the weekend with a 9-1 overall record and a No. 22 national ranking. Last weekend, the 49ers went 12-2 in sets to win the Harvard Invitational title, sweeping Central Connecticut State, Dartmouth and Harvard, and edging American, 3-2. Long Beach is lead by Caitlin Ledoux, who averages 3.03 kills per set. Naomi Washington is a blocking threat as she leads the team with 42 total.
All-Time vs. Long Beach State
Friday marks the sixth meeting of the two programs. The two teams last met on Dec. 1, 2000 with the 49ers edging the Broncos, 3-2.
On Deck
Santa Clara will take an 11-day hiatus from match play and returns to the court on Thursday, Oct. 2 to begin West Coast Conference action against Loyola Marymount. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Leavey Center.
