Oct. 2, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 23 Santa Clara volleyball team opened West Coast Conference action Thursday night with a 3-1 victory over Loyola Marymount at the Leavey Center. The final set scores were 17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20. With the win, the Broncos improved to 9-3 on the season and 1-0 in WCC play, while the Lions dropped to 10-5 overall and 0-1 in league play.
The Broncos were led by a team-high 14 kills from sophomore Krista Kelley and a match-high five total blocks from redshirt senior Anna Cmaylo. Cmaylo also tied the match-high three service aces with teammate Brittany Lowe. Lowe also had 10 kills and 11 digs on the night.
Santa Clara struggled to gain control of the first set, watching Loyola Marymount climb to a five-point lead, 16-11, on a solo block by Ariana Covington. The Broncos began to fight back and chip away at the lead. Lowe brought SCU within three points with a kill off a set from Nina Sevastopoulos, 19-16, but the Broncos could not tie the score. The Lions took the first set, 25-17, on a bad set by junior setter Lindsy Davigeadono.
The Broncos turned it around in the second set and created a four-point edge on kills by Kelley and Cmaylo, 6-2. Although the Lions rallied to bring the score within one, 7-6, the Broncos held the advantage and earned a six-point edge, 13-7, on back-to-back kills by Sevastopoulos. Santa Clara reached set-point on a kill by Kelley and a solid, solo block by Davigeadono brought the set to a close, 25-20.
Tied 1-1, Santa Clara returned from the break and quickly earned a 9-3 lead on points from Lowe, Davigeadono and Cmaylo, and on LMU attacking errors. SCU compiled a 5-0 run mid-set beginning with a solo block by Lowe and ending with a solo block by Cmaylo. The Broncos led, 17-7. Although Santa Clara continued to push towards victory, Loyola Marymount fought hard to knot the score. The Broncos reached set-point on a Lions' attacking error, 24-14; but were held back by a short five-point rally. After a Santa Clara timeout, Sevastopoulos slammed the ball down to give SCU the 25-19 win.
The fourth and final set had a similar start as the third with Santa Clara jumping to an 8-2 lead. However, LMU began to fight back early on and brought the score within one, 12-11, on an SCU attack error. The Lions then tied the score and took a two-point lead on a block by Megan Nash and Emily Day, 14-12. The two teams then battled point-for-point, tying the score five times before Santa Clara could regain the edge. The Broncos did so on a solo block by Sevastopoulos, 20-18. The Lions came within one point on two occasions, but could not tie the score. Santa Clara posted four straight points to win the match on a service ace from Lowe, 25-20.
The Broncos return to action on Saturday, Oct. 4 against the No. 15 Waves of Pepperdine. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Leavey Center.
