Nov. 6, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara volleyball team stormed past Gonzaga Thursday night to post a 3-0 victory in West Coast Conference action. The final set scores were 25-17, 25-20, 25-17. With the win the Broncos improved to 16-6 on the season and 7-3 in league action.
Brittany Lowe led the Broncos with 13 kills and two aces, while Taylor O'Brien collected 13 kills to lead the Dig For The Cure match.
The Broncos jumped to a 3-0 start on Bulldog errors and a kill by Lowe. However, Gonzaga knotted the score at 6-6, on a block by Michelle Boevers and the two team battled point-for-point. Santa Clara broke free from the back and forth rut with an 8-1 run to claim a 20-11 advantage. SCU continued to push ahead and with a kill by Nina Sevastopoulos, the Broncos won the first set, 25-17.
The second set saw the Broncos take early control but the Bulldogs keeping close tabs. Gonzaga remained within one or two points for quite sometime before Santa Clara produced a five-point run fueled by a Lowe and Davigeadono kills, a block by Davigeadono and an ace by Libby Morrison. The Broncos led 15-9. SCU reached 22 points on a kill by Kim Courtney, but the Bulldogs were not ready to back down. Gonzaga put together a four-point rally to come back within two points, 22-20. However, a Bulldog service error and back-to-back kills by Lowe brought the set to a close, 25-20.
Returning from the break, Santa Clara quickly took charge once again. Similar to the previous set, Gonzaga kept the score close but was unable to tie. The Broncos reached its largest lead of the set, 17-11, on a solo block by Krista Kelley. Anna Cmaylo was behind the service of five straight points for the Broncos as she registered an ace and a kill, and Tanya Schmidt and Lowe pounded out a kill each, 22-13. Santa Clara was halted at 23 points as Gonzaga tried to knot the set. However, a kill by Sevastopoulos gave the Broncos a 25-17 victory.
Santa Clara returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. against Portland.
