Nov. 13, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - No. 21 Santa Clara volleyball faced a hard-fought 3-0 loss to San Francisco Thursday night in West Coast Conference action at the War Memorial Gym.
Anna Cmaylo led the Broncos with 12 kills and a 42.9 hitting percentage, while Brittany Lowe added 10 kills. Lindsy Davigeadono had 28 assists and three blocks, and Taylor O'Brien collected 14 digs for SCU.
The Dons took an early 6-3 lead in the first set, but the Broncos produced three straight points to knot the score 6-6 on a kill by Krista Kelley. The set was tied twice more before San Francisco went on a 6-0 run to make the score, 14-8. A kill by Lowe halted the Dons rally, but they quickly got back in their groove. Yet, Santa Clara put up quite the fight and tied the set, 22-22, on a USF attacking error. Alix Gombos gave USF another one-point edge, 23-22, but Cmaylo responded to tie the score, 23-23. The Dons would get up by one on a Sarah Mandala kill but this time Lowe knotted the score, 24-24. Anna Berger gave USF the win with a kill, 25-24, and an ace 26-24.
In the second set, San Francisco had a 3-0 start and climbed to a 10-6 lead after Santa Clara had tied the score twice. The Broncos would knot the set three more times, but it wasn't until 15-15 that SCU earned its second lead of the match. A kill by Kelley gave the Broncos a short-lived one-point edge, 16-15, as the Dons reacted with a 6-2 rally to make the score 21-18. After a Santa Clara kill by Tanya Schmidt, 21-19, USF went on to post four-straight points to take the set, 25-19.
Once again the scoring was tight between the Broncos and Dons in the third set. USF held a five-point edge, 9-4, after a SCU attacking error, but the Broncos fought back to tie the score, 9-9 on a kill by Kim Courtney off a set from Nina Sevastopoulos. A Courtney ace followed to give Santa Clara its third lead of the match. The two teams went point-for-point throughout the middle of the third set, but after an ace by Darcy Carroll, USF pushed to a 17-13 advantage on an ace by Addie Webster. The Dons upped their lead to seven points, 22-15, on a block by Mandala and Berger. San Francisco eventually took the final set, 25-17, on a kill by Carly Babin.
With the win, San Francisco improved to 19-6 overall and 9-2 in WCC action, while Santa Clara dropped to 17-7 on the season and 8-4 in league play.
The Dons were led by Gombos' 12 kills and three blocks. Mandala and Berger also posted three blocks, while Berger had two aces.
The Broncos continue action this weekend at the Jenny Craig Pavilion against the No. 13 Toreros of San Diego. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
