The Santa Clara volleyball team fell 3-0 to No. 23 San Diego on Saturday. Game scores were 25-21, 25-20 and 25-18. Santa Clara is 11-9 and 2-4 in the WCC. San Diego is 15-4 and 5-0 in the WCC. Remaining at home, Santa Clara hosts rival USF Fri., Oct. 22 at 6 pm in the Leavey Center.
"San Diego is a senior-dominated team. They have four strong seniors, including the last two WCC Player of the Year. With that said, I liked the way we played, our on-court demeanor and the execution of the scouting report. But, USD made us pay for every error. That's what good teams do and we need to learn to execute at a higher level and cut down on errors," said Bronco head coach Jon Wallace. "I continue to see good growth with our team. They took this weekend's losses personally and I feel very confident that they are motivated on Monday to practice hard and improve. That's a good sign of their character and unity as a team."
Individually Santa Clara was led by Tanya Schmidt, who scored 10 kills (4 e, 23 att), hitting .261. Dana Knudsen had eight kills (1 e, 18 att), hitting .389. Emily Burke had a season-low 15 assists. Kayla Lommori had 11 digs and Bridget O'Hara had 13.
San Diego was led by Ali Troost's 13 kills (4 e, 30 att) and Amy DeGroot added 10 (4 e, 25 att.).
Lexi Williamson's service ace started set one. Knudsen's kill off the block tied it up 3-3. After a long rally, Knudsen and Kaleigh Durket teamed up to block Ashton Basch's attempt and a USD error tied it up at 5-5. Williamson's smart swat cross-court tied it up 6-6. Schmidt's kill tied it 7-7. San Diego scored four of the next five points to take a 12-8 lead. Schmidt's kill in the middle, a service ace by her and a block solo by Williamson halted the rally after a Bronco timeout. The two traded points before a kill by Amy DeGroot gave USD a 14-12 lead. Knudsen continued to be active on the net, snaring a block solo on a Basch attempt. Basch's hitting error tied it up at 14. USD came back to score four of the next five points to take an 18-15 lead. Schmidt took over. Her cross court kill stopped USD, and then her own block solo on a Basch attempt and another kill tied it up 18-18. USD rallied to score three straight. After a timeout by the Broncos, Schmidt crushed the ball for a kill. USD scored two straight when a Megan Anders kill off the block made it 23-20 USD. USD scored two of the next three points to win set one, 25-21. SCU hit .105 with 10 kills (6 e, 38 att.). Schmidt had five kills. USD hit .191 with 15 kills (6 e, 47 att.). Ali Troost collected five kills.
In set two, the teams tied up twice early on before USD took a 5-2 lead. The two teams continued to battle and a Knudsen kill tied it up 9-9. Lommori's kill cross court and a Knudsen kill tied it up 11-11. USD scored three straight when SCU whistled for time. USD went up 18-14 when SCU whistled for its second timeout, but USD's lead mounted when it scored two of the next three points. USD went up 23-17 on a team block by Katie Hoekman and Ali Troost. Schmidt's kill stopped the rally and Lommori's kill made it 24-20 USD. A kill by C'era Oliveira gave USD a 25-20 set two win. SCU hit .081 with 10 kills (7 e, 37 att.). USD hit .289 with 17 kills (6 e, 38 att.).
In set three USD scored four of the first five points to take a 4-2 lead. A USD service error, followed by Kaleigh Durket's kill and two USD hitting errors (DeGroot and Chloe Ferrart) helped SCU take a 5-4 lead. Two team blocks gave USD the lead back, but a hitting error tied it up at 6-6. Emily Burke's dump tied it up 9-9. A Toreros' hitting error tied it 10-10. USD scored four of the next five points to take a 14-11 lead. Durket's block solo on a Kandiss Anderson attempt made it 15-14 USD. After USD took a 16-15 lead, SCU called timeout. USD scored eight of the next nine points before two USD attack errors made it 24-18 USD. A kill by Troost finished the set and the match 25-18. SCU hit .071 and USD hit .273.
