Pushing it to a fifth set for the fifth time this season, Santa Clara fell 3-2 to Pacific on Saturday afternoon at the Stanford Invitational. Santa Clara moves to 6-3 and Pacific is a perfect 8-0. The Broncos close out play tonight in the Stanford Invitational vs. Loyola Chicago at 8 pm. Set scores were 19-25, 26-24, 18-25, 25-18 and 9-15.
Santa Clara collected 71 kills (28 e, 197 att.) , hitting .218. The Broncos collected 68 assists, 78 digs, six service aces, 10 service errors and 12 team blocks. Pacific collected 65 kills (16 e, 181 att.) , hitting .271. The Tigers had 60 assists, 84 digs, three service aces, two service errors and 14 team blocks.
Four Broncos collected double-digit kills including Megan Anders (15-5-29, .345), Lexi Williamson (15-8-37, .189), Taylor Milton (14-7-37, .189) and Haley Cameron (11-1-22, .455). Ali Rambis collected 20 digs. Alyssa Anderson had 34 assists, 13 digs and two aces. Chelsea Heier had 26 assists, eight digs and three aces.
In set one Anders put the Broncos on the board with a cross-court kill and then she teamed up with Anderson and Milton for a team block, 2-1 Broncos. They tied it up to the back row four times in the early going, including 4-4 on another Anders kill. A kill by Milton and ace by Heier made it 7-4 Broncos. After a Tiger side-out, Milton knocked a kill off the block, 8-6 SCU. Cameron's kill to the back row gave the Broncos a side-out. The Tigers scored five of seven points to tie it up 12-12. The teams tied it up twice and UOP took the lead on a kill, 15-14. Timeout Broncos. Trading points twice, UOP went up three on back-to-back kills, 19-16. Timeout Broncos. A Bronco hitting error was followed by a kill by Williamson. The Tigers scored two of the next three points to move forward 23-18. Timeout Broncos. After trading points, the Tigers crushed it to the back row to win set one 25-19. SCU hit .278 with 16 kills (6 e, 36 att.). Pacific hit .438 with 15 kills (1 e, 32 att.).
In set two the teams were tied up 1-1 before Milton's cross court kill put SCU by one. UOP rallied for six straight before Wallace whistled for time. Back-to-back Milton kills made it 7-4 UOP. Trading points again, the Broncos pulled within two on a kill. After a Pacific kill to the back row, Williamson's kill and a Tiger error brought SCU within one, 9-8 UOP. A Broncos net error and a kill by the Tigers put UOP up three, 11-8. Williamson and Cameron collected kills between a Tiger point, 12-10 UOP. The Tigers scored three of the next four points to take a 15-11 lead. A kill by Milton and a team block by Milton and Anders stopped the run, but UOP scored three straight to go up 18-13. Timeout Broncos. Two UOP team blocks were sandwiched between a couple Williamson kills, 21-15 UOP. Douglas and Cameron collected a team block before the Tigers knocked a kill off the Bronco block, 22-16 UOP. The Broncos won a long rally to score and went on to hold UOP off on four straight set points, including a back-set by Rambis for a Douglas kill. Timeout Pacific. An ace by Anderson and then a Tiger passing error and a kill by Milton tied it up 24-24. A Douglas kill to the right side and a Tiger hitting error gave the Broncos a 26-24 set two win. The Broncos won the final nine points, including eight on Anderson's serve. SCU hit .250 with 18 kills (6 e, 48 att.). Pacific hit .208 with 15 kills (4 e, 53 att.).
A kill by Anders started the third set, but the Tigers battled for four of their own to take a 4-1 lead. Lommori dumped it over for a kill. The teams traded points and an Anders kill cross court proceeded a Heier ace. A kill by Schulz, her 10th, put UOP up 7-5. A lift by the Tigers and a pair of Bronco hitting errors and it was 9-6 UOP. UOP scored three of the next four before Wallace whistled for time, 12-7 UOP. UOP won three of the next four before an Anders block solo stopped it cold, 15-9 UOP. UOP scored three of the next four and then SCU whistled for time. UOP responded by winning two of three points and were stopped by a Williamson kill, 20-13 UOP. The teams traded points twice. Trading points, a team block by Anders and Milton and a Birch kill and a Tiger team block made it 24-16. An Anders kill and a team block by Anders and Milton fought off two set points before a Tiger kill off the block gave UOP a 25-18 set three win. SCU hit .024 with nine kills (9 e, 42 att.). Pacific hit .312 with eight kills (4 e, 32 att.).
In the fifth and deciding set, the Tigers took an early 2-0 lead. A team block by Lommori and Anders followed a kill by UOP, 3-1 UOP. Anders 15th kill of the match hit the court in the back row. Schulz collected her 13th kill of the match and Williamson her 14th to make it 4-3 UOP. UOP scored two points to go up 6-3. Timeout Broncos. Out of the timeout UOP scored twice again. A Williamson kill stopped the four-point rally, 8-4 UOP. UOP scored three more and then SCU called for time, down 11-4. The Tigers scored two of the next three points out of the timeout. A Lommori kill quieted the rally, 13-6 UOP. A Douglas kill and then a Douglas block solo pushed it to 13-8 UOP. Timeout Pacific. A kill by Sanders out of the time out gave UOP match point. Douglas crushed her ninth kill, but UOP collected its final kill to win 15-9. SCU hit .133 with seven kills (3 e, 30 att.). Pacific hit .385 with 12 kills (2 e, 26 att.).
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