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The Broncos outlasted Portland Thursday night on the volleyball court 3-1. They were led by a red-hot Haley Cameron who hit .565 with 15 kills. Set scores were 23-25, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-23. Santa Clara hosts Gonzaga on Sat., Oct. 5 at 1 pm.
SCU is 7-6 and 2-2 in the WCC. Portland is 0-14 and 0-5 in WCC play.
Santa Clara hit .298 with 60 kills (18 e, 141 att.). The Broncos collected 40 digs, 58 assists, 12 service aces, 10 service errors and 10 team blocks. Portland hit .217 with 51 kills (25 e, 120 att.). The Pilots collected 51 digs, 47 assists, four service aces, zero service errors and 12 team blocks.
"Haley played very well for us tonight. She had a great week of practice. She is really stepping out of her shell and taking on a big load for our team," said Bronco head coach Jon Wallace. "Mary started her first match and played really well. We know she has room for improvement, but she did a great job passing tonight and made a difference defensively."
The Broncos had four hitters score double digit kills. Haley Cameron led the Broncos with 15 kills, hitting .565 with a block solo and seven block assists. Sabrina Clayton had 14 kills, Taylor Milton had 12 and Nikki Hess collected 11. Alyssa Anderson had 52 assists and 10 digs. Mary Shepherd had four aces and 12 digs.
"Alyssa set a really nice match for us," said Wallace. "She played good defense and was able to keep a good balance with our offense."
Portland was led by Autumn Wedan's 20 kills. Makayla Lindburg scored 15 kills.
Anderson started the match with an ace. Portland scored seven of the next eight to take a 7-2 lead. Timeout Broncos. The Pilots scored a team block out of the timeout. Started off by a team block by Maas and Hess, the Broncos rallied to score seven straight and take a 9-8 lead. A kill by the Pilots tied it up, but Milton was quick with the kill cross court to get the sideout, 10-9 Broncos. Trading points, the teams tied it up at five times. An ace by Mary Shepherd helped the Broncos and it was followed by a kill by Cameron, 17-15 Broncos. Timeout Portland. A kill by the Pilots gave them the sideout. A team block by the Broncos and a service ace by Milton put SCU up 19-16. A slide by Cameron gave the Broncos a kill. Timeout Portland. Portland scored twice out of its timeout. A kill by Hess off the double block gave SCU the ball, but Wedan's kill gave Portland the ball. Portland scored again before SCU called time, up 21-20. Timeout SCU. A hitting error by the Pilots gave SCU the ball. Portland tied it up 22-22 on a Bronco hitting error. An ace by Portland put the Pilots up 23-22. Maas was called in the net with Portland up 24-22. Portland collected a kill to win set one 25-23. SCU hit .146 with 12 kills. Portland hit .257 with 16 kills.
A kill by Hess started the second set and a Cameron block solo added to the total, 2-0 Broncos. Hess collected a kill off the single blocker and Milton's ace and a Portland error made it 5-1. A kill by Cameron was followed by a couple Portland points, 6-4 Broncos. Cameron's kill on the slide gave SCU the sideout. Cannon used the single block for a kill. Cannon got the sideout in the middle again. Clayton's ace on the back line put SCU up 10-6. Trading points, a kill by Hess on an overhit gave SCU the ball. Cameron proved unstoppable in the middle, collecting the sideout, 12-8 SCU. The Broncos scored three of the next four and the Pilots called for time, down 15-9. Clayton's kill off the double block gave SCU a sideout after Portland scored a kill, 16-10 SCU. Portland scored five of the next seven to pull within three, down 18-15. Timeout Broncos. Cannon scored twice between a Bronco service error, 20-16 SCU. Shepherd scored two straight aces to cause Portland to call for another timeout, 22-16 Broncos. After a Milton error, she came back for a big kill and the sideout. Cameron's kill on the slide gave SCU set point. Clayton's kill clinched the set, 25-19. SCU hit .375 with 17 kills (5 e, 32 att.). Portland hit .091 with six kills (4 e, 22 att.).
The Broncos scored five of the first six points, including an ace by Clayton. A kill by Hess crosscourt made it 6-2. Cameron and Milton scored a team block. Shephard's third ace of the night made it 8-2. Kills by Hess and Cameron and an ace by Hess made it 12-5 Broncos. SCU scored two of three to advance its lead to 14-6. Milton's kill and then her own ace stopped a mini-Pilot rally, 20-12 SCU. Portland scored twice on kills and once on an ace, 21-15 SCU. A kill by Cameron on the short smack in the middle gave SCU a sideout. Clayton's cross court kill inched the Broncos closer to set point, 23-16. Sideout Portland. Wedan's attempt went out and an ace by Clayton gave SCU the set, 25-17. SCU hit .379 with 13 kills (2 e, 29 att.). Portland hit .129 with 11 kills (7 e, 31 att.).
