Santa Clara volleyball will hit the road again this weekend, traveling south to the Los Angeles area for a pair of matches. The Broncos travel first to Malibu to face Pepperdine at 7 pm on Oct. 16. They finish off the weekend at No. 24 LMU on Oct. 18 at 12 pm.
Santa Clara is 13-6 this season, including 3-3 in the WCC. Santa Clara defeated Portland 3-1 last Thursday and then fell 3-2 to Gonzaga on Friday night, after leading 2-0.
"The Gonzaga match was a tough match for us to come out on the losing end," said Bronco head coach Jon Wallace. "Our girls came out with great focus and determination in games one and two. And we talked to our team about how to come out of the half time a little bit differently, a little bit more kind of focused in and more in a routine. Having a young team with its sights set on a victory, after being up 2-0, is never a good thought in the middle of a match. We need to stay on task and we learned our lesson that nothing's done until the match is over. We have got to continue to stay focused throughout an entire match. I'm proud of our girls and how we fought back in game five. We had some nice chances there to pull up one or to win the match. Our girls got some fight and played with lots of grit in that final set. They walked away a little upset, and that's a good thing going into this week of play. "
Pepperdine is 7-11 this season, including 2-4 in the WCC. The Waves are 2-3 at home. They are led by Jillian Bergeson, who scores 2.75 kpg, and also by Gaby Palmeri, who snares 2.72 kpg.
"We just got done watching film on Pepperdine and they are now running a 5-1 with probably one of the best setters in our conference. Becca Strehlow makes them a lot better and poses different problems for us," added Wallace.
LMU is 16-2 and 4-2 in the league. The Lions are a perfect 6-0 at home and they were a perfect 14-0 in the preseason. They have three hitters scoring 3.0 plus kpg: Caitlin DeWitt (3.97), Sarah Sponcil (3.35) and Litara Keil (3.33).
"Going down to LA, it's always been two tough matches," said Wallace. "We are on the road again for what seems like a heavy road schedule early on in conference. I think we are a little tired of traveling, but this will be our last trip for a while."
The Broncos are No. 3 nationally this week in aces per set with 1.88 and No. 11 in team service aces with 124. They lead the WCC in both categories.
Sabrina Clayton and Nikki Hess lead the Broncos in kills with 3.33 kpg and 3.29 kpg, respectively. Clayton is the team leader with .44 sapg.
Wallace knows they are asking a lot of Clayton and Hess as sophomores. Wallace said they are very confident in their kills, but at the same time, they are continuing to learn on the job. "They pass, they play defense, they are hitting, they're blocking usually the best players on the opposing team. They're taking all of the big swings for us right now. We are continuing to try to work to get more balance in our offense, but Nikki and Sabrina are carrying this team right now and we are good with that. We are very pleased with their commitment to improve and their dedication to this program."
Setter Kirsten Mead is No. 8 in the country with 11.53 apg. "I just can't say enough for Kirsten," said Wallace. "To come in as a freshman and run a 5-1 and solidify the consistency of our offense, and the consistency for our attackers to have an opportunity on every play to score, she's done a great job. Her maturity as an athlete is unbelievable and she's been in some really intense matches. She has stayed calm and cool and has done her job extremely well."
Danielle Rottman leads the team with 4.56 dpg and is second with .41 sapg. Clayton, Rottman and Mead are 1-3-4, respectively, in aces per set in the WCC.
Wallace is very happy with the play of Rottman, especially these last two weekends of play. "She's really coming into her own. She understands how she wants to play and needs to play this game. She has learned a lot this year. She's at a position where she's battling on every single defensive play for us and she's getting our passers in the right place, in the right state of mind on every serve."
