ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Santa Clara volleyball split a Saturday doubleheader to finish up the Lobo Classic in the Johnson Center Saturday. The Broncos went into the break tied up at one set apiece with SMU, and eventually fell to the Mustangs 21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 22-25. In their second match, Santa Clara swept Cal State Fullerton 25-12, 25-11, 25-17 to round out the weekend at 1-2.
VS. SMU
Anna McCreadie and Sabrina Clayton recorded six kills each for Santa Clara in the second set against SMU. After the Mustangs (4-1) built a 14-9 lead, the Broncos (3-2) came back to tie the set at 19 and take the lead on consecutive kills from Clayton. McCreadie produced the set-winning kill on one of Kirsten Mead's 44 assists for the match.
Trailing 13-10 in the first set, Santa Clara responded with a kill from McCreadie and back-to-back aces from Clayton to tie score and force an SMU timeout. Clayton led the Broncos in kills for the second straight match with 16, and McCreadie reached double-digit kills for the second time in her freshman campaign with 11. The Mustangs won the next three points to pull in front 16-13, and the Broncos could not pull within less than two points in the opening frame.
The Lobos scored the first four points of the third set, and led the entire way to retake the match lead at 2-1. In the fourth set, the Broncos used kills from four different players en route to an early 7-2 lead, and SMU came back from a seven-point deficit to win the final set and clinch the match.
VS. CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Broncos (4-2) capped the Lobo Classic with their most decisive win of the season against the Titans (0-6). McCreadie and Hess tied for a match high 10 kills, and GiGi Cresto led all players with 27 assists.
Mead's kill in the first set broke a 7-7 tie and the Broncos went on to win 17 of the next 22 points to claim the opening stanza. Santa Clara started fast in the second and third sets; the Broncos had an 11-1 lead in the second stanza and a 16-5 lead in the third stanza. In the middle of the third set, McCreadie recorded kills on five of seven points to help the Broncos distance themselves from the Titans.
Cresto and Mead set Santa Clara to a .406 hitting percentage overall, and a .486 hitting percentage in the final set. The Broncos had a 7-2 edge in service aces and 10-1 advantage in blocks. Natasha Calkins posted nine kills and hit .615 while three Broncos combined for four blocks in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Broncos make their way to Austin, Texas for a matchup with UTSA Sept. 10 followed by Sept. 11 contests against Iona and No. 3 Texas.
MATCH NOTES: First serve for the first match was at 9:35 a.m. PDT … time of the first match was 2:01 … attendance for the first match was 150 … first serve for the second match was 4 p.m. PDT … time of the second match was 1:15 … attendance for the second match was 95.
