SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball opened play at the Sacramento State Invitational with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 victory over Kent State Friday night at Colberg Court. The Broncos hit .352 as a team and outblocked the Golden Flashes 12-4.

Santa Clara has won four of its last five matches, including three by way of the sweep. Nikki Hess led all players with 13 kills — she added 11 digs for a double-double and tied Jensen Cunningham with a team-best six blocks. Kirsten Mead had 35 assists on the night. 

"The team played with great focus and had some of the best energy I've seen all year," head coach Jon Wallace said. "We had great play and leadership from Nikki Hess and Kirsten Mead, and Sabrina Clayton played well tonight." 

The Broncos (7-3) set the tone with a 7-0 stretch to take an early 8-2 lead over the Golden Flashes (5-5) in the opening frame. Anna McCreadie recorded two kills and Clayton posted two straight service aces as part of the run. Santa Clara led by at least five points for the rest of the set and Clayton capped the first stanza with one of her 12 kills as part of a 5-1 run. Santa Clara had 15 kills and a .464 hitting percentage in the first set.

"I felt like our outside hitters hit for high percentages; they were comfortable on the court and worked really hard," Wallace said.

Santa Clara pulled ahead with a 5-1 stretch to take a 14-10 after a close start to the second set. Danielle Rottman notched an ace and Clayton tallied two more kills as part of a 6-2 run to help the Broncos distance themselves from the Golden Flashes en route to a 2-0 lead heading into the break. 

The third set featured 12 ties and five lead changes as the closest stanza of the night. Santa Clara used a 4-0 run to take an 18-14 lead on four consecutive kills. Kent State cut the Bronco lead down to one at 22-21, and Hess recorded the final two kills to clinch the set and complete the sweep.