SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara volleyball team kept pace near the top of the West Coast Conference standings by sweeping (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) pesky Saint Mary's Saturday afternoon at Leavey Center.

Nikki Hess had a match-high 14 kills and nine digs, while Kirsten Mead chipped in a match-best 39 assists and eight digs.

The Broncos (17-5, 8-2) are now tied for second in the conference standings with BYU after Loyola Marymount knocked off the Cougars, 3-2, Saturday afternoon. San Diego (9-1) remains in first following Saturday's 3-0 victory at Pepperdine.

Santa Clara, which posted a .243 attack percentage, has won eight of its last nine and earned its fourth straight win vs. the Gaels (6-14, 1-9).

The Broncos trailed just twice in the match (1-0 in both the first and third sets), but had to fight off a number of rallies by the Gaels, who have lost six straight.

In the second set, Saint Mary's battled back from an 11-2 deficit to draw within 12-10, but the Broncos scored the next four points, including kills by Jensen Cunningham and Sabrina Clayton, and then got back-to-back aces from Danielle Rottman to push the lead to 23-13.

Rottman figured into a run midway through the third set. Holding a 11-9 advantage, Santa Clara ripped off five straight points. Hess started the rally with a kill and Rottman added two of her match-high four aces.

The Gaels, who were held to a .125 attack percentage, later closed to within 18-15, but kills from Cunningham and Hess ended the rally and the Gaels could not close the gap.

The Broncos helped established the tone for the match late in the opening set. Leading just 18-16, Santa Clara scored 14 of the next 18 points to close out the first set and build a 7-1 lead in the second.

Santa Clara is 8-1 at home this year and has swept four of its conference matches.

The Broncos are off until Thursday when they begin their Northwest road trip by facing Gonzaga at 6 p.m. SCU then plays Portland at noon Saturday.