LOS ANGELES — Santa Clara volleyball finished opening weekend of the 2016 season by winning both of its matches Saturday to claim the USC Baden Invitational championship. The Broncos started with a 22-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-17 victory over No. 7 USC and ended the day by downing Marquette 25-17, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14.
Kirsten Mead garnered Tournament MVP honors, while Nikki Hess and Taylor Laugero were selected to the All-Tournament Team. Mead, a junior setter, totaled 124 assists and averaged 11.2 assists/set over three matches.
"I am very proud of our whole team," head coach Jon Wallace said. "It was a lot of fun to watch our Broncos fight on every point to get three wins. We are looking forward to getting back in the gym on Monday."
The Trojans are the highest-ranked team the Broncos have defeated in SCU's regular season history. Prior to Saturday, the highest-ranked opponent Santa Clara defeated in the regular season was No. 9 Arizona State on Oct. 2, 1982 in a five-set contest.
Santa Clara swept UC Irvine in its season-opening match Friday night. The Broncos (3-0) and Golden Eagles (2-1) were playing head-to-head to decide the tournament champion.
SANTA CLARA 3, NO. 7 USC 1
After dropping the first set, Santa Clara built early leads in the middle sets by starting the second set on a 6-0 run and the third set on an 8-0 run. The Broncos aced the Trojans 11 times and five of those came in the second set.
In the fourth stanza, the Broncos went on a 12-3 stretch to take an 18-7 lead. They led most of the way in the first set until the Trojans (0-2) rallied to take the opening frame by winning nine of its final 13 points.
Sabrina Clayton topped the Broncos with 14 kills. Hess (13 kills,16 digs) and Mead (43 assists, 11 digs) each tallied double-doubles while Laugero recorded 27 digs.
The Broncos hit .273 for the match, including a .400 hitting percentage in the final set. They held the Trojan offense to a .134 hitting percentage and USC hit no higher than .186 in a single set.
SANTA CLARA 3, MARQUETTE 1
Against the Golden Eagles, Santa Clara seized a 7-1 edge in the first set and led by at least three points the rest of the way. Jensen Cunningham got the Broncos going with a kill and an ace in the first eight points.
The teams sparred in a back-and-forth second frame; they were tied 10 times overall. After Marquette broke a 16-16 tie to take the lead, Santa Clara scores six straight points, including two kills apiece by Clayton and Cunningham. The pair tallied three kills each over the last nine points of the set.
Clayton had seven kills in the second set and 15 for contest. Cunningham led all players with 16 kills and hit .310 or better in all three matches Friday and Saturday — she averaged a .342 hitting percentage for the invitational.
After the break, the Golden Eagles steadily built a third-set lead and won five straight points to claim the third stanza and get back in the match. Santa Clara responded in the fourth frame with an 8-0 run to go ahead 16-6 en route to the win.
Mead (46 assists, 20 digs) and Hess (14 kills, 15 digs) were two of three Broncos to post double-doubles alongside Clayton (15 kills, 10 digs). Laugero had 26 digs for the nightcap and 53 digs on the day. In her first three matches as a Bronco, Laugero is averaging 6.18 digs/set.
UP NEXT
The Broncos head to Louisville, Ky. for the Active Ankle Challenge next week. They take on the host and No. 23-ranked Louisville on Friday, followed by Auburn and Stony Brook on Saturday.
MATCH NOTES: Santa Clara recorded wins over No. 5 Stanford and No. 5 Arizona in the postseason as part of its NCAA Tournament Final Four campaign in 2005 … the Broncos' win against USC was the first in program history (previously 0-2).
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Volleyball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Go Broncos!
