SANTA CLARA, Calif. – On the cusp of snapping its skid in front of a boisterous home crowd, Santa Clara volleyball was upended in five sets as Pacific rallied for a 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13 victory in Tuesday's West Coast Conference match.
Nikki Hess had a match-best 22 kills and Jensen Cunningham added 14 for the Broncos (9-6, 0-3) who were making their first appearance of the season at Leavey Center on the new playing surface.
Emily Baptista (20 kills/12 digs) and Lexi Elman (12 kills/22 digs) each recorded double-doubles for the Tigers (9-6, 3-0) who remained perfect in league play and won for the sixth time in their last seven outings.
Pacific led 10-6 in the fifth set before the Broncos rallied to take a 12-11 lead on an attack error, but the Tigers scored four of the final five points. Lauren Cline's kill snapped a 13-all tie and Jessica Diederich served an ace on match point.
The Tigers had a .193 hitting percentage for the night, but .238 in the final set.
After the Broncos took a 2-1 lead in sets, the Tigers played a strong fourth. They erased a 3-1 deficit with seven straight points. The Broncos cut the advantage to 10-8 on an attack error, but Pacific's Ashlyn Fleming capped a 5-2 run to increase the lead to 18-12.
Santa Clara later took advantage of attack errors to knot the set at 20-all. However, Baptista followed with a kill and Diederich followed with her second ace of the match. Santa Clara called timeout, but couldn't stop the bleeding. Two attack errors by the Broncos and a kill from Cline sent the match to a fifth set.
The Broncos, who dropped their sixth-straight match, posted a .201 hitting percentage in the contest, but just .070 in the fourth set and .150 in the fifth. Santa Clara set a school record by winning its first nine matches this season. However, Kirsten Mead, a first-team All-WCC setter, has missed the last eight matches with an ankle injury.
Callie Jones matched a career high with 47 assists for the Broncos who are back in action Thursday when they travel to Gonzaga to continue WCC play.

May 19, 2017
Volleyball Summer Camp Dates Set

May 15, 2017
Volleyball Announces 2017 Indoor Schedule

February 28, 2017
Volleyball Adds Former Stanford Assistant Tyler Taylor to Coaching Staff

January 30, 2017
Volleyball Hires Stephanie Preach as Assistant Coach

January 23, 2017
Aaron Mansfield Named Volleyball Head Coach at Loyola Marymount

November 22, 2016
Volleyball Leads WCC with Six All-Academic Selections

November 22, 2016
Volleyball Ends the Season on Winning Note, Sweeping Saint Mary’s

November 21, 2016
Volleyball Hosts Saint Mary’s Tuesday for Season Finale

November 19, 2016
Volleyball Drops 3-1 Match to No. 10 BYU on Senior Day

November 17, 2016
Jerry Smith Coaching for Life Academy to Host Grit Seminar Saturday

November 17, 2016
Volleyball Falls to No. 11 San Diego Thursday

November 15, 2016
Volleyball Hosts WCC’s Top Teams in No. 11 San Diego, No. 10 BYU

November 12, 2016
Volleyball Knocks Off Surging LMU, 3-1, on the Road

November 10, 2016
Volleyball Heads to Southern California for Final Road Matches

November 10, 2016
Volleyball Begins Road Swing with Loss at Pepperdine

November 4, 2016
Volleyball Sweeps Match and Season Series from San Francisco

November 3, 2016
Volleyball Rounds out Season Series with USF in Lone Match of Week

October 29, 2016
Volleyball Rallies to Down Gonzaga, 3-1, Saturday
October 27, 2016
Volleyball Outlasted by Portland Thursday in WCC Action

October 25, 2016
Volleyball Begins Home-Heavy Stretch against Portland, Gonzaga

October 22, 2016
Volleyball Plays Three Close Sets in Loss at Saint Mary's

October 20, 2016
Mead Returns, Volleyball Drops Thursday Night Match at Pacific

October 19, 2016
Volleyball Looks to Continue Solid Stretch at Pacific, Saint Mary’s

October 15, 2016
Volleyball Downs Pepperdine in Convincing Fashion Saturday

October 13, 2016
Volleyball Knocked off by LMU at Home Thursday

October 11, 2016
Volleyball Returns Home for Matches against LMU, Pepperdine
October 7, 2016
Volleyball Sweeps San Francisco Friday on the Road

September 29, 2016
Volleyball Swept at Gonzaga

September 28, 2016
Volleyball Back on the Road at Gonzaga, Portland

September 27, 2016
Volleyball Falls to Pacific in Five-Set Heartbreaker in Home Opener

September 26, 2016
Volleyball Hosts Pacific for Home Opener Tuesday Night

September 24, 2016
Volleyball Swept at No. 7 San Diego

September 22, 2016
Volleyball Drops WCC Opener at No. 13 BYU

September 20, 2016
Ranked Opponents BYU, San Diego await Volleyball on WCC Opening Week

September 17, 2016
No. 17 Volleyball Falls to UC Davis

September 16, 2016
No. 17 Volleyball Drops Friday Matches at Boise State Invitational

September 14, 2016
No. 17 Volleyball Wraps up Nonconference Play at Boise State Invitational

September 12, 2016
Volleyball Reaches Highest Ranking in Nearly a Decade at No. 17

September 10, 2016
No. 19 Volleyball off to Best Start in Program History; Wins Cal Classic

September 9, 2016
No. 19 Volleyball Remains Perfect on Season by Sweeping Grand Canyon

September 7, 2016
No. 19 Volleyball Stays in Bay Area for Cal Classic

September 5, 2016
Volleyball Ranked 19th in AVCA Top 25

September 3, 2016
Volleyball Wins Active Ankle Challenge; off to Best Start since 2005

September 2, 2016
Santa Clara Volleyball Takes Down No. 21 Louisville

August 31, 2016
Volleyball Travels to Kentucky for Active Ankle Challenge


August 26, 2016
Volleyball Sweeps UC Irvine in Season Opener



August 9, 2016
Volleyball Preseason Practice Gets Underway

June 1, 2016
Volleyball Announces 2016 Indoor Schedule