Posted: Nov 01, 2018
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Michelle Shaffer had a 10-kill, 13-dig double-double for Santa Clara volleyball, but Portland's Izzy Guzik (15 kills) and Reghan Pukis (10) combined to lead the Pilots to a four-set win on Thursday night in Leavey Center. Portland defeated the Broncos 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15 in a West Coast Conference matchup to sweep the season series.
Guzik's 15 kills were a match-high and she hit .367 for the Pilots (17-7, 5-7 WCC). Cali Thompson notched a match-best 34 assists and Carey Williams posted a match-best 18 digs. Two other Pilots posted double digit digs — McKenzie Schwan (12) and Thompson (11).
Kamrin Caoili led the Broncos (6-19, 1-12 WCC) with 14 kills on .333 hitting while Liliana Light had a team-best 30 assists. Chloe Loreen topped the Broncos with 14 digs.
The opening set included four lead changes and nine ties with the last one coming at 18-all. The Pilots broke that deadlock with a 3-0 run and later closed the frame on a 4-0 run; Thompson had three straight service aces to cap the first stanza.
The Broncos never trailed in the second set, hitting .289 and holding the Pilots to a .128 hitting percentage en route to tying up the match. Caoili hit .400 with six kills in the set.
Portland reclaimed the momentum and jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third set, which it won in wire-to-wire fashion. The Pilots used a 6-1 run to take an 8-4 lead in the fourth set and maintained at least a two-point lead the rest of the way; they claimed four straight points to end the match. Portland outhit the Broncos .250 to .053 in the third set and .300 to .194 in the fourth and final set.
For the match, Portland had 12 service aces to four for the Broncos and was +12 on points decided on serve (eight errors to Santa Clara's 12).
NEXT UP
The Broncos return to action on Saturday, hosting Gonzaga (7-15, 4-8) at 1 p.m. In the first match on Oct. 4, the Broncos took a 2-1 lead before the Bulldogs rallied for a five-set win. Gonzaga defeated San Francisco in four sets on Thursday night.
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