SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball continues its Spring 2021 campaign with a home-and-home West Coast Conference set against Saint Mary's this week. The Broncos head to Moraga to face the Gaels on Thursday before welcoming Saint Mary's to Santa Clara on Friday. First serve for both matches is set for 6 p.m.

The Broncos (3-5, 3-5 WCC) played four matches in six days last week, splitting contests against Portland at home and Gonzaga on the road. The Pilots rallied from a 2-0 deficit Monday to win in five sets and Santa Clara responded with a sweep win on Tuesday. SCU overcame a pair of set deficits to top the Bulldogs in five sets on Friday and Gonzaga won in three sets on Saturday.

Due to current guidelines in California, spectators are not permitted inside Leavey Center. In addition, only essential personnel is allowed on campus. The general public is allowed only to 'pass through' campus, such as on a walk, but no lingering, gathering, lounging, etc. is permitted.

HOW TO WATCH ON WCC NETWORK

Santa Clara home matches and West Coast Conference matches are streamed live on WCC Network. All events are available at WCCSports.com/watch. Match-specific broadcast links will be posted on the schedule page and on Twitter (@SCUVolleyball).

Anthony Passarelli is the play-by-play announcer for Friday's broadcast in Leavey Center.

THE BRONCOS

• This Season (Spring 2021): 3-5 (3-5 WCC, 2-3 Home, 1-2 Away) | Last Season (2019): 21-12 (10-8 WCC), NIVC Second Round

Julia Sangiacomo enters the week leading the WCC with 4.19 kills/set and 4.78 points/set. She has at least 12 kills in all eight matches on the season and has posted 20 or more kills twice in her last four outings. Sangiacomo's career-high 27 kills on March 8 against Portland were the most by a Bronco since Nov. 1, 2012, when Megan Anders registered 28 kills in a five-set victory at San Francisco. The sophomore outside hitter is averaging 4.69 kills/set over her last four matches.

Sophia Tulino has at least 11 kills in all eight matches this season. She ranks seventh in the WCC with 4.28 points/set and ninth with 3.59 kills/set. The freshman outside hitter also leads the WCC with 0.50 aces/set (31^st NCAA), and has posted multiple aces four times, including four aces in each of Santa Clara's first two matches against then-No. 18 San Diego.

Alex Anthony ranks third in the WCC with 1.16 blocks/set. The junior middle blocker posted a career-best 12 total blocks in a five-set match Feb. 23 at Pacific. As a team, Santa Clara is outblocking opponents 75-43 on the year.

Michelle Shaffer posted a 32 assist, 12-dig, 11-kill triple-double and hit .409 to spur the Broncos to their second straight win on Friday. She has two career triple-doubles and is tied for Santa Clara's all-time lead in that category, alongside Stacey MacDonough (1985-88), Jennifer Guigliano (1990-93) and Becky Potter (2000-03). Shaffer is one of only two Broncos all-time to record a triple-double with kills, assists and digs. She and Kathryn Decker achieved that feat last season.

HEAD COACH ERIN LINDSEY

Erin Lindsey is in her second season as head coach of Santa Clara volleyball. She is the 10th head coach for a program that dates back to 1963 and is in her second stint as a head coach after leading Dartmouth from 2011 to 2015. Her overall record as a head coach is 78-86 (24-17, 13-13 WCC at SCU). Lindsey joined the Broncos after winning a national championship as an assistant coach at Stanford in 2018.

Last season (2019), Santa Clara reached the postseason for the first time since 2015 and won its first postseason match since 2008 by claiming an opening-round victory at Long Beach State in the NIVC. The Broncos went 21-12 overall for a 15-win improvement compared to the previous year and their first 20-win season since 2015. Lindsey became the first head coach in program history to start 6-0 in her debut season.

THE GAELS

• This Season (Spring 2021): 6-7 (6-7 WCC, 3-3 Home, 3-4 Away) | Last Season (2019): 11-17 (7-11 WCC)
• Picked to finish 6^th of 10 in 2021 WCC Spring preseason poll
• All-time series: Santa Clara leads 53-26 (first meeting 1979)
• 2019: 10/1 SCU won 3-0 @ SCU, 10/24 SCU won 3-1 @ SMC
• The teams have split the last eight meetings

Saint Mary's enters the home-and-home having won five of its last six matches. The Gaels fell at home against San Francisco in three sets last Friday before bouncing back to down the Dons in four sets Saturday on the hilltop. After starting the season 1-6, the team won four matches in a row, scoring victories over Gonzaga (Feb. 15), Portland (Feb. 23-24) and Pacific (March 9).

Over the last four matches, the Gaels are averaging 3.5 blocks/set and are outblocking opponents 45.5-21. They have posted 11.5 or more blocks three times in that stretch. Jennifer "Boo" Laird led the team's effort at the net and took home WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors. She had a career-best 10 blocks in the team's sweep of Pacific on March 9 and has four or more blocks in five straight matches.

Elena Baka, the team's leading attacker, has led the Gaels in kills three times in the last four matches. For the season, she has a team-best 19 aces and her 0.39 aces/set average is third in the WCC.

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GO BRONCOS!