MORAGA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball began a home-and-home stint against Saint Mary's with a four-set defeat in a road match on Thursday. The Gaels defeated the Broncos 26-24, 14-25, 25-17, 25-21 Thursday in a West Coast Conference match at University Credit Union Pavilion. 

The two teams meet again on Friday in Santa Clara for a 6 p.m. first serve in Leavey Center.

Elena Baka (17 kills, 10 digs) and Chandler Cowell (16 kills on .351 hitting, 11 digs) spurred the Gaels (7-7, 7-7 WCC) to their sixth win in seven matches. Ella Sandt posted 25 assists and Alosina Thompson added 16; the pair set the home team to a .224 hitting percentage. Reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Week Jennifer "Boo" Laird was one of four Gaels with four total blocks. 

Julia Sangiacomo (17 kills) and Sophia Tulino (15-kill, 12-dig double-double) once again led the offensive charge for the Broncos (3-6, 3-6), who hit .213. Lexi Poppinga served up a career-best four aces in her fifth match with the team; Poppinga did not have an ace prior to Thursday's tilt. Michelle Shaffer paired a match-best 36 assists with 10 digs for a double-double. Gretchen Reinert led all players with 14 digs.

Baka took charge for the Gaels in the fourth set to close out the match. After Santa Clara won five points in a row to tie the score at 17-all, Cowell came through with a kill to side out and the Gaels won the next three points. Baka had a kill in that stretch, the first of three kills for her over the next eight points, and her seven kills overall were the most by any player in a single set on Thursday. Sandt sealed the win with one of her two aces for the contest.

In the first set, Santa Clara flipped an 8-7 deficit into a 19-12 lead as four different Broncos registered a kill and Poppinga had two aces over the spree. The Gaels responded by winning six of the next seven points, sparked by two kills from Laird and three from Cowell. Saint Mary's evened the count at 23-all and after Santa Clara fought off one set point, Hawley Harrer came through with a kill to give the Gaels the early match lead.

Santa Clara won eight of the first nine points and led wire-to-wire in the second set. The Broncos put together a clean offensive frame to hit .406; they had 15 kills on 32 attempts with only two errors. Tulino had five kills for the stanza, including the set-clincher, to help Santa Clara even the match at one set apiece.

The Gaels answered with a 6-0 run to start the third set, which featured three blocks in the first five points. Laird was at the net for all three turnbacks, including a solo effort. Saint Mary's outhit Santa Clara .464 to .059 in the third and Cowell had six kills on 10 error-free swings.

FRIDAY MATCH INFO

Due to current State of California guidelines, 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.

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.

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