PROVO, Utah — Santa Clara volleyball fell in its 2021 Spring road finale at West Coast Conference-leading BYU on Wednesday. The No. 14 Cougars topped the Broncos 25-18, 25-16, 25-9 at Smith Fieldhouse. 

BYU hit .453 to win its ninth-straight contest and secure the WCC regular season championship. Taylen Ballard-Nixon produced a match-high 12 kills on .500 hitting. Kennedy Eschenberg hit .643 with nine kills and Kate Grimmer added eight kills on .400 hitting for the Cougars (16-1, 15-1 WCC), who committed only five errors on 75 attempts and outblocked Santa Clara 10-2. Whitney Bower had a 31-assist, 10-dig double-double and Eschenberg logged eight blocks. 

The Broncos (5-11, 5-11) were led by Julia Sangiacomo, who had eight kills on the day. Sophia Tulino had seven kills while Nani Spaar and Elena Radeff produced five kills apiece. Michelle Shaffer recorded 26 assists and Gretchen Reinert led the team with eight digs. 

In the first set, the Cougars won five of six points to break an 8-all tie and pull ahead 13-9. Eschenberg teamed up with Grimmer for a block, then came through with a kill on the last two points of that stretch. BYU held at least a two-point lead for the rest of the frame, and closed it out with another 5-1 stretch. 

The Cougars hit .722 in the second set, producing 13 kills on 18 error-free swings to take the stanza wire-to-wire. BYU turned to its defense early in the third set by putting up four blocks in a 9-1 stretch to take a 9-3 lead on its way to closing out the match. 

NEXT UP

Santa Clara finishes the Spring 2021 season with two matches in Leavey Center against No. 20 Pepperdine. The Broncos host the Waves Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m.

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.

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