SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball begins its 2021 season Friday and Saturday at the Oregon Invitational in Eugene, Oregon. The Broncos, entering their third season under head coach Erin Lindsey, face San José State Friday at 11 a.m., followed by the 14^th-ranked tournament host Ducks at 6 p.m. They round out the two-day event against Portland State Saturday at 11 a.m.

THE BRONCOS 

Santa Clara returns three all-conference performers from last season, which was played in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Julia Sangiacomo (junior outside hitter) was named First Team All-West Coast Conference last season and landed a spot on the AVCA Pacific North All-Region Team after ranking second in the conference with 4.19 kills/set (39^th NCAA) and 4.75 points/set (37^th NCAA). She was selected to the 2021 All-WCC Preseason Team earlier this week, marking her second-straight year as a preseason all-conference selection.

Michelle Shaffer (senior setter/opposite) led the Broncos with 395 assists (6.27/set) in a two-setter system that also featured Liliana Light. She posted the WCC's only triple-double of the year with a 32-assist, 12-dig, 11-kill stat line in a five-set win at Gonzaga on March 12 and was one of only 22 student-athletes in the NCAA to have a triple-double on the season. 

Sophia Tulino (sophomore outside hitter) ranked second in the conference overall and first among freshmen with 28 aces (57^th NCAA) and 0.44 aces/set (55^th NCAA); she helped the Broncos to a conference-best 1.75 aces/set mark. She ranked seventh in the conference and second among freshmen in points/set (4.13) and total points (264.5) while finishing at ninth in total kills (225, third WCC frosh) and ninth in kills/set (3.52, 4^th WCC frosh). 

The current roster accounted for 743 of 759 kills (98.1 percent) from the 18-match spring season. Additional returning starters include Light, Alex Anthony, and Lexi Poppinga, giving the team six in total. Casey Campbell, Kat Georgiadis, Elena Radeff and Nani Spaar return for their second season as Broncos.

A notable departure from last year is libero Gretchen Reinert, who played in all 189 sets for the Broncos over the last two seasons.

There are seven newcomers on the roster of 17: junior transfer Grace Wee (BYU) plus freshmen Maggie Curtis, Hayden Goodman, Caroline Graham, Lauren Grover, Anna Stucchi and Nive Tuileta.

SERIES RECORDS 

• San José State leads Santa Clara 24-15 (last meeting 2019, Santa Clara won 3-1 at Santa Clara)

• Oregon leads Santa Clara 9-4 (last meeting 2014, Oregon won 3-0 at Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament)

• Portland State leads Santa Clara 4-2 (last meeting 2017, Santa Clara won 3-0 at the UC Davis Invitational in Davis, California)

CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLLS

• Santa Clara 5^th/10 WCC

• San José State 9^th/11 Mountain West

• Oregon 3^rd/12 PAC-12

• Portland State t-7^th/11 Big Sky

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GO BRONCOS!