SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Saint Mary's came back to defeat Santa Clara in five sets, 25-21, 12-25, 8-25, 25-16, 15-8 in a West Coast Conference matinee on Saturday. 

Saint Mary's (11-8, 5-5) had nine different players with multiple kills led by Chandler Cowell's 13 and Kristen Erland with 10.  Three Gaels had double digit assists including a team-high 20 by Ella Sandt.

Michelle Shaffer paced the way for the Broncos with a 20-kill, 12-dig double-double on .432 hitting.  Julia Sangiacomo added 16 kills.

Santa Clara (8-12, 4-6) dominated the second and third sets combining to outscore Saint Mary's 50-20 to go up two sets to one but the Gaels turned the tide to take the final two sets to sweep the season series.

The insertion of Elena Baka, playing her first match since Sept. 30, in the third set helped steady things for the Gaels.  Baka had seven digs and three kills in the three sets she played. 

In the opening set with the score tied at 6-all, the Gaels used a 5-0 run to pull ahead for good 11-6.  The Broncos closed the gap to 15-14 behind Shaffer's four kills over a five-point span but could not get any closer.  The Gaels had five players with multiple kills in the set while Shaffer had seven kills.

Santa Clara started the second set fast with a 8-2 scoring run to go up 12-4 and cruised to a 25-13 set win.  The Broncos outhit the Gaels .452 to .056

The Broncos kept rolling in the third set to dominate 25-8  to take a 2-1 set lead making 14 kills in 22 error free swings.

In set four, Saint Mary's turned the tide to even the match at 2-all with a 25-16 win.  After Santa Clara committed just four attacking errors in the first three sets, they committed seven in the set while the Gaels had four service aces.

The Gaels led from start to finish in the deciding set, outhitting Santa Clara .571 to -.053.  The Broncos had five more attack errors in the set compared to just one for the Gaels. 

NOTES

• Santa Clara leads the all-time series 54-29 against Saint Mary's.
• Michelle Shaffer matched a season-high 20 kills she had at Auburn (Sept. 12).

��️ Hear from head coach Erin Lindsey after the Broncos tough 3-2 defeat to Saint Mary's.#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/pidCWHr7q5

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) October 23, 2021

NEXT UP

The Broncos face San Diego in a road contest on Thursday. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

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