ATHENS, Ga. — The Santa Clara volleyball team battled to two defeats Saturday, falling to Troy, 3-2 (25-10, 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10), and to host Georgia, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-17), on the final day of the Classic City Clash at Stegeman Coliseum.
Julia Sangiacomo had 29 total kills and hit .400 across two matches. Nani Spaar also had two double-digit kills performances for the Broncos, totaling 21 while hitting .321 on the day. Setter Nive Tuileta totaled 62 assists and five service aces.
vs. TROY
The Broncos (1-2) were successful in making numerous adjustments against Troy to come from behind and really make a match of it after a rough first set. The Trojans had limited Santa Clara to just 10 points on seven kills and .174 hitting in the first set, but the Broncos bounced back to win both of the next two sets with 27 total kills and .327 combined hitting, taking a 2-1 match lead.
"I think the Troy match is a perfect example a first weekend match where there's a lot of requirement for adaptation," said Santa Clara head coach Erin Lindsey. "We were ready for they're middle (Julia Brooks), for them to be someone they tried to find a lot, and we were ready for her. But their opposites ended up having a really great match. You don't know a ton, but you do your best to know who's in front of you, and I think we did a good job of that."
Santa Clara reacted to everything Troy threw at it in the second and third sets – and won. Troy led by four in the second and had it tied 21-21 before Santa Clara pulled away to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 set win. The Trojans led by as many as four early in the third and had it tied, 15-15, before Santa Clara again fought them off and won the set, 25-20.
It was Troy who battled back in the fourth set, staving off defeat with a 25-21 set victory after trailing, 14-12. Santa Clara didn't go quietly, tying the fifth set, 8-8 and being as close as 11-10 before Troy pulled away.
Three Broncos logged double-digit kills, led by Sangiacomo's 17. Oren Abutbul had 13 kills and Spaar collected 11. Spaar also had four service aces, six digs and two blocks against the Trojans. Sangiacomo barely missed a double-double with nine digs. Tuileta reached the 40-assist plateau for the first time this season with 40 helpers and also narrowly missed a double-double with eight digs. She added four service aces of her own.
Troy was led by Tori Hester's 26 kills, while setter Amara Anderson had 55 assists.
vs. GEORGIA
Host and Southeastern Conference member Georgia (3-0) stayed perfect on the weekend, beating the Broncos in the final match of the tournament after Santa Clara had finished a five-set match only five hours earlier.
"I think what it came down to in the Troy match, and in the Georgia match, too, is we just didn't really win the serve-pass," said Lindsey. "We focus on our serving a lot and we go for it, so when it's not there, and it's missing a little bit, it definitely affects our ability to block the way we like the block.
"Both Troy and Georgia were in system a little too much against us. That was a little combination of early season blocking not being quite where it needs to be and us being off a little bit in serve-pass."
The Broncos had eight total blocks earlier in the day versus Troy, but only managed 3.5 versus the Bulldogs. Georgia controlled the match from the outset, holding Santa Clara to under .300 hitting in all three sets.
Sangiacomo led the team with 12 kills on .360 hitting. Spaar added 10 terminations. The Santa Clara defense held Georgia to only .200 hitting in the third set after they hit .400 or better in the first two – a 200-point improvement.
Georgia was led by Kacie Evans' 17 kills, .400 hitting percentage and three aces.
"There were moments how you could see we were at that level and competing, we just couldn't put enough pressure on their serve-receive to gain the advantage," said Lindsey. "I told the team at the end of the match that we competed better tonight than we did even earlier in the Troy match.
"Tonight was more like, 'Hey we've got to compete and go after it if we're going to have a chance at this. This is the level of an NCAA tournament team that we're going to have to be able to compete against at the end of the season.'"
The Broncos are on the road again next weekend at another non-conference tournament. They will play at the GCU Classic in Phoenix, facing Idaho, Wyoming and host Grand Canyon on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
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