SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It was a great day offensively Sunday for the Santa Clara volleyball team and a number of Broncos, but visiting Tulane still found a way to come from behind and win in five sets, 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 15-25, 28-26, 15-9), on the final day of the Santa Clara Invitational at Leavey Center.
The Broncos (3-6) totaled 71 kills – their most in more than three years (71 vs. Gonzaga on Nov. 3, 2018) – and hit .376 in the match, the third time this season they've hit over .375 as a team. Six players set or tied new career and season highs in three different categories.
Julia Sangiacomo led all players and tied a career high with 27 kills, her second 20-kills performance of the weekend. She hit .386 and also notched her second double-double of the tournament with 12 kills. Freshman Layla Truitt set a season high with 17 kills in just the second start of her career. Freshman middle blocker Lia Okammor had a season-high six kills with no errors to hit .600. Oren Abutbul tallied a season-best 14 kills while hitting .321.
Nive Tuileta set a career high with 60 assists. It was the most assists in a match by a Bronco since Kirsten Mead also had 60 over four years ago (Nov. 21, 2017 at Saint Mary's). She also had a double-double with 12 digs and added two service aces and a block. Kat Georgiadis collected a career-high 31 digs. She narrowly missed a double-double with seven assists – also tying a career high.
Tulane (5-4) won the first set, 25-22, but had to hold off a late charge by Santa Clara. The Green Wave led by as much as 10 in the first, 17-7, but the Broncos came roaring back with a 14-6 run to make it a two-point game at 23-21. That momentum carried the Broncos to two set wins and a 2-1 match lead through sets two and three.
The match's turning point – for both teams - was set four. Santa Clara did not trail in the set, though Tulane didn't fall behind by more than four points. The Broncos got to match point at 24-22, but that's when their momentum ran out and Tulane's kicked back into gear. A kill and an ace by the Green Wave made it 24-24. Santa Clara had two more match points at 25-24 and 26-25, but both times the Green Wave evened things with a kill from Melissa Kolurbasi. Now tied at 26, back-to-back kills from Amarachi Osuji gave Tulane a 28-26 set victory and tied the match at 2-2.
Tulane carried that into the fifth and deciding set, hitting an outstanding .714 with 10 kills and no errors. It never trailed in the fifth and led by as many as eight at 14-6 before winning the final set, 15-9, sealed by another kill from Kolurbasi.
Tulane had three players with double-digit kills, led by Mackenzie Martin with 17. Kate Van Houten collected 50 assists, and Jillian Dits had 25 digs, four assists and two aces.
Santa Clara next travels to Greeley, Colo., to play in the Northern Colorado Classic, starting Friday. There, they'll face Cal Poly, Tarleton State and Northern Colorado. All live coverage links can be found on the Broncos' schedule page.
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