SAN DIEGO — Another challenge on the road Saturday and another tough, nationally ranked opponent for the Santa Clara University volleyball team, as No. 4 San Diego held the Broncos' offense at bay in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-19) West Coast Conference victory at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

No. 4 San Diego's defense held the Broncos (6-12, 2-4 WCC) to under .250 team hitting in all three sets. Even so, Santa Clara's attack improved throughout the match, topping out at .243 in the third, a 123-point improvement from set one.

Freshman middle blocker Lia Okammor had a strong all-around performance, tying season highs in both kills (5) and blocks (5). She had no attack errors to lead Santa Clara with a .556 hitting percentage. Nani Spaar had four kills and hit .429. Kat Georgiadis topped all players with 15 digs.

The Toreros (15-1, 6-0 WCC) were led by 14 kills from Grace Frohling and 13 from Katie Lukes. USD hit .340 as a team, including .455 with only one error in the final set. Gabby Blossom had a match-high 36 assists and Annie Benbow had 14 digs.

San Diego only trailed once, when Santa Clara scored the first point of the second set. The Broncos stayed close early on in the third, tying it at 7-7 with kills from Spaar and Sophia Tulino. An Okammor termination made it 9-8, but a 7-1 USD run put them up by seven and all but put the match away.

The Broncos begin a four-match home stand on Thursday when they host Portland, followed by Gonzaga on Saturday. Fans can find all live coverage links on the Broncos' schedule page.

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