SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Julia Sangiacomo was named to the 2022 all-West Coast Conference Preseason Team, and the Santa Clara University women’s volleyball program was picked to finish fifth in the WCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, as announced by the conference office Wednesday.

Sangiacomo enters her senior season on the Mission Campus already with more than 1,000 career kills (1,053), more than 600 career digs (639) over 140 total career blocks (143), and nine service aces short of 100 for her career (91). She was fourth in the WCC in 2021 with 374 kills and 3.74 per set. Sangiacomo is already a three-time all-WCC honoree, landing on the second team in 2019 and the first team in both the 2020-21 spring season and the 2021 fall season. 

Sangiacomo tallied seven double-doubles in 2021 while leading the Broncos in kills, finishing tied for third in service aces with 31 and fourth in total blocks with 33. Santa Clara finished sixth in the WCC standings last fall.

The coaches picked the Broncos to finish fifth in 2021. Santa Clara earned 45 points in the WCC preseason coaches’ poll, finishing ahead of Pacific (6th, 42 points), Saint Mary’s (7th, 37), Gonzaga (8th, 26), Portland (9th, 17) and San Francisco (10th, 9).

The Broncos open their season this weekend at the University of Georgia’s “Classic City Clash” in Athens, Ga. Santa Clara opens with Chattanooga at Noon PDT on Friday. Saturday features a doubleheader with a 10 a.m. PDT match versus Troy University, then a duel with host Georgia at 4:30 p.m. PDT. The match versus Georgia will be streamed live online on the SEC Network+. Fans can find live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.

2022 WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll

2022 Preseason All-WCC First Team