SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Roxie Wiblin posted 14 kills and Grace Frohling added 13 to help lead No. 18-ranked San Diego past Santa Clara volleyball 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-15 on Tuesday afternoon in Leavey Center.

Sophia Tulino racked up 15 kills on .265 hitting and served up four aces in her collegiate debut for the Broncos (0-1, 0-1 WCC), while Liliana Light recorded 27 assists and 10 digs for a double-double in Santa Clara's season opener and first match in 440 days. Julia Sangiacomo had 12 kills, Kathryn Decker added nine. Gretchen Reinert topped Santa Clara with 12 digs and Lexi Poppinga totaled five blocks in her first college match.

Frohling registered 11 digs and Wiblin chipped in nine for the Toreros (5-0, 5-0), who remained unbeaten on the season. The duo also combined to hit .305 in the West Coast Conference matchup. Laura Madill's 32 assists, Camryn Tastad's 13 digs and Lauren Turner's 6.0 blocks were all match-high marks.

After the Broncos pulled even by taking set two, the Toreros responded to claim the third set. San Diego used an 8-2 run, which included two kills and an ace from Thana Fayad, to extend the lead to 17-9. Santa Clara cut the lead to as little as three before Wiblin secured the stanza with a kill.

The Toreros got out to a fast start in the fourth set and built a 10-3 lead; Wiblin had three straight kills and combined with Turner for a block to cap the spree. Santa Clara answered by winning six of the next eight point, spurred by three Sangiacomo kills, but did not get closer than three points the rest of the way.

San Diego, which dropped a set for only the second time thid season, posted a .239 hitting percentage in the match, including .300 in set three and .333 in the final set. Santa Clara was held to .116 hitting and committed 28 attacking errors to San Diego's 16.

Following a first-set win for San Diego, Santa Clara heated up from the service line to take command in the second frame. Alex Anthony's kill got the Broncos within a point at 5-4, then Sangicomo posted back-to-back kills to give Santa Clara the lead and Tulino followed with two staight aces for an 8-5 edge. Later in the set, Tulino went for two straight aces again to give Santa Clara its biggest lead at 17-12. San Diego rallied to get within one before the Broncos won five of the last six points, including a pair of kills from Tulino on the final two points.

NOTES

• San Diego now leads the all-time series Santa Clara 41-34 (first meeting 1979).

• Santa Clara's Casey Campbell, Kat Georgiadis and Nani Spaar also made their collegaite debuts on Tuesday.

HIGHLIGHTS/POSTMATCH INTERVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS | Take a look back at the best action from our season-opening match against San Diego!#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/QAD8iD80E8

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) February 18, 2021

��️ Hear from @Coach_ELindsey on today's match against No. 18 San Diego.

Postmatch interview presented by @ROATweets.#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/FFMW5R2kol

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) February 17, 2021

NEXT UP

The Broncos and Toreros meet again on Wednesday in Leavey Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m. Fans are not permitted in the arena due to Santa Clara County COVID-19 guidelines.

HOW TO WATCH ON WCC NETWORK

Santa Clara home matches and West Coast Conference contests are streamed live on WCC Network. All events are available at WCCSports.com/watch. Match-specific broadcast links will be posted on the schedule page and on Twitter (@SCUVolleyball).

Ben Ross is the play-by-play announcer for the matches against San Diego.

��️ Get ready for the Spring 2021 season by catching up with @Coach_ELindsey in this edition of Bronco Chat!

Presented by @UCU_LA. Episode sponsored by @CrestviewDDS.#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos https://t.co/iSh0KAD4AK

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) February 16, 2021