DAVIS, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball opened play in the 2021 Aggie Invitational with a convincing sweep over Nevada on Friday.
The Broncos (1-3) used an efficient offensive effort to post a 25-13, 25-19, 25-15 win over the Wolf Pack on the opening day of the tournament.
Sophia Tulino had 13 kills and Michelle Shaffer and Julia Sangiacomo tallied 11 apiece for Santa Clara, which connected on a blistering .524 hitting percentage and committed only four attack errors on 84 swings in the match.
Reka Monteleone had eight kills to lead Nevada (0-5), which was held to a .221 hitting percentage.
The Broncos had 5.0 total team blocks to just 1.0 for the Wolf Pack.
"I'm proud of the team for learning from our challenges last weekend and executing at a really high level," Santa Clara head coach Erin Lindsey said. "I loved the balance we were able to find offensively and the fight our team brought from the first point until the last."
Santa Clara faces host UC Davis (1-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m. to close out play in the two-day event.
NOTES
- The Broncos approached the program's single-match hitting percentage record of .579, set vs. Gonzaga on Oct. 6, 2012, and ended at an impressive .524 on Friday. The team has not posted better than a .500 attack percentage since that match.
- Santa Clara raced out to an 11-3 lead and never looked back in winning the opening set by connecting on a .593 hitting percentage. Sophia Tulino was a perfect 4-for-4 on attacks and Julia Sangiacomo was 4-for-5.
- The second set started out all Broncos as they led 10-3, but the Pack battled back within 17-14 on a kill from Reka Monteleone. Santa Clara answered by taking the next four points, including a pair of kills from Michelle Shaffer, who had four in the set.
- A 7-2 run proved to be key in the third set, where the Broncos registered a season-best hitting percentage of .615. The Wolf Pack pulled within two at 9-7 before the Broncos started another flurry with four straight kills (Sangiacomo-Tulino-Tulino-Shaffer). Santa Clara doubled up Nevada down the stretch by closing the match on a 16-8 spree.
- Shaffer has reached double figures in kills in all four matches while Sangiacomo and Tulino have done the same in three matches each.
NEXT MATCH INFO
- at UC Davis Saturday, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m.
- Where: University Credit Union Center | Davis, California
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Watch: Aggies All-Access
CONNECT WITH THE BRONCOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Volleyball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
GO BRONCOS!
