KENNESAW, Ga. - Santa Clara volleyball put together one of its most complete performances of the season and came away with a win over a nationally-ranked opponent.
Julia Sangiacomo (19) and Michelle Shaffer (16) each posted season highs in kills, Sophia Tulino recorded 14 kills, and Nive Tuileta tallied a career-best 46 assists to help lead the Broncos to a 24-26, 25-17, 25-16, 25-22 victory over No. 24-ranked South Carolina on Friday at the KSU Challenge.
Kat Georgiadis led the defensive effort with career-high 20 digs and Shaffer had 12 to produce her first double-double of the season. Tulino had seven digs and Sangiacomo six.
The Broncos (2-4) outhit the Gamecocks by a .301 to .227 margin, including .333 to .198 in the final three sets.
Riley Whitesides registered 12 kills and Kyla Manning added 10 for South Carolina (6-2).
The Broncos face Clemson at on Saturday at 10 a.m. Pacific in final-day action at the tournament, which is being held at Kennesaw State.
NOTES
- Santa Clara posted its first win over a ranked opponent since downing No. 9 Kansas, 3-2, at home on Sept. 15, 2017.
- The Broncos now lead the series with South Carolina, 2-1. The Gamecocks won 3-0 on Sept. 1, 2001, in the Sun Devil Challenge (Tempe, Ariz.). The Broncos were victorious 3-2 on Sept. 17, 2003, in the Gamecock Tournament.
- Santa Clara had the biggest lead (14-9) in the opening set, which was tied eight times and had three lead changes. South Carolina pulled ahead 21-20 on a kill from Riley Whitesides and never trailed again. Michelle Shaffer had five kills and Julia Sangiacomo four in the set. The Gamecocks outhit the Broncos .346 to .206.
- The Broncos led by as many as nine in the second set before finishing it off 25-17. Sangiacomo posted nine of the team's 14 kills. Santa Clara had 15 of its 54 digs in the set and totaled a match-best .438 attack percentage.
- Santa Clara was in front from start to finish in the third with Tulino registering six kills in a set the team held a .250 to .065 hitting advantage.
- South Carolina nearly sent the match to fifth set. The fourth was tied seven times and had four lead changes. Santa Clara pulled ahead for the final time thanks to three straight kills from Shaffer that gave the team a 14-12 lead. The Gamecocks staved off two match points before a Shaffer's final kill ended the match.
- The Broncos hitting percentage (.301) was their second-best of the season (.524 vs. Nevada, Sept. 3) and the highest against any South Carolina foe this season.
- Santa Clara recorded a season-best 12 service aces. It had a total of 19 in the first five matches.
QUOTABLE
I'm just Just proud of the team for executing consistently. South Carolina really makes you earn your points so we knew we were going to have to be persistent. I am really proud of the group for staying at it and bring both fight and composure. We needed to put serving pressure on and we did. We will look to build on what we learned tonight in our match tomorrow.
- Head coach Erin Lindsey
NEXT UP
- Saturday, Sept. 11 vs. Clemson (10 a.m. PT)
- KSU Challenge at Kennesaw State
- Stats | Video (none)
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