STOCKTON, Calif. — Just because the non-conference portion of the schedule is over, it doesn't mean there isn't any time left for growth.
The Santa Clara University volleyball team continued its recent rise Tuesday with its second consecutive West Coast Conference road win, beating a scrappy Pacific team, 3-1 (28-26, 27-25, 21-25, 25-17), at Alex G. Spanos Center.
The Broncos (6-8, 2-0 WCC) had to both hold off the Tigers (9-6, 1-2 WCC) and come from behind to win the first two sets in extra points. That gave them a commanding 2-0 match lead and positioned them for their second WCC victory in five days. It's the program's first 2-0 start to conference play since 2008.
"It always feels good to beat our conference foes on the road," said Santa Clara head coach Erin Lindsey. "I think it speaks to the resilience our team is building in staying together and on our game."
Julia Sangiacomo led Santa Clara with 17 kills while hitting .361. Now with 1,275 career kills, she's only three away from landing on the SCU all-time top-10 list. She also tied a season high with 12 digs for her third double-double of the year. Sophia Tulino had a season-best 12 kills – her second consecutive double-digit kills performance – while adding four digs and two blocks. Nive Tuileta notched her fourth double-double of the season with 38 assists and 10 digs. Kat Georgiadis led all players with 18 digs.
Pacific was led by an 18 kills, 13 digs double-double from Alexa Edwards. Jenna Heller had 47 assists. Megan Nishimura collected a team-leading 14 digs. While Pacific had 12 more kills than Santa Clara (62-50), it also had 17 more attack errors (30-13), leading to the Broncos outhitting the Tigers, .298 to .211.
"Really proud of how our team fought and stayed at it tonight," said Lindsey. "We have been talking a lot about finishing sets and being in the moment and we really found it in this match. I was also very excited to see our ability to adjust through different starting rotations and even positions in the fourth set to our advantage."
The Santa Clara defense came up huge in its first two set wins, holding Pacific to .132 hitting and .184 hitting, respectively. The Broncos led the first set, 20-16, and were comfortably on their way to a 1-0 match lead, but a crucial timeout call by the Tigers helped get them back in it. Pacific would follow with a 7-2 run that gave them a 23-22 lead. They were in position to win the first set with a 24-23 lead, but Santa Clara fought off three consecutive set points from Pacific. Sangiacomo started the Broncos on the right path on the final one, at 26-25. Her kill tied the set, then she teamed with Anna Stucchi for a block to make it 27-26 Santa Clara. A Pacific attack error sealed the opening-set, 28-26, victory for SCU.
Santa Clara had to do the coming back in set two. Down 24-21, Pacific again had set point and looked to even the match at 1-1. And again, Santa Clara battled through three consecutive Pacific set points, scoring four in a row to charge back and take their own 25-24 lead. The Tigers tied it with a kill, but a Tulino termination and another Pacific error gave the Broncos another extended set victory, this time at 27-25 with a 6-1 closing run.
Pacific hit .390 in the third set to grab a set win and make it 2-1. The Tigers held a brief 2-1 lead in set four after back-to-back kills, but they would never lead again, as Santa Clara went ahead with a 5-1 spurt and ran off to a 25-17 match-clinching set victory.
Santa Clara returns home on Thursday and Saturday to host LMU and No. 20 Pepperdine, respectively. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
TICKETS
Tickets are subject to change day of game. Please refer to our pricing by visiting here or contacting the Santa Clara Athletics at (408) 554-4660. Purchase tickets online and avoid waiting at the stadium box office which opens one hour prior to first serve. Questions may be directed to the Santa Clara Athletics ticket office from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. The ticket office also handles inquiries on group tickets.
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