SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Thursday's West Coast Conference clash between Pacific and the Santa Clara University volleyball team conjured up plenty of déjà vu for the teams.
Like their first meeting in September, two sets were decided by only two points and the match went to four sets, but this time it was the Tigers who came out on top, holding off a late charge by the Broncos to win, 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23) at the Leavey Center.
Julia Sangiacomo posted her sixth 20-kills match of the season and second in a row Thursday with a match-high 21. She led the Broncos with a .362 hitting percentage – her ninth time in 2022 hitting over .350 in a match, and the fifth time she's done it with at least 20 kills. Nive Tuileta led all players with 41 assists and added five digs, three blocks and two service aces. Kat Georgiadis was the Broncos' digs leader with 14.
For as strong as the Broncos' (8-13, 4-5 WCC) offense was, the Pacific (12-9, 4-5 WCC) defense was stronger. The Tigers collected 68 digs as a team (17.0 per set) and had three players with double-figure digs. They also had five total team blocks. Libero Jaydn Tubbs led the match with a season-high 24 digs. She also had 12 assists for the first double-double of her career. Reigning WCC Offensive Player of the Week Alexa Edwards led Pacific with 20 kills, while setter Jenna Heller logged a double-double with 37 assists and 17 digs to go with six kills on no errors (.667 hitting percentage).
Santa Clara's defense wasn't far off, logging nine total blocks for the second time in three matches. Freshman middle blocker Lia Okammor set a season high for the second consecutive match, tallying seven blocks to go with a season-high eight kills on a season-best 19 attempts.
The match came down to the fourth set – not only because Pacific clinched the victory in that set, but because Santa Clara was coming off a win in set three, and a come-from-behind win in set four to tie the match at 2-2 could have swung all the momentum its way.
Pacific jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never trailed again in that fourth set, but Santa Clara came back and wouldn't trail by more than four the rest of the way. The Broncos pulled to within one point four times in the match's final eight points, but each time the Tigers had an answer. That answer came in the form of a kill from Edwards on three consecutive side outs. It was a sneak attack kill from the setter Heller that sealed the match after Sangiacomo had put down her third consecutive side-out kill to make it 24-23.
Santa Clara wraps up its four-match home stand at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Saint Mary's. Fans can find all live coverage links on the Broncos' schedule page.
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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