Match Info
- Santa Clara at #15 San Diego (WCC Match)
- San Diego, CA
- San Diego improves to 22-4 (15-1 WCC); Santa Clara falls to 13-13 (8-8 WCC)
- Attendance: 320
- Box Score
#15 San Diego rolled to a straight set home win Thursday night over Santa Clara, as three players collected double-digit kills with a fourth racking up nine kills. Set scores were 25-15, 27-25, and 25-12. The balanced effort led the Toreros to a 15th conference win, maintaining their place tied atop the WCC standings.
Lauren Fuller led the San Diego offense with 12 kills while Addie Picha and Jayden Kennedy (nine digs) chipped in 11 and 10 respectively. Kristen Gengenbacher dished out 43 assists while Lizzy Tardieu anchored the defense with 13 digs. With the win, the Toreros improved to 22-4 (15-1 WCC) and will return to action on Saturday, November 18th to host San Francisco.
San Diego dominated the stat sheet, leading the match in hitting percentage .351 to .131, kills 53-30, assists 47-27, digs 52-37, and aces 3-2. Both teams collected 6 blocks.
Ngozi Nwabuzoh led the Santa Clara offense with 8 kills while setter Kirsten Mead collected 19 assists and 12 digs. With the loss, the Broncos dropped to 13-13 (8-8 WCC) and will return to court on Saturday, November 18th when they hit the road to face BYU.
Press Release:
Courtesy of San Diego Athletics
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The No. 11 USD Volleyball won their 12th match in a row Thursday evening, sweeping Santa Clara to improve their record to 22-4 and 15-1 in the WCC. It was USD’s 18th sweep of the year, winning 25-15, 27-25, 25-12.
Four Toreros had at least nine kills, led by Lauren Fuller’s 12 kills. Addie Picha had 11 kills, Jayden Kennedy had 10 and Roxie Wiblin had nine. Kennedy also had a career-high nine digs. Kristen Gengenbacher had 43 assists and eight digs and Lizzy Tardieu once again led the Toreros in digs with 13.
USD had a .351 hitting percentage and held the Broncos to a .131 clip. The Toreros had 52 digs to the Broncos 37.
The Toreros took the first set behind a .467 hitting percentage. After the set was tied at 6-6, the Toreros went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-8 lead on their way to a 25-15 win.
The Toreros won a wild second set 27-25. The Broncos went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-11 lead, but the Toreros hung around and eventually tied the match at 19-19. After taking a 23-21 lead, the Broncos came back to score four of the next five points. A huge block by Lauren Fuller tied the match at 25 and then USD grabbed the next two points to clinch the second set.
The Toreros’ momentum carried over in to the third set. They jumped out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back, carried by a .528 hitting percentage.
The Broncos were led by Ngozi Nwabuzoh’s eight kills. Kirsten Mead had a double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs.
The Toreros’ last two regular season matches are at home beginning with a Saturday showdown with San Francisco. The Toreros will honor their seniors before the match.
Press Release:
Courtesy of Santa Clara Athletics
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball battled on Thursday night and played a close second set with No. 11 San Diego, but fell to the Toreros 25-15, 27-25, 25-12 in Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Broncos had their six-match West Coast Conference winning streak snapped in the defeat.
Ngozi Nwabuzoh turned in a career-high eight kills to lead Santa Clara. Kirsten Mead recorded her 16th double-double of the year for the Broncos (15-13, 8-8 WCC) with 19 assists and 12 digs.
The Toreros (22-4, 15-1 WCC) extended the conference’s longest active winning streak to 12 matches. Lauren Fuller (12 kills), Jayden Kennedy (11) and Addie Picha (10) spearheaded a balanced attack set up by Kristen Gengenbacher, who had 43 assists and setting the team to a .351 hitting percentage.
Santa Clara produced a 5-0 stretch in the second set, fueled by an ace from Taylor Laugero and two kills from Jensen Cunningham, to take a 15-11 lead. The Broncos matched the four-point edge two more times and were on set point at 25-24.
The Toreros countered with a timeout and produced a pair of blocks around a Picha kill to go up a pair of sets. Picha combined with Kennedy on a block to close out the set.
San Diego went on a 5-0 run and won eight of nine points to go in front 14-7 in the first set. The Toreros maintained at least a five-point advantage the rest of the way. They hit .464 on en route to the early match lead, including six kills from Kennedy.
Following the intermission, San Diego took early control of the third set by winning seven of eight points to take a 13-5 lead. The Toreros closed the match on a 7-2 spree. They have won 17 straight sets dating back to a 3-1 at BYU on Oct. 27.
NEXT UP
Santa Clara plays its second straight road match against a ranked opponent when it visits No. 9 BYU on Saturday at noon. The Cougars swept San Francisco on Thursday night.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is 34-36 all-time against the Toreros.
- The matchup featured the previous two WCC Players of the Week in Cunningham (Nov. 13) and Kennedy (Nov. 6).
- SCU had not been swept in its previous 12 matches entering Thursday night.
• The Broncos have played without freshman outside hitter Chloe Loreen for six straight matches due to injury.
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