SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Francisco volleyball team faced off with a laser-focused Santa Clara team, and the Broncos proved to be too hot to handle in the three-set sweep at the Leavey Center on Thursday night.
Santa Clara, the West Coast Conference leaders with 1.58 aces per set, served up 13 strikes in the match, their third-double-digit effort of the season. Danielle Rottman finished with six aces on the night to lead the team from the back line.
USF moves to 16-10 on the year, and a 3-10 mark in WCC play while Santa Clara improves to 19-6 (10-3 WCC) with their 12th straight-set victory on the season.
In the first frame, the Broncos used its skills from the service line to build a 10-1 lead, as Rottman tallied three aces in the first 11 points of the action .Despite the deficit, the Dons rallied back to cut Santa Clara's lead to 15-12 after
Sara Staengle notched her own ace from the serve, capping a 6-1 spurt for the visitors.
The Dons stayed within striking distance for the duration of the frame, after
Jessica Gaffney and
Madison Murtagh teamed up for the block to put the score at 22-19. Unfortunately for USF, the Dons could manage no more offense and the Broncos took the first by a score of 25-19.
Santa Clara took the second with a score of 25-12, and followed it up with a 25-14 score in the third to earn the win. The Broncos finished the night hitting .333 while USF managed a .082 attack percentage.
Entering the match, junior
Katarina Pilepic needed 21 kills to eclipse 1,000 in her career, and she's inched her tally six kills closer, with four points in the first set. Santa Clara was paced by 11 kills apiece for Anna McCreadie and Sabrina Clayton.
Next week, the Dons host a pair of foes from the Southland at War Memorial Gym. First, USF takes on Pepperdine on Thursday at 7 p.m., before the Dons face off with Loyola Marymount. USF's match against the Lions will serve as Senior Day for the squad, and the final home match of the season.
