Volleyball Stunned By Portland

Broncos lose 3-2 at Portland, fall to third in WCC

Bo KendallTHE SANTA CLARAOctober 29, 2015 [dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Santa Clara Volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking loss at the University of Portland on Halloween.

The Broncos were able to push the match to a final fifth set, but went on to lose the game by a score of 15-6.

“(Both) Portland games (this season) prove that any match can go five sets and shows how tough our conference is this year,” said senior libero Danielle Rottman.   “We just have to expect tough matches for the rest of the season.”

The loss concluded an overall succesful October in which the Broncos went 7-2 against West Coast Conference opponents. The successful month left Santa Clara at third place in the WCC with a 9-3 record.

“I thought we battled and got better week in and week out,” said Head Coach Jon Wallace. “We’re in a great state of mind to make things happen going forward.”

Sophomore star Kirsten Mead has been a big part of the Broncos success in the past month. She leads the team in assists, averaging a superb 11.0 per set so far this season. She set a season high of 52 assists against Portland.

“Our hitters are putting balls away and that’s what leads to the assists,” Mead said. “They’ve been taking care of their jobs. That makes mine much easier.”

Next, Santa Clara plays  on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. against the University of San Francisco. The Broncos have already defeated the Dons this season by a score of three sets to none. Although USF has struggled this year, they won’t be a pushover.

“Katarina Pilepic is one of the best in our conference at attacking,” Rottman said. “Girls like that are always a handful.”

Contact Bo Kendall at bkendall@scu.edu