Santa Clara women’s volleyball (10-14, 6-6 WCC) defeated Seattle University (4-17, 1-10 WCC) on Thursday, Nov. 5. Don’t let SCU’s 4-1 win mislead you; Seattle U kept the score close throughout the whole game.
Before the game began, Santa Clara recognized libero Lexi Trapani ’27 for surpassing 1,000 career digs, and only 96 digs away from 10th all-time at the University. She nabbed 19 additional digs during the game, pushing her closer to the milestone record in the history books.
Set 1 began with a serve from Bronco captain Macy Hinshaw ’28. The Seahawks earned the first point, but Santa Clara tied it immediately after. This back-and-forth play continued for the rest of the set; neither team could pull ahead by more than three points before Santa Clara managed to secure a 22-18 lead late in the set.
After the Broncos hit the 20-point mark, they finally got time to breathe. Maintaining a lead until the end of the set, Santa Clara won 25-21.
The second set started similarly to the first. Just when Seattle started pulling ahead with a lead at 6-3, the Broncos tied it at 6-6, capitalizing on a bad set from Seattle’s Mikayla Liljenquist. The Broncos held the lead until the Seahawks tied it back up 16-16. Seattle didn’t let the sight of a win go, keeping the remainder of the set neck-and-neck, eventually winning the set point with a service ace from Hailey McEllrath.
The Broncos regained momentum during the third set. They maintained a close lead starting at 9-8, but just as they started pulling away, Seattle began to inch back. The Seahawks closed the Broncos’ 16-11 advantage to a 17-17 score.
The third set ended with two separate play challenges. A point that originally gave Seattle a 23-21 advantage was overturned for a line violation, reversing the score to 22-22. Soon after, Seattle challenged a block touch by Santa Clara, faulting the Broncos’ lead at 24-22 to yet another tie, 23-23. Santa Clara narrowly won Set 3, 25-23.
Santa Clara finished strong, maintaining the advantage for the majority of the fourth set. Seattle didn’t let the Broncos capture the win easily, closing the gap to a tense 23-20 late in the set. But the Broncos held on, winning the fourth set 25-20 to round out the game 4-1.
Overall, Santa Clara recorded 62 digs and five blocks. Key players of the game included Cate Shanahan ’28 and Allison Dzieciush ’30, who notched 20 and 15 kills, respectively. Hinshaw ended the game with 52 total assists and 16 digs.
The Broncos host Portland next on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. in game two of the three-game series home stretch.