LOS ANGELES — The Santa Clara University volleyball team ran into another streaking West Coast Conference foe on the road Saturday. This time it was LMU that stayed unbeaten at home and extended its overall win streak to six with a 3-1 (25-19, 26-28, 25-17, 25-12) win at Gersten Pavilion.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Broncos (9-10, 1-6 WCC) showed Saturday that they could hold their own against one of the WCC's top teams, beating the Lions (14-4, 7-1 WCC) in extra points, 28-26. Santa Clara had the upperhand to win the set in regulation, but LMU fought off three consecutive set points before the Broncos were able to close it out with back-to-back kills from Lauren Grover. That evened the match at 1-1 after LMU had won the opener, 25-19.
   
• A 15-4 LMU run in the middle of the first set made all the difference for LMU (14-4, 7-1 WCC). Neither team held more than a two-point lead through the match's first 12 points until the Lions took off on their big run. Seven kills, three service aces and two blocks helped power the run. The Broncos responded with their own 9-3 spurt at the end to get back into it at 24-19, then LMU ended it with a final kill from Michelle Shaffer.
   
• Santa Clara scored the first points of both the third and fourth sets to hold early leads, but they were LMU's sets to win or lose. The Lions hit .437 in the last two sets alone, including .581 in the fourth, as the surged to a 3-1 match victory with 25-17 and 25-12 set wins. LMU's defense also answered the call, holding the Broncos to a combined .105 hitting across the last two sets after they had hit .379 in the first.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 3: Anna Stucchi recorded three more service aces Saturday. It was her fifth match this season with at least three aces. She now has a team-leading 30 on the season.
• 16: It was a career afternoon for Grover, who tallied a career-high and team-leading 16 kills. She hit .216 on the day and nearly had a double-double with eight digs.

NEXT UP

• The Broncos return home next week to both close out the first half of WCC play and begin the second half. Santa Clara hosts rival San Francisco on Thursday, then entertains Pacific on Saturday. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.