SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Santa Clara University volleyball team pushed West Coast Conference leader Pepperdine Thursday, but came up short as the Waves had a strong offense and took down the Broncos, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-14).

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (11-15, 3-11 WCC) started off the night well, staying within five points in each of the first two sets before Pepperdine (17-6, 13-0 WCC) pulled away for the set victory each time.
   
• Santa Clara shined in the second set. The Broncos ran out to a six-point, 17-11 lead and was looking to even the match at 1-1. But Pepperdine found its momentum and put together an 11-2 run that flipped a six-point deficit into a three-point lead at 22-19. The Broncos still made it a one-point score on two occasions, but the Waves were able to hold them off and win the set by the minimum two points, 25-23.
   
• The Broncos outplayed the Waves in set two. They had more kills (18 to 17) and service aces (1 to 0) in the second while hitting .349 – their best hitting set of the evening. 
   
• Pepperdine had two players, Grace Chillingworth and Birdie Hendrickson, who combined for 26 kills and 17 digs and highlighted the Waves' offensive efforts. The Waves had five aces of their seven on the night in the third set alone.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• .378: The Broncos had a kill percentage of .378 on the night with 37 total team kills.
• 17: Elena Radeff and Lauren Grover combined for 17 kills. Radeff led the team with a .471 hitting percentage, and Grover hit at a .294 clip.
• .425: Pepperdine hit .425 as a team, its third-highest hitting performance of the season, and second-highest allowed by the Broncos in 2023. 

POST-MATCH COMMENTS

Check out tonight's post-match comments from head @Coach_ELindsey ???#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/fIREWMhbxg

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) November 10, 2023

• Santa Clara heads to The City on Thursday to face San Francisco. Fans can find all live coverage links on the Broncos' schedule page