DURHAM, N.C. — The Santa Clara University volleyball team started its second East Coast road trip in three weeks Thursday with a bang, notching its fourth sweep of the young season with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 26-24) cleanup of host North Carolina Central at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (8-2) started slow, logging five attack errors in the first nine points of the match. NC Central (1-8) led by as much as four on three occasions, and was ahead 16-12 midway through the first set.
• But after head coach Erin Lindsey called a timeout to settle things, the Broncos found their rhythm. They'd go on a 13-6 run to close the opening frame with five kills from Sophia Tulino and three from Elena Radeff to take the set, 25-22. Santa Clara finished with 19 team kills in the first.
• Santa Clara never trailed in the second set as it grabbed control of the match with a 2-0 lead and a 25-20 set win. A 12-4 run midway through put SCU way ahead at 21-11. It was powered by two aces and four kills from three different Broncos. NC Central answered with a 7-1 push to get within four points, but the deficit was too large, as two more kills from Lia Okammor closed out the set for Santa Clara.
• The Eagles weren't going to let the Broncos get out of the arena easily, though. They surged ahead midway through the third set with a 4-0 spurt to take a 15-13 lead. They did it again shortly after with a 4-1 spurt to go up 19-17, and three points later held a three-point advantage at 21-18.
• Santa Clara clawed back into the set though. After its second called timeout, SCU scored three consecutive points to tie it at 21-all. There were three more tie scores after it was 21-21, with NCCU not quitting. A Broncos service error tied it at 24-24, and it took a kill from Oren Abutbul and a block from Okammor and Nive Tuileta to seal the win.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 4th: Thursday's win marked the Broncos' fourth 3-0 sweep of the year. They only had five such wins in all of 2022, and didn't earn their fourth until the eighth week of the season (Thursday marked the start of week four).
• 4th: Nive Tuileta posted her fourth double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs. It was her third double-double in a row dating to Friday's match versus Air Force.
• .462: Sophia Tulino led all players with 13 kills and a .462 hitting percentage. It was her highest hit percentage of 2023, highest in more than two years, and the second-highest of her career (minimum 10 kills).

POST-MATCH COMMENTS

Check out Head @Coach_ELindsey's post-match comments from today's 3??-0?? road win over @NCCUVolleyball ??? pic.twitter.com/Z7dNiGdiuT

— Santa Clara Volleyball (@scuvolleyball) September 14, 2023

NEXT UP

• The road trip to North Carolina continues on Friday with a match at Lindsey's alma mater, the University of North Carolina. Santa Clara then plays at Duke back in Durham on Saturday. Fans can find all live coverage links on the Broncos' schedule page.