Box Score SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Santa Clara University volleyball team jumped out to an early lead Friday, but the defense of visiting Air Force adjusted and held off the Broncos' attack to come from behind and win, 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19) on the first day of the Santa Clara Mission Classic at Leavey Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Santa Clara (6-2) dominated the first set, collecting twice as many kills (16 to 8) as the Falcons (7-1) did. The Broncos defense held Air Force to only .061 hitting in the first, as they ran off with a 25-18 victory, only trailing once at 5-4.
- Santa Clara grabbed an early advantage in set two, but Air Force wouldn't let this set get away. The Falcons went on a 9-3 run to go ahead for good at 10-7. The Broncos stayed close, pulling to within one at 11-10, but the Falcons put them away with a 10-2 stretch that made it 21-12 and lifted them to a 25-17 match-evening set win.
- Air Force's offense was on fire in the second and third sets, hitting .556 and .448, respectively. Santa Clara again led early, looking to go back ahead in the match. Even after the Falcons surged ahead at 12-9, the Broncos took back a lead midway through at 17-15. But Air Force outscored them 10-5 the rest of the way, using six kills from five different players to win 25-22 and go up, 2-1, in the match.
- Santa Clara never quit battling Friday night. Even when Air Force took a 5-1 lead to start the fourth set, the Broncos stayed right in it with a 5-1 run of their own to tie it at 6-6. They were still within two points at 11-9 before the Falcons surged yet again with an 8-3 run that set them up to win the match with a 25-19 triumph in set four.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 3: Santa Clara had three players with double-digit kills Friday, the first time this season they've accomplished the feat. Layla Truitt led all players with 16, Sophia Tulino had 12 and Lia Okammor totaled 10 while hitting a team-best .389.
- 14: Air Force logged 12 total blocks. 10 of those came in the final two sets alone, including six in the fourth and final set.
- 47: Nive Tuileta collected a season-high 47 assists in the match. It was her fourth 40-plus assists performance of the season and third in the last four matches. Santa Clara is 2-2 this season when she's had over 40 assists in a match.
NEXT UP
- The Broncos wrap up their own Santa Clara Mission Classic at 2 p.m. Saturday against CSU Bakersfield, who went 1-1 Friday. Live coverage links can be found on the Broncos' schedule page.
