MALIBU, Calif. — The Santa Clara University women's volleyball team fought back late on Saturday for the second consecutive match, but host Pepperdine endured, beating the Broncos, 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 26-28, 25-22), in a closely contested West Coast Conference match at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Cate Shanahan led Santa Clara (8-13, 4-5 WCC) with 21 kills -- her sixth 20-plus kills performance of the year -- and added seven digs and one service ace.
Selin Aslayan finished with 15 kills, seven digs and three total blocks.
Macy Hinshaw recorded 53 assists, 13 digs and three kills for her second straight double-double and the 11th in her last 13 matches.
Grace Flanagan tallied nine kills on a .389 hitting percentage and posted a team-high five blocks.
Santa Clara used an early four-point push to move ahead 6-4 in the opening set, with
Ashlynn Reilly serving an ace and Flanagan factoring into back-to-back blocks. Pepperdine (16-4, 8-1 WCC) later built a 22-16 lead, but Santa Clara answered with four consecutive points, including a Shanahan ace and kill, to get within 22-20. Pepperdine would close out the set, 25-22, to take an early 1-0 match lead.
Santa Clara led in the second set as well, building a 14-9 lead helped by two
Lexi Trapani service aces and three early kills from Aslayan. The Waves came back to tie the set at 15 and later reached set point at 24-20. Santa Clara charged back with a Reilly kill, a block by Hinshaw and Flanagan, and another Aslayan kill before Pepperdine closed the set 25-23 on Ella Piskorz's kill.
The Broncos finally earned a set victory in the third by taking the final three points, flipping Pepperdine's 26-25 edge with two kills from Shanahan and another from Hinshaw. Earlier, Aslayan helped Santa Clara get back even at 22-22, and Shanahan followed later with a kill that made it 24-23. The closing run gave Santa Clara the set, 28-26.
With
Tia Kapihe serving, Santa Clara created separation in the fourth set, using a Shanahan kill, two Pepperdine attack errors and an
Allison Dzieciuch kill to move ahead 11-6. The set was tied at 19 after another Shanahan kill, but the Waves scored the next four points to put Santa Clara behind 23-19. Santa Clara answered late with a Flanagan kill and a block by Flanagan and Aslayan before Pepperdine closed out the set 25-22.
Maggie Beauer led the Waves with 17 kills and added three total blocks. Tristen Raymond recorded a double-double with 48 assists, 10 digs and five total blocks. Piskorz finished with 10 kills and a team-high five total blocks. Laine Briggs collected a team-high 15 digs and added one service ace.
The Broncos' road trip continues Thursday with their first WCC matchup against new conference member Denver. Fans can find all live coverage links at SantaClaraBroncos.com.
