SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Santa Clara University women's volleyball team swept visiting Portland Saturday for the second time this season to sweep the season series for the second year in a row, as the Broncos dispatched the Pilots, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-13), in a West Coast Conference match at Leavey Center.
Santa Clara (11-14, 7-6 WCC) dominated the Pilots (11-10, 4-8 WCC) to win their third straight in the series. The teams only played once last season. The Broncos finished with 40 kills and nine service aces while holding Portland to a -.054 hitting percentage. It was the first time the Broncos held an opponent to a negative hitting percentage in more than seven years, since limiting San Francisco to a -.008 percentage on Oct. 14, 2019. It was the first time Portland had been held to negative hitting in more than two years, when it hit -.020 at San Diego on Oct. 17, 2024.
Cate Shanahan recorded 13 kills on .333 hitting, two service aces and eight digs.
Macy Hinshaw finished with 30 assists and 11 digs for her second consecutive double-double and 14th in her last 17 matches. She added a kill and a service ace.
Ashlynn Reilly tallied four service aces and four digs.
Grace Flanagan added seven kills on .429 hitting.
Selin Aslayan had 11 kills Saturday and has recorded at least 11 kills in five consecutive matches.
The Broncos won seven of eight rallies from 17-11 to 24-12 in the first set. Shanahan served the final four points of that stretch, including a kill and a service ace, before Aslayan's kill put Santa Clara at 24-12. After Portland scored four straight, Aslayan finished the set with another kill for a 25-16 Santa Clara win.
Santa Clara opened the second set with six straight points on Reilly's serve, using a Flanagan kill, three Reilly service aces and a Shanahan/Flanagan block in the 6-0 start, forcing the Pilots to call a timeout. Portland cut the gap to 14-11, but the Broncos stayed in front and closed the set with Aslayan's kill for 24-20 before Hinshaw's service ace finished a 25-20 win.
The Broncos broke a 4-4 tie in the third set with a 7-0 run.
Lexi Trapani served six consecutive points and added a service ace during the stretch. Santa Clara added another run from 13-5 to 20-6, getting kills from Flanagan,
Danielle Brown and Shanahan. Shanahan finished the set with a kill from Hinshaw to give the Broncos a 25-13 set win.
Kalaweloilehua Chock led Portland with six kills and added eight digs. Lila Krall recorded five kills on eight attacks with one error. Havannah Hoeft finished with a team-high 16 assists and four digs. Amiyah Eason collected a team-high nine digs and served a service ace.
Santa Clara next hosts rival San Francisco at 1 p.m. Saturday. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
