CINCINNATI — The Santa Clara University women's volleyball team swept host Cincinnati 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-21) on Tuesday for its first victory of 2026. The Broncos dominated the Bearcats, hitting .308 with 42 kills and eight service aces while holding Cincinnati to a .177 hitting percentage.
Cate Shanahan led Santa Clara (1-3) with 12 kills, added eight digs and four blocks. Shanahan's hitting percentage of .321 marked a season high.
Morgan Hayes also recorded 12 kills, hitting .333 with two service aces.
Macy Hinshaw finished with 32 assists, six digs and a season-high total of four blocks.
Lexi Trapani collected 15 digs and added three assists.
After falling behind 4-2 in the first set, Santa Clara answered with eight straight points and moved in front 10-4, with Hayes serving seven consecutive points that included back-to-back aces.
Grace Flanagan added three kills during that surge and teamed with Hinshaw on a block for the 10th point. Santa Clara closed the set 25-16 on a Shanahan kill from
Hailey Newell.
The Broncos scored the final four points of set two after trailing 23-21, turning the late deficit into a 25-23 second-set win and taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
Selin Aslayan had a kill and a service ace during the close, Shanahan added a kill to tie it at 23-23, and a Cincinnati (2-1) attack error finished the set.
The Bearcats stayed much closer to the Broncos in the third set, moving to within 22-21 late. But Santa Clara responded, getting an Aslayan kill before
Ashlynn Reilly served back-to-back aces to close out the match with a 25-21 set victory. Earlier, the Broncos created separation with Shanahan at the service line, including her ace and
Bryn Shankle's kill in a stretch that pushed the score to 13-8.
Sydney Nolan finished with 12 kills and 12 digs for Cincinnati, adding two assists and a block assist. Kate Lijic recorded 30 assists, one kill, one service ace and one block assist. Ava Ledebuhr collected 16 digs. Izzy Busignani added eight kills on 17 attacks with a .353 hitting percentage.
Santa Clara next travels to New Haven, Conn., for the Yale Invitational. They'll face Manhattan at noon PDT Friday in their tournament opener. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
