SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Santa Clara University women's volleyball team nearly battled back from behind for the second consecutive day Friday, but No. 8-ranked Stanford rallied itself in the fourth set to hold on for a 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21) neutral-site victory at Cal Poly's Mott Athletics Center.
Morgan Hayes led all players with 18 kills, adding 13 digs for her third double-double in her last four matches and two service aces.
Cate Shanahan finished with 14 kills and a season-high 14 digs, also logging her third double-double in the last four contests.
Macy Hinshaw tallied 44 assists and 13 digs for her fourth consecutive double-double, three kills and an ace.
Lexi Trapani collected a team-high 18 digs and added three assists.
The Broncos (4-8) kept up with No. 8 Stanford (6-3) early on in the first set through a 10-10 tie, getting five kills from Hayes and additional finishes from
Allison Dzieciuch and Shanahan. The Cardinal then scored the next four points to move in front 14-10, and Santa Clara could not pull back within reach. Shanahan added late kills, but Stanford closed the set 25-18.
In the second set, Santa Clara could not get all the way back, with their closest push coming when
Ashlynn Reilly served consecutive aces to make it 11-10. Shanahan added four kills in the set and Hayes had two kills plus an ace, but Stanford kept Santa Clara from tying it again. Stanford closed out the set, 25-19, to take a 2-0 match lead.
But back came the Broncos, just like they did in a reverse sweep of host Cal Poly on Thursday. Santa Clara created the separation it needed in the third set with a 6-0 burst, turning a 7-6 edge into a 13-6 lead as Hinshaw served five straight points after a Dzieciuch kill. Stanford later cut the margin to 23-22, but Hayes answered with a kill and followed with a service ace to finish the Broncos' 25-22 set win.
Santa Clara looked to force a fifth set for the second consecutive day, leading 21-19 in the fourth following a Hinshaw kill, a Reilly service ace and a Shanahan kill. But the Cardinal rattled off the final six points, surging past the Broncos to win the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
Julia Blyashov finished with team highs of 15 kills while adding 12 digs. Lizzy Andrew hit .524 with 11 kills and shared the team high with six total blocks. Logan Parks recorded 41 assists, six digs and three block assists. Spencer Etzler collected a team-high 18 digs and added three assists.
Santa Clara kicks off West Coast Conference play at home next week, hosting Pepperdine on Thursday and LMU on Saturday, both preseason top-three teams in the WCC preseason coaches' poll. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
