Volleyball continues to roll

By Erin Chambers

The volleyball team came out firing in front of a hometown crowd last weekend at the Leavey Center as they dominated Gonzaga and swept Portland in three games.

Santa Clara started out strong last Friday against the Bulldogs, winning the first seven points of the first frame. In fact, Gonzaga didn't record its first kill of the match until 19-7 in the first frame, and was out hit overall that game .290-.000. Totals for the first game include 17 kills for the Broncos, the last two fired by freshman middle blocker Christina Vick.

Gonzaga gained its first and only lead of the night at 11-8 in the fourth game, but Santa Clara quickly rebounded with four points in a row. It was all over when freshman stand-out Megan Johnston served the eleventh Bronco ace of the night to win match point.

"We relaxed, believed in each other, and definitely got the job done," sophomore Becky Potter said, who posted 17 kills and 12 digs on the match.

Santa Clara now leads the all-time series 23-6 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs and hasn't lost to their West Coast Conference rival in their last 13 meetings.

Fresh off their Friday night victory, the Broncos came out on Saturday with a huge advantage against Portland. Going into the match, Santa Clara lead the all-time series 24-7.

The first game began with a Bronco side-out followed by four consecutive points, giving Santa Clara an early 5-0 lead. One of freshman Toni Muratore's 11 kills on the night then ended the first game at a score of 30-20.

Thanks to sophomore Jessie Mechem's 11 kills and senior Jami Bari's 16 digs, the second game went swiftly to the Broncos at a score of 30-19. The Pilots did rally in the third however, taking an early lead and even pulling ahead 29-27 after three straight block assists. But Santa Clara dug in to tie it up at 29, and senior defensive star Merrin Thompson ended the match with a block assist.

Although it's still early in West Coast Conference play, with the wins over Gonzaga and Portland, the defending champion Broncos now boast a 10-5 record overall and are 3-1 in conference play.

"We have all been working very, very hard," Bari said. "This is pretty much a brand new team from last year with a new person practically in every position. We are young but have a lot of talent and I believe we have a great chance at the conference title if we continue to work hard and believe in ourselves and trust the decisions made by the coaching staff."

Santa Clara returns to the court this weekend in Southern California where the Broncos face Loyola Marymount on Friday and No.15 ranked Pepperdine on Saturday.