Volleyball ends season strong
By Margo Consul
After earning their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Santa Clara volleyball team ended their season in the second round of the tournament with a 3-0 loss to the University of Washington on Dec. 6.
Santa Clara beat then-No. 16 Kansas State 3-2 to advance to the second round, being the only West Coast Conference team to do so. The win improved the Broncos' record to 18-9 overall.
"I think that match was all about heart and character," head coach Jon Wallace said. "The best part for me as a coach was in game five. Our girls wanted it more. Our girls knew how to perform in the moment more and they were putting in what was necessary to win the game."
The Huskies, the 2005 national champions, took down the the Broncos in three sets with scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-21 in the second round.
"The girls played hard. They had a good carry over from the night before when they beat Kansas State," Wallace said. "They definitely beat us, but we didn't beat us, and as a coach with your last match of the year, you want to say that you got beat by a better team as opposed to saying we lost because we didn't play well."
The Broncos were ranked No. 25 in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association/Bison Coaches Poll. It is the fifth time Wallace has lead the team to a finish in the top 25.
In the WCC, Santa Clara finished tied for fourth place with a record of 8-6 and an overall record of 18-10.
Senior Anna Cmaylo was once again honored as an All-American, making her the first Santa Clara athlete to earn the honor three times.
The middle blocker was also named to the AVCA All-Pacific Region team for the third time.
Cmaylo led the Broncos with 106 blocks and a 37.6 hitting percentage, and she shattered a 15-year-old career block assists record this season and set the new mark at 399.
"Cmaylo makes other teams have to think about her and how they are going to defend her," Wallace said. "She is a three-time All-American and is just a great asset and leader.
Senior Brittany Lowe accumulated more than 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills this season.
"She did a lot for the program and for the team as far as playing six rotations," Wallace said.
Wallace also spoke of the graduating seniors' affect on the team's future.
"We are going to be very young going forward and it's going to be a challenge," he said. "They were the last group to go to the final four and that is a lot of experience that we are going to have to replace."
Freshman Tanya Schmidt made a name for herself this season.
Schmidt was named to the All-Freshman team after finishing third on the team in blocks with 65, fifth on the team in kills with 169 and a .301 hitting percentage.
"The younger girls, Tanya Schmidt especially, I think have the character to lead us," Wallace said. "I think we're just going to get better we are going to do better. We are just going to get deeper and more talented."
Contact Margo Consul at (408) 551-1918 or mconsul@scu.edu.