Women's Volleyball dominates at SCU Invitational
By Erin Chambers
The women's volleyball squad kicked off their season with high expectations, they were coming off a season in which they won the WCC title and were ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. Opening on Aug. 31 at the Phoenix Airport Hilton/Sundevil Challenge, by the season's end, the Broncos will have played 14 matches against participants in last year's NCAA tournament plus a meeting with seven squads ranked in the final AVCA/USA Today Poll.
"The schedule starts out challenging and doesn't stop throughout the season," Coach Jon Wallace said.
All expectations have been met if not exceeded so far this season as the Broncos maintain a 7-1 record.
A 3-0 victory at the SCU Invitational last weekend marked a season high ranking at No. 20 for women's volleyball as well as a program record 17 straight appearances in the USA Today and Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. Perhaps the most significant win of the tournament was against the powerhouse UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos entered the tournament ranked No. 13, but after their 31-29, 30-24, 30-20 loss to the Broncos, their ranking sunk to No. 18 in the polls. The first win over the Gauchos since 1984 and only the second in 17 attempts, the straight set victory is credited largely to the Bronco defense. Santa Clara out-dug UCSB 84-56 with sophomores Becky Potter and Jami Bari each posting 15 digs and Danielle Bauer demonstrating true dominance with 13 kills and 15 digs on the match.
The huge showing by the Broncos at the UC Santa Barbara match could perhaps only be out-shined by their final win of the SCU Invitational against North Carolina. The match went five games and once again, the power of the Bronco offense, Bari, posted 18 kills, was well supported by a strong defense.
Bari was named the MVP of the SCU Invitational hosted by the Fremont Marriott.
"Jami was the backbone of all the little things this weekend. She also hit unbelievably well this weekend," Wallace said. Bari also received WCC Player of the Week honors after posting 50 kills over the weekend.