Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) collected 12 kills, two service aces, and 11 defensive digs, while Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) contributed nine kills and three block assists. Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) dished out 28 assists along with six digs and three total blocks, Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) led all players with eight block assists, and Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) was also tops in the contest with 16 digs.
The first set was the closest of the match with seven ties and three lead changes, but three straight Bronco blocks allowed the home team to take an 8-5 lead. Down 22-17, Seattle U came back thanks in part to three errors by Santa Clara to pull within two at 23-21, but a kill by Tanya Schmidt and a Redhawk ball-handling error ended the first set in the Broncos' favor.
Santa Clara (9-5) scored the first three points of the second set, but the Redhawks came back with consecutive kills by Richards and a block from Farley and Richards to come within one at 14-13. After Seattle U pulled to within one at 23-22 with a block by Mellies and Farley as well as a Richards kill, Santa Clara closed out the set with a kill by Katherine Douglas and a Redhawk attack error.
Back-to-back service aces by Emily Burke gave the Broncos the early lead in the third set, and the Broncos kept creeping further ahead in the set. Santa Clara closed out the set and the match on a service ace by Kayla Lommori.
"We played much better today than yesterday," head coach Shannon Ellis said. "Santa Clara is a very sound team and today really helped us identify key areas of needed improvement. We need to keep getting better at the fundamentals."
Lommori led the Broncos with 12 kills, plus she earned two service aces and six digs, while Kaleigh Durket finished with nine kills, seven digs, and two block assists. Burke ran a solid offense, collecting 39 assists, three service aces, and five digs, Dana Knudsen led the team at the net with five total blocks, including three solo rejections, and Bridget O'Hara led the way in the back with 12 defensive digs.
Seattle University (7-10) will have a week off before continuing its stretch of four road matches, switching to Big Sky opponents as the Redhawks will travel to Eastern Washington (Oct. 4) and Portland State (Oct. 7) before returning home for a contest against Idaho State Oct. 9.