Nov. 14, 2007

Weekly Release (PDF)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara volleyball remains on the road for its final two contests of the 2007 regular season. SCU starts things off against the Lions of Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Los Angeles, Calif. The Broncos then face the Waves of Pepperdine in their final West Coast Conference contest of the season on Saturday, Nov. 17. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.

Last Week for the Broncos
Santa Clara's seven match win streak came to end last Friday as the Broncos were edged 3-2 by the Gaels of Saint Mary's. With the loss, the Broncos begin the final week of the conference season with a league best 10-2 record and an 18-10 overall mark.

Leading the Broncos Friday evening was junior Brittany Lowe, who registered a match-high 24 kills. She also collected a team-best 17 digs to earn her 13th double-double of the season. She was followed by freshman Krista Kelley with 16 kills and sophomore Lindsy Evans with 12 kills. Senior setter Crystal Matich earned her sixth double-double of the season with 13 digs and a match-high 63 assists.

On the season, Lowe continues to lead the squad with 391 kills, while Kelley owns a team-best 4.32 kills per game average. Matich remains on the top of the Broncos list with a .329 hitting percentage (117-34-252) and 13.35 assists per game. In service aces, Lauryn Dowd owns a small edge over Evans with 34 aces. Walters added 16 digs to her record last week to compile a season total of 429 and a career tally of 1,885. Finally, in total blocks, Dowd and Evans are tied for first on the team with 58 blocks each. Evans has posted 16 solo blocks and 42 block assists, while Dowd recorded seven solo blocks and 51 block assists.

And The Count Continues
After shattering the Santa Clara and West Coast Conference all-time digs record of 1,860 on Nov. 3, the count continues for Caroline Walters and she widens the gap between herself and the former record to set a new all-time mark. Thus far, Walters has added 25 digs to the old record and now has a total of 1,885.

Walters began her senior campaign ranked second on the career list with 1,456 digs. She has tallied double-digit digs in all but three contests this season to make her way into the No. 1 spot. Both the Broncos and WCC record of 1,860 digs was set by Lia Young (1990-93). At this point in the season, Walters has 1,869 career digs.

Lowe Joins All-Time Record Book
Outside hitter Lowe joined the Broncos all-time kills this week. After posting 24 kills against Saint Mary's on Friday, the junior's career total climbed to 1,050, which moves her into 10th place on the list.

Earlier this season, Lowe entered the career kill average list, career service aces list and career dig average list. This week she is tied for fourth in kills per game, tied for sixth in dig average and is 10th overall in all-time aces.

Setter Matich is also ranked in three career categories. In all-time assists, the senior is fourth overall and in assist average she is in third place. In all-time aces, she moved up to No. 7 this week. Libero Walters is the last of this year's Broncos to be ranked in all-time categories. The senior is ranked No. 1 in both career digs and dig average.

In single season records, Walters claims the No. 1 and Nos. 3-5 spots in dig average, while owning third, fourth, ninth and tenth place in digs.

This season, Matich currently claims the No. 8 spot in assist average with 13.55 assists per game. She also owns the No. 5 and No. 9 spots in that category. In hitting percentage, Matich is ranked ninth and is just 25 assists away from entering the single season list for this year.

Lastly, Lowe checks in tied for seventh with a kill average of 4.12, while freshman Kelley takes over the No. 4 spot in the same category with 4.32 kills per game this season.

Santa Clara In The WCC
The Broncos remain in sole possession of first place as they head into the final weekend of West Coast Conference action. SCU has a 10-2 league record and continues to lead the conference in kills, assists and service aces.

Individually, Kelley dropped to No. 4 this week in kills per game, while Lowe moved up to fifth place and Evans holds onto 10th place this week. Matich's assists average of 13.39 is a league best for the third straight week, while Dowd falls one spot to No. 3 in aces per game. Walters also dropped one spot this week to No. 5 in digs per game, while Kelley, Lowe and Evans hold onto last week's rankings in points per game.

In WCC matches only, the Broncos are first in assists, kills and aces, and second in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. On their own, Dowd remains in fifth place in hitting percentage, while Evans drops to No. 13. In kills, Lowe moves up to the No. 1 spot, while Kelley is ranked fourth this week and Evans is 12th. Matich is still in first place in assists per game, while Evans continues to own the top spot in service aces. This week Dowd is ranked third in aces per game, Matich is seventh, Kelley is ninth overall and Lowe is in 10th place.

Broncos on the National Stage
Six Broncos remain in the national rankings this week. Setter Matich continues to lead SCU in the rankings as she is 12th in the nation in assists per game. The next highest ranked player is outside hitter Kelley who dropped to No. 79 this week in kills per game. Dowd, Evans, Lowe and Walters all continue to make an appearance in the ranking this week, with Lowe moving up to No. 484 in digs per game and No. 108 in kills per game.

As a team, Santa Clara is No. 12 in assists per game and No. 15 in kills per game. The Broncos own the No. 70 spot this week in aces per game and round out the top-100 in match win-loss percentage (No. 93) and hitting percentage (No. 95).

Follow The Broncos Online
Every Santa Clara home game and most road games are covered live on the Internet via www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. All home games will also feature a live video broadcast as well.

Bronco Blogging
All year long, Bronco fans can receive an inside look at the volleyball team by checking in with Caroline Walters' blog on SantaClaraBroncos.com.

Walters will be posting a new entry each week to let fans know what is going on with the team and its players both on and off the field. To read Walter's blog along with other Bronco sports blogs, click on the link on the right side of the SantaClaraBroncos.com homepage.

Scouting Loyola Marymount
The Lions enter Thursday's contest with a 14-11 overall record and an even 6-6 WCC mark. Last weekend, LMU split its matches with a 3-2 loss to then-No. 19 San Diego and a 3-1 win over San Francisco. Against the Dons, Emily Day led the team with a match-high 27 kills and 16 digs, Christianna Reneau added 19 kills and 15 digs and Heather Hughes tallied 111 kills and a match-high four service aces.

For the year, Hughes is first on the team in kills as she averages 5.27 per game. Becky Stehling has been the most consistent for the Lions with a .302 team-best hitting percentage (103-28-248). Day leads the squad with 33 service aces and 74 total blocks, while is second on the team in kills, averaging 3.95 per game.

In the WCC, LMU is first in digs per game (17.69) and third in kills per game (16.74). Hughes leads the conference in kills per game, while libero Whitney Leonard is third in digs per game and setter Renee Horton is fourth in assists per game. In league matches only, the Lions remain first in digs, while moving up to the No. 2 spot in assists and kills.

The Broncos and Lions last met on Oct. 20 at the Leavey Center, where SCU served up a 3-0 sweep of LMU. Leading the Broncos were Lowe and Kelley with 17 and 14 kills, respectively. Dowd posted a match-high four blocks as Evans added three blocks. In the all-time series, LMU leads 28-25.

Scouting Pepperdine
The Waves will host the Gaels of Saint Mary's on Thursday before playing the Broncos in the final match of the WCC season. Pepperdine begins the week with an overall record of 17-8 and a conference record of 8-4. This week, the Waves sit in third place in the league. The Waves also split their matches last weekend as they earned a 3-2 victory at San Francisco and fell in a 3-2 decision to then-No. 19 San Diego. Against the Toreros, Julie Rubenstein registered a match-high 29 kills, while Cassie Chamberlain added 15 kills and Kayla Walker chipped in with 13 kills and three total blocks.

Leading Pepperdine this season in kills and digs is Rubenstein, who averages 4.52 kills and 2.99 digs per game. Lecca Roberts is first on the team in total blocks with 98 and averages 2.97 kills per game.

The Waves lead the WCC in hitting percentage and are third in assists, kills and service aces. Roberts owns a conference best .387 hitting percentage, while being ranked fourth in blocks per game. Setter Kiah Friars is second in assists per game and Rubenstein is third in kills per game. In WCC games only, Pepperdine remains in first place in hitting percentage and moves up to the No. 2 spot in kills per game.

Santa Clara and Pepperdine last met on Oct. 18, when the Broncos produced a 3-1 victory on national television. Kelley posted 17 kills and 21 digs, while Lowe registered 23 kills and 15 digs. In the all-time series, Pepperdine leads 32-20.

On Deck
The Broncos will find out their postseason fate on Sunday, Nov. 25 as the NCAA announces the 2007 tournament field on ESPNU. Fans can watch the selection show at 5 p.m. PT