Dec. 3, 2005

Santa Clara - 3
Stanford - 1

Stanford, Calif. - In another season of firsts, the Santa Clara women's volleyball team upset Bay Area rival and fifth-seeded Stanford in four games to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history. On their twentieth try against the Cardinal, the No. 15 Broncos pulled out an inspiring victory behind a loud and boisterous crowd and to say that the team was excited is an understatement.

"Wow. That was awesome," exclaimed Santa Clara head coach Jon Wallace. "The big picture: it's the first time in school history we beat Stanford. It's the first time in school history we've ever been in the round of 16. That's `wow'. That's awesome."

After capturing the West Coast Conference and catapulting into the Top 10 earlier this season, the Broncos came into the NCAA Tournament with a lot of confidence and tonight's play showed it. Despite dropping the first game by a score of 23-30, Santa Clara refocused to take the rest of the games by scores of 30-19, 30-27, and 31-29.

"The first game we were a little shaky but I think in the second game we really picked it up. We were just riding that momentum. We were confident and really determined and focused," explained senior opposite Cassie Perret. "We didn't let the first game loss get to us. We just rode our second game win and went with it."

As a team, Santa Clara hit a stellar .393 and they had five players hit over .300 in the 23-30, 30-19, 30-27, and 31-29 triumph. Junior outside hitter Kim McGiven led the way with 19 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Annalisa Muratore notched 16 kills in the winning effort. Sophomore middle blocker Anna Cmaylo and freshman outside hitter Brittany Lowe chipped in 14 and 12 kills, respectively, while senior opposite Cassie Perret rounded out the scorers with 10 kills. Sophomore setter Crystal Matich distributed the ball wonderfully, totaling 66 assists and added six kills of her own. On defense, sophomore libero Caroline Walters dug a match-high 18 balls, while McGiven and Lowe tallied 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Up at the net, Cmaylo collected three blocks on the night to lead Santa Clara.

In the opening game, Stanford built a 7-2 lead behind two early kills and an ace by outside hitter Kristin Richards, prompting Wallace to call a timeout. On the ensuing play, a back-row kill by McGiven got Santa Clara rolling and an ace by Lowe and a solo block by Perret closed the gap to two points. A kill by Cmaylo tied the game up at 14-14 and the two teams battled back and forth for much of the frame. Both teams were running an efficient offense, garnering much of their points off of kills and for Santa Clara, McGiven and Cmaylo were doing much of the damage. The Cardinal went on a 3-0 run to take a 22-19 advantage over the Broncos, forcing Wallace to use his second timeout of game one. SCU was unable to recover from its deficit and a kill by Akinradewo gave the home team the 30-23 victory.

Santa Clara held a quick 3-1 edge after a back-row kill by Lowe and strong net play by Cmaylo and McGiven enabled the visitors to hold the early lead. The Broncos lead by as many as seven points behind the strong net defense of Cmaylo and Lowe and great floor defense helped Santa Clara bolt out in front in game two, with Walters making one spectacular play after another in the back row. Another McGiven kill pushed SCU's lead to 20-12, causing Dunning to call a timeout. Cmaylo continued to be a force out of the middle, as she powered the Broncos' offense on numerous occasions. Santa Clara easily rolled to the 30-19 triumph, after McGiven sealed game two with another kill.

After the eight-minute intermission, two early kills by Muratore gave her team the slim 4-3 lead and Matich extended it to two points after a sly dump. A kill by Lowe pushed SCU's edge to 12-7 and Dunning used a timeout to talk things over with his players. The Broncos maintained a healthy advantage for the majority of game and back-to-back Cardinal attacking errors prompted Dunning to use one of hits timeouts with his team trailing 22-17. Stanford closed the gap to three at 25-22 after outside hitter Erin Waller snuck the ball through the double block, but two kills by McGiven silenced the Cardinal threat. A rally by the Cardinal brought them to within one point at 27-26, but Santa Clara held on to take game three 30-27 after a miscue on the Cardinal's side.

The Cardinal came out strong in the opening moments of the fourth game with Akinradewo dominating the net with her blocking and attacking skills. An attack error by Cmaylo prompted Wallace to use an early timeout to regroup his troops. The Broncos responded with strong play on both the offensive and defensive ends and two tough serves by freshman Nichole Clark tied the frame up at 11-11, forcing Dunning to call a timeout after watching his team's lead evaporate. The home team went on a 5-0 run to make the score 16-11 and Wallace used his second timeout of the game to talk strategy with his squad. The Broncos came within three points at 22-20 after McGiven put down a cross-court kill and an attack error by Cardinal setter Katie Goldhahn made the score 22-21, forcing Dunning to call a timeout of his own. Santa Clara's rally was complete when Clark served an ace, tying up the game at 24-24. The Broncos took the lead at 26-25 after Richards' attack sailed wide and another Richards error gave the visitors a two-point advantage at 27-25. SCU reached match-point after Muratore forced the ball through the block at 29-28, but a tip by opposite Nji Nnamani tied it up again. Muratore set her team up again at match point with a tip and an attack error by Akinradewo gave Santa Clara a 31-29 victory.

Santa Clara improves its overall record to 25-4 on the year and will play WCC rival Pepperdine in the Sweet Sixteen for the right to advance to the Elite Eight next weekend at Palo Alto Regional, hosted by Stanford University. Even with the record-breaking performance, the Broncos are ready for the challenge.

"We're going to be ready. This team's hungry. They'll be ready next weekend," stated Wallace. "Our confidence is only getting higher. You never know win or loss but I'll guarantee you will have a strong, strong effort next weekend and a brand of volleyball that all of you will love to watch."

Pepperdine - 3
USC - 0

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - For the sixth time in school history and third since 2001, the Pepperdine women's volleyball is headed to the NCAA Tournament's round of 16 after upsetting No. 12 ranked Southern California, 3-0 (30-28, 30-28, 30-23), Saturday night at the Lyon Center in Los Angeles. It is the second ranked team the Waves have dispatched in as many nights after downing No. 22 BYU last night.

"I am really proud of our kids right now," commented head coach Nina Matthies. "We have worked really hard this season and have been up and down at times, but I knew we had the talent to make a run in the postseason."

Freshman Julie Rubenstein played like anything but a rookie Saturday night as her 18 kills led all players, while her .326 hitting percentage atoned for her .033 performance in the two team's first meeting of the season on Sept. 16.

"I kept that match in the back of mind," noted Rubenstein. "I really wanted to come out here tonight and show that the way I played in the first match was not the type of player I am."

Senior Katy Daly added 13 kills in the winning effort for Pepperdine (19-11), while sophomore Lecca Roberts chipped in with 10, including four in the decisive game.

Daly wasted no time giving Pepperdine a lead in game one serving three consecutive aces, which combined with a Trojan (17-11) blocking error put the Waves up 4-0. Pepperdine's offense continued to apply pressure on the home team and after the Trojans pulled within two, 4-2, Pepperdine used a 4-0 run to take an 8-2 lead and force USC into an early timeout. Hitting at a .571 clip, the Waves forced USC to use its final stoppage of play trailing 15-5. Out of the break, the Women of Troy strung together a 5-1 run in which all five USC points came off Pepperdine errors forcing the Waves into a timeout leading 16-10.

After a Bibiana Candelas ace, the Wave lead had shrunk to just one, 20-19. Kills from Roberts and Rubenstein started a 3-0 Pepperdine run which gave the Waves a 23-19 lead. The Trojans finally pulled even at 24-24 when Sophia Milo was cited for being in the net on a USC attack. Pepperdine showed a lot of resilience after seeing what was once a 10-point lead turn into an even game, scoring four of the next five points and taking a 28-25 lead. The Trojans answered with a 3-0 run of its own at which point Matthies decided to regroup her troops. With the score 28-all, Rubenstein found the back of the USC court and Candelas sailed an attempt long giving Pepperdine the one-game-to-none lead in the match.

The Trojans used a 4-0 run at the start of game three to open an 8-3 lead. The slow start for Pepperdine caused the Waves to use a timeout. A 4-0 Pepperdine run followed, making the score 8-7, USC. The Women of Troy would respond with a 4-0 run of their own to take a five-point lead, 12-7. A Daly kill, followed by a block from Rubenstein and Milo was the start of a 7-2 Pepperdine run to lock the game at 14-14. Out of a USC timeout, the Waves scored the next two points for their first lead in the game, 16-14. A see-saw battle ensued until a 4-0 Trojan run gave them a 22-20 lead. Pepperdine refused to give in to the team which had defeated it in each of the last 11 meetings and fought back to even the score at 24-all only to take the lead for good as the game became the "Julie Rubenstein Show." The freshman from Camarillo, Calif., continuously found the weakness in the USC defense and recorded four of the final five Wave kills down the stretch as Pepperdine took a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

After the first two games, Pepperdine had effectively taken away all but one of USC's weapons as Candelas was the only Trojan to hit better than .200. For the match, the Waves posted 72 digs with freshman Caitlin Lawson's 18 setting the pace. USC would end the night hitting just .151 for the match.

Game three would prove to a battle. Neither team sustained much of a lead for the majority of the game as the two teams were deadlocked 11 times, the last coming at 14-all. Pepperdine took its final lead of the night as Milo and Daly teamed up for a block which was followed by a Daly kill giving the Waves the 16-14 lead. USC would pull within one on two different occasions, at 19-18 and 20-19, only to see Pepperdine come up with a counter punch. A Roberts kill at 20-19 preceded a Cassi Chamberlain kill as the start of a 10-4 Wave run capped off by a block from Rubenstein and Milo and the celebration began.

Candelas was one of two Trojans to reach a double-digit kill total on the night with Diane Copenhagen's 15 serving as the other.

For their efforts, the Waves will head to Palo Alto, Calif., for next weekend's NCAA Regionals. Pepperdine will be joined by Ohio, Arizona and its first-round opponent Santa Clara. The regional semi-finals are scheduled to begin on Fri., Dec. 9, at Maples Pavilion. Ticket and match-time information will be announced in the coming days.

UCLA - 3
San Diego - 0

LOS ANGELES, CA - In NCAA Tournament second round play at Pauley Pavilion, 16th-seeded UCLA brought an end to San Diego's 2005 season with a resounding three-game victory. Game scores went 30-24, 30-23 and 30-19. USD (23-6) was making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the school's ninth in the past ten seasons. Four UCLA (20-10) players reached double-figures in kills, including 14 by junior MB Nana Meriwether (Potomac, MD), putting the Bruins among 16 teams nationally in the tournament's regional semi-finals. A passive start, beginning with service errors from both sides, gave-way to an 8-1 UCLA run after an ace by sophomore OH Erin Wiskar (Port Moody, British Columbia) had tied the score at 12-12.

With hopes of curbing the Bruins early momentum San Diego called a pair of timeouts, cutting a 20-13 deficit down to four, 23-19, on a dump point from senior All-American Lindsey Sherburne (Saratoga, CA). However the Toreros had trouble finding a rhythm defensively, allowing the Bruins to hit .410 collectively during UCLA's 30-24 Game One victory.

Owning 7-3 record inside Pauley Pavilion entering Saturday's second round match, the Bruins led throughout Game Two- building a 15-11 advantage before a media timeout stopped play at the midway point. Consecutive points at the net courtesy of Bruin attackers Nancy Barba (Austin, TX) and Kaitlin Sather (Santa Rosa, CA) put UCLA in front 21-16.

Despite answering with a pair of points, including a quick set kill from USD MH Laurel Abrahamson (Bloomington, MN), the Bruins continued its torrid hitting pace to take a commanding two-game advantage into the locker room.

Torero freshman OH Jeanne Fairchild (Albuquerque, NM) blocked a UCLA attack and followed with one of her seven kills to allow USD an early 7-5 lead in Game Three. Fueled by five of Meriwether's 14 kills, the Bruins had little trouble completing the sweep- taking Game Three 30-19.

WCCSports.com Women's Volleyball

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