Oct. 30, 1999

SPOKANE, Wash. - Britten Kimbell?s match-high 15 kills weren?t enough, as Gonzaga University lost to the University of San Francisco 2-15, 15-11, 15-13, 15-11 in Friday night volleyball action.

The loss drops the Zags to 5-17 overall and 1-8 in the West Coast Conference while San Francisco improves to 12-12 and 3-5 in the WCC.

The Zags came out strong and took a quick 8-0 lead in the first game. Two service aces from Heather Osberg and one from Megan Hosek helped sustain the run. The Zags, who led 12-0 in their first meeting with the Dons and eventually lost 17-15, knew USF was capable of coming back but four consecutive attack errors helped Osberg serve out the game.

Game-two saw USF take an 11-7 lead before Kimbell smashed a kill to force a side-out. Seraina Bitzi proceeded to serve the next four points to tie the game at 11-11. Junior Laura Tinetti?s kill and solo block helped USF regain the lead and eventually close out the game 15-11.

The Dons jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the exciting third game, but the Bulldogs rallied back to make things interesting. Gonzaga staved off elimination for seven game-point serves until a Christa Downey kill gave USF the win.

Gonzaga?s -.029 hitting percentage in the fourth game was too much to overcome and USF proceeded to eventually take the match.

The Bulldogs got help on the offensive end from Osberg?s 10 kills while setter Emilie Heggli recorded a match-high 33 assists. Casie Lomax paced the Dons with nine kills.

Gonzaga returns to action Saturday when they host conference rival Santa Clara University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

San Francisco d. Gonzaga 2-15, 15-11, 15-13, 15-11

Kills ? Lomax (S) 9, Kimbell (G) 15. Assists ? Hamilton (S) 16, Heggli (G) 33. Digs ? Downey (S) 15, Bitzi (G) 17. Blocks ? Tinetti (S) 6, Heggli and O?Connor (G) 4 each. Aces ? Downey, Lomax, Russell and Jones (S) 1 each,