Oct. 30, 2008

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team picked up the biggest win of head coach Kip Yoshimura's era on Thursday night by upsetting No. 22 University of San Francisco, previously unbeaten in West Coast Conference action, in five sets at the Martin Centre. The Bulldogs, who improved to 9-16 overall and 2-6 in conference, defeated the Dons, who are now 17-5 overall and 7-1 in the WCC, 25-21, 25-19, 27-29, 13-25, 15-10.

The win was only the fourth time in program history that the Bulldogs have defeated a ranked opponent, the last coming on Oct. 15, 2005, when they defeated No. 25 Saint Mary's College in four sets. Gonzaga won that match 25-30, 30-16, 30-27, 30-25. "I am excited about this victory," stated Yoshimura. "I am proud of all the hard work the team has been putting in. This win was such a huge team effort. To defeat an undefeated in conference and ranked opponent will really help us in starting the second half of West Coast Conference play."

Gonzaga won the first two sets by using a balanced offense. The Bulldogs finished the first two sets with a combined .369 attacking percentage. Over the 25-21 and 25-19 victories, the Zags connected on 27 kills, with only three miss hits, on 65 total attempts. Gonzaga also forced San Francisco to hit 17 of 72 total attempts out of bounds, while allowing the Dons to only connect on 28 for a dismal .153 hitting percentage.

Junior Layne Brosky and senior Elaina Renius paced the way for Gonzaga in the early sets, combining for 15 of the Zags 27 kills.

San Francisco pulled together after the intermission to earn the third and fourth set victories. Carly Babin, Sarah Mandala and Alix Gombos took over for the Dons, as they combined for 20 of 36 kills in their two victories.

The Zags, who seemed to have the wind knocked out them going into set five, fell behind early in the decisive set 6-3. A timeout by Yoshimura was all Gonzaga needed as it rattled off five-straight points to take its first lead of the match; one it would not give up. The Dons did not have an answer for the Bulldogs, who claimed a five-point victory.

"Set fives are always shootout," explained Yoshimura."We fell behind early, but we showed great perseverance. We were confident going into it, especially being at home."

The Bulldogs were led in the match by Brosky who had a team-high 17 kills, along with a match-high .519 hitting clip. The lefty hitter also added three block assists and one dig for Gonzaga.

"A lot of teams don't have an answer for Layne," said Yoshimura. "She seems to always play well against USF. We need that performance and the performance of all the others for the rest of the season."

Renius added 14 kills for the Bulldogs, while junior Michelle Boevers contributed 13.

Defensively, Gonzaga had three players finish in double-digit digs, including senior Paige Dillingham who tallied 16. Sophomore Allyson Powell collected 15 and freshman setter Denise Van de Mortel had 10 along with 51 assists for her seventh double-double of the season.

The Dons were led by Babin and Mandala who finished with 20 and 15 kills, respectively.

Gonzaga will look to knock off its second-straight ranked opponent when it welcomes No. 15 University of San Diego to the Martin Center this Saturday. Match time is slated for Noon.