Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score

MISSOULA, Mont. - The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team played evenly with the University of Montana but dropped a 3-1 decision to the Grizzlies in its second match of the University of Montana Tournament Friday evening. The Bulldogs (1-1) fell to the Griz (2-0) 25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 25-18.

The Zags closed out the match with 48 kills on 127 attempts for a .181 hitting percentage. The Grizzlies finished with three less kills, at 45, on 119 attempts for a .219 attacking percentage. The Zags, though, tallied 25 errors, while the Griz only faulted on 19 attacks.

The two other differences of the match were Montana's powerful serve and their blocking ability above the net. Gonzaga could not figure out the Grizzlies serve, allowing 13 aces, including three each by Amy Roberts, Jade Roskam and Jaimie Thibeault. Montana also finished the match with 22 block assists. The tag-team blocking was led by Thibeault and Roskam, who had nine and four, respectively.

Gonzaga's offensive and defense wasn't lacking in of its self though. Sophomore middle blocker Caitlin Cozad hit over .600 for the second-straight match, finishing with a .667 clip on nine kills, including one error, on 12 total attempts. Senior middle blocker Elaina Renius led both teams in kills for the second-straight match with 16. She also added one service ace and three block assists.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by senior libero Paige Dillingham and junior outside hitter Emily Johnson. Dillingham collected a match and career-high 17 digs in the setback, while Johnson had 10 digs; one dig shy of tying her career-high. Johnson also contributed nine kills, and two blocks.

Gonzaga looks to rebound from its first loss of the season tomorrow against North Dakota State University and UC Riverside. The Bulldogs will face the Bison at 10:30 a.m. and the Highlanders at 5 p.m. on the final day of the Montana Tournament.