Gonzaga University
7-13, 3-4WCC
Saint Mary's
14-4, 6-1WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAINT MARY'S GAELS | 25 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 3 |
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 23 | 20 | 30 | 14 | 1 |
Volleyball Falls 3-1 To WCC Leading Saint Mary's
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2009
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to visiting Saint Mary's College on Saturday at the Martin Centre. The Gaels took the 25-23, 25-20, 28-30, 25-14 West Coast Conference victory over the Bulldogs. With the loss, Gonzaga fell to 7-13 on the year and 3-4 in conference. Saint Mary's improved its WCC leading record to 6-1 and are now 14-4 overall.
Gonzaga ended the match with 52 kills and a .208 hitting percentage. Five Zag players tallied five or more kills, including two who collected double-digits. Senior Michelle Boevers led the way with a team-leading 14 and classmate Emily Johnson added 11.
Saint Mary's finished with 13 more kills than Gonzaga at 65 and had a .333 attacking clip. Three players had double-figure kills. Shannon Lowell closed out the match with 18 kills and a .667 hitting clip, while Megan Burton added 12 and hit .500 and Lauren Corp tallied 12 and hit .257.
The first set of the match could have gone either way as there were 16 ties and seven lead changes. The Gaels were the first to 20 after Megan York hammered home a kill to break the 19-19 tie. An attack error by York followed by a huge kill by senior Layne Brosky, to end an intense rally, gave Gonzaga the lead at 21-20. The set then tied at 22 and 23. Unfortunately, SMC put the set away on a kill by Gabby Jolly and an attack error by GU sophomore Laura Day.
The second set was tight early one with four ties before either team got to seven points. But with the score knotted at 7-7, Saint Mary's rattled off six-straight points to break the set open at 13-7. The Bulldogs couldn't get closer than three points of the Gaels from then on and ultimately dropped the five point decision. Gonzaga showed an amazing rejuvenation coming out of the intermission. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-7 and held the 22-19 advantage after a block by teammates Kaprina Goodwin and Brosky. A 4-1 run by Saint Mary's knotted the set at 23-23. Gonzaga got to 24 first with a service error by the Gaels York but couldn't put the set away as SMC starved off set point with a kill by Corp. A block assist by Saint Mary's Burton and Lauren Jaeckel gave it the lead at 25-24 but Gonzaga starved off its own set point after Saint Mary's registered an attack error. The Bulldogs went on to have set point at 26-25, 27-26, 28-27 and finally at 29-28. With the rowdy and loud crowd behind Gonzaga, Brosky was finally able to put the set away as she nailed her seventh kill of the match.
The Bulldogs looked ready to do battle with the Gaels in set four as they traded points back-and-forth early. But with the score at 12-11, advantage SMC; the Gaels strung together a blowout 10-0 run to put the set out of reach at 22-11. Gonzaga could not recover and Saint Mary's earned the 25-14 victory.
Gonzaga held the huge 55-38 dig advantage while Saint Mary's had the 11.5-8 edge in digs. The Gaels registered seven service aces but also had 14 service errors, including six in the Zags third set victory.
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, Oct. 31 when they play at the University of Portland. Match time is set for 1 p.m.
