Gonzaga University
5-8, 1-0WCC
Portland
4-12, 0-1WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PORTLAND PILOTS | 12 | 18 | 24 | 0 |
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
Bulldogs Sweep Portland In WCC Opener
10/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2009
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team, under the direction of first year head coach Dave Gantt, won its West Coast Conference opener against the University of Portland with a 3-0 sweep at the Martin Centre Saturday. The Bulldogs 25-12, 25-18, 26-24 victory over the Pilots is their first WCC opening victory since 2005 and only their second since 1994. Gonzaga, who is on a two-match winning streak - its first of the season, improved its record to 5-8 overall and 1-0 in conference, while Portland dropped to 4-12 overall, 0-1 in WCC play.
"I was really pleased with how the team established the high level of play from the beginning," stated Gantt after the match. "We went into the match wanting to serve and receive well and that is what we did throughout the match. It is nice to win the conference opening match but I am more excited about the performance of our team. That performance is what we need to do every single match."
What a performance it was. Gonzaga hit a smoking .423 in the match - not only a season-high by also the highest hitting clip by the Bulldogs in 63 matches. The last time the Zags hit with that much accuracy was Sept. 14, 2007 when Gonzaga had a .457 attacking percentage in 3-0 sweep of Alcorn State University. The Bulldogs finished with 51 kills and only 10 errors on 97 total attempts.
Three Gonzaga players had four or more kills and hit .400 or above in the match, including sophomore Kaprina Goodwin who hit .800 with eight kills and no errors on 10 attempts. Senior Layne Brosky finished the match with a .650 attacking clip after tallying a match-high 13 kills, only one error on 20 attempts. The final Zag with a strong hitting afternoon was junior Cailtin Cozad who collected six kills, one error on 11 total attempts for a .455 percentage.
Kelsey Bashaw and Denise Van de Mortel combined for 44 of Gonzaga's 48 assists. Bashaw passed out 26 assists and Van de Mortel had 18.
"Our setters Kelsey and Denise executed our game plan to perfection. Those two doing what we talked about and doing it for three-straight sets is what helped us achieve a great hitting performance. Kudos to them and also kudos to the hitters who did what they needed to do with Kelsey's and Denise's sets," said Gantt.
Gonzaga started off quick from set one and never looked back. The Bulldogs forced the Pilots into a timeout just five points into set one after GU ran out to a 4-1 lead. The Zags came out of the timeout with a sweet service ace by senior Michelle Boevers to push their lead to four. Before Portland could think, Gonzaga was up 19-8. The Bulldogs won the match after an attacking error by Pilot Marissa Plummer.
Portland stuck with Gonzaga early on in set two but with the score tied at 13-13 the Bulldogs strung together a 7-2 run to again put the Pilots on their heels. Four different GU players had a kill during the outburst, along with two different players serving up an ace.
"That moment in set two when the score was tied 13-13 was a key point for us," explained Gantt. "We could have deviated from our game plan, but we held strong and strung together a few points that separated us from Portland."
The Bulldogs won the second set after a Pilot service error.
The third set was the tightest set of the match as there were nine ties and six lead changes. Gonzaga seemed to be on cruise control mid-set, leading 18-13, but Portland put together a five-point outburst to tie the set at 18-18. The Bulldogs then gave up the lead after a service ace by UP's Madison Smith put the score at 22-21 - advantage Portland. After ties at 22, 23 and 24 Gonzaga made its move. Brosky, who had just reentered the match, hammered home back-to-back kills to capture the two-point victory.
"The same thing that happened in set two happened again in set three but I allowed our players to play through it. I finally called a timeout when Portland took the lead at 21-20 to settle us down a bit. We then put together a few good plays in a row to win it," Gantt stated.
Portland finished the match with 34 kills and a .214 hitting percentage. Jessica Clemens led the way for the Pilots with nine kills.
Gonzaga held the advantage in digs at 45-29, service aces at 5-4 and blocks at 6-3.
Gonzaga returns to action Tuesday, Oct. 6 when it travels to Eastern Washington University for a non-conference match. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
