Gonzaga University
3-5
Tulsa
7-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 20 | 18 | 25 | 26 | 15 | 3 |
| Tulsa | 25 | 25 | 20 | 24 | 11 | 2 |
Women's Volleyball Battles Back; Defeats Tulsa 3-2
9/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2009
TULSA, Okla. - The scenario for the Gonzaga University women's volleyball team was the same as yesterday's match against Texas Tech University - lost first two sets, won the third - but what it did after the third set was just the opposite. The Bulldogs pulled off a huge 3-2 upset over the University of Tulsa, hosts of the Radisson Tulsa Airport Invitational, winning the final three sets 25-20, 26-24, and 15-11 to overcome being down 2-0. The Zags gave the Hurricane only their second loss of the season in nine matches - their only other loss coming to the University of Arkansas on Sept. 8 - with their 3-2 victory and improved their own record to 3-5.
"We didn't compete well yesterday," said head coach Dave Gantt. "But boy did we compete well in today's match against Tulsa. If today's personality is the one who shows up in every match from this point on we definitely will have the best opportunity to be in every match at the end."
There wasn't much to the first two sets as Tulsa easily won them 25-20 and 25-18. The Bulldogs even had more errors than kills in set two, finishing with 11 errors and only six kills. But in the end, those two sets don't matter as much as the final three.
"We had to have a lot of patience as we could in the first two sets," explained Gantt after the match. "They basically worked out some bugs in the second set. Yeah we gave up a few runs in the second set, including a nice six-point run that sealed things for Tulsa, but after that set was done I just convinced a couple players they had to step up. After that we played very steady. It was probably the most consistent we have played in three-straight sets so far this season."
The player that stepped up for Gonzaga in set three was senior Layne Brosky. The lefty hitter finished with seven of the Bulldogs 18 kills in the set, including a run of five for the Zags that turned an 8-7 advantage to a 13-9 edge. GU was able to push its lead to eight at 20-12 and secured the win on a kill by senior Michelle Boevers.
The Bulldogs had to scratch their way out of a three-point deficit late in set four to even push the match to the fifth and deciding set. Tulsa led 20-17 after Gonzaga's third service error of the set, but kills by Boevers and sophomore Kaprina Goodwin forced the Hurricane coaching staff to call a timeout. The timeout didn't do Tulsa much good as the Hurricane's Jennifer Eichler mishit two balls which allowed GU to take the slight 21-20 lead. The set then tied at 21, 22, 23 and 24. The Bulldogs finally got the upper hand when Julia Kenealy was charged with a ball handling error for the Hurricane. Gonzaga claimed the set victory on a kill by Goodwin.
The fifth set was a nail biter with six ties and two lead changes. Gonzaga finally put the nail in the coffin when it rattled off the final four points to break the 11-11 tie. Broksy started things off with a kill, which was followed by an attack error by Tulsa. Brosky again registered a kill and then the Hurricane mishit a ball to end the match.
"They all were fired up," stated Gantt. "We challenged them and their response was very productive."
Brosky had a career-high 19 kills and Goodwin had her second career double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore setter Denise Van de Mortel was as steady as ever, dishing out 48 assists, collecting 13 digs and tallying three blocks and three kills.
Libero Allyson Powell was all over the floor, finishing with a career-high 31 digs. It is the first time since 2003 that a Bulldog had 30 or more digs in a five-set match.
Tulsa was led by Tyler Henderson and Eichler who had 22 and 20 kills, respectively.
Gonzaga doesn't have much time to rejoice in the victory as it plays its final match of the tournament at 2:30 p.m. against Stephen F. Austin.
