Sept. 18, 2010

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - It was another five set match for the Gonzaga University women's volleyball team that didn't go its way. After winning the fourth set to push the match to the deciding set, the Bulldogs went deep into extra points with the University of Idaho, which included 15 extra plays, but the Vandals were the ones to break the back-and-forth volley with a two-point run to claim the 23-21 victory and ultimately the match.

Idaho (5-8) finished the Zags Volleyball Classic with a 1-2 record after defeating Gonzaga 21-25, 25-15, 25-21, 18-25, 23-21, while the Bulldogs closed out their home tournament 0-3 and are now 2-13 overall.

"There were a lot of private victories tonight that I'm sure were not recognized by the public," explained second year head coach Dave Gantt. "We fine-tuned a number of details within our system, especially on the defensive side. So although their efforts were not validated with the win I am very proud of how they competed."

Gonzaga came out with much determination, claiming the first set easily at 25-21. The first set victory was only the Bulldogs fourth of the season and first since their 3-2 win over Cal State Bakersfield, Aug. 28; also the Zags last victory. But despite playing strong in the opening set, Gonzaga stumbled its way through the second and third sets, dropping them by 10 and four, respectively. The Bulldogs reverted to their old ways, only connecting for seven kills in the second set, with seven errors on 38 total attempts. The Vandals combined for 34 kills over their two victories, the Bulldogs had 17.

The Zags did not fold though and continued to fight in the fourth set. Junior setter Denise Van de Mortel was a key component for Gonzaga as she had two kills, a block assist and a service ace in a 5-1 run that turned a tight two-point set into a five-point edge at 23-17. Overall, Van de Mortel came up with three of her five match kills, along with two block assists and one dig in the seven-point victory.

It seemed like the fifth set was going to go the Zags way after they opened it with a 6-2 advantage. The Vandals stormed back though, tying the set at 7-7 and then taking a 10-7 edge on three straight blocks. Gonzaga put itself back into play, tying the set at 13-13 after forcing Idaho into two attack errors.

The teams buckled down from that point on, not willing to give up an inch. The Vandals served for match point at 16-15, and then the Zags served for match point at 17-16, 18-17 and 19-18 but never could get that elusive final point. Idaho looked to win at 20-19 and 21-20 but was stopped both times. Senior Caitlin Cozad was able to tie the match for the final time at 21-21 with her eighth kill of the night.

It was after that Cozad kill that Idaho sneaked by Gonzaga. Alicia Milo tallied her 20th kill of the night to put UI up by one and then Ryann Carter and Kelsey Taylor combined to block sophomore Jessie Genger's attack attempt to win the exhilarating match.

Genger led Gonzaga with 13 kills. Junior Kaprina Goodwin added nine, while All-Tournament team member Van de Mortel chipped in five kills, had 42 assists, dug 15 balls and finished with five block assists. Freshman Kristina Lavrisha had a career-high 29 digs as the GU's libero and senior Schylur Edelman had a team-high seven blocks. Idaho had three players in double-figure kills. Along with Milo, Allison Walker added 20 and Taylor, also an All-Tournament team honoree, finished with 10. Gonzaga returns to action Tuesday when it travels to the University of Montana. Match time is slated to being at 6 p.m. PDT.

NOTES: The University of Wyoming won the Zags Volleyball Classic, going 3-0 in the tournament. It defeated Seattle University, who also went into the match with an undefeated record, 3-2.

Zags Volleyball Classic All-Tournament
Most Valuable Player - Jadranka Tramosljanin, Wyoming
Camillo Coffman, Wyoming
Barb Lasic, Wyoming
Jamie Mellies, Seattle
Cristin Richards, Seattle
Kelsey Taylor, Idaho
Denise Van de Mortel, Gonzaga