Sept. 3, 2010

Box Score

BOISE, Idaho - It was another tough first tournament match for the Gonzaga University women's volleyball squad as it dropped a 3-0 decision to Boise State University, hosts of the Northwest Challenge, Friday. The Bulldogs, who fell to the Broncos 17-25, 18-25 and 19-25, are now 2-3 on the season. Boise State improved to 3-1 and defeated GU for the first time since Sept. 16, 2006.

Gonzaga started the North Dakota Classic last weekend with a 3-0 setback to Drake University but finished the rest of the tournament at 2-1.

The Bulldogs couldn't find their offensive rhythm at the Bronco Gym Friday as they finished the match with just 36 kills, 19 errors on 113 total attempts for a sub-par .150 attacking percentage. On contrast, the Broncos tallied 49 total kills, with just nine errors, on 103 attempts for a .388 hitting clip.

Leading the way for Gonzaga was Caitlin Cozad with 11 kills. The senior middle blocker also had six digs, one solo block and one assist on the night. Junior setter Denise Van de Mortel was hustling all over the court for the Zags, finishing with 32 assists, three kills, three digs, one block and one service ace. Senior libero Allyson Powell ended with a match-high 13 digs for GU.

"I commend Caitlin, Denise, Ally, Jessie and Schylur for competing tonight," state head coach Dave Gantt moments before he talked to his team. "They can't do it alone though."

Schylur Edelman, a senior transfer from the University of Colorado, had seven kills and a team-high .636 attacking percentage, while Jessie Genger added four kills.

Boise State's well rounded offense had five players close out the match with five or more kills. Fiona Jones and Sadie Maughan finished in double-digits with 12 and 11, respectively. Liz Harden and Alisha Young both added nine. Harden teamed up with Maughan to block four attack attempts as the Broncos held the 6-3 advantage.

Defensively, Boise State had 49 digs with Amanda Remy and Lauren Hamm leading the charge with 12 and 10, respectively.

Gonzaga looks to rebound from tonight's hard loss on Saturday when it plays both Portland State University and the University of Washington, currently ranked No. 9 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll. GU's match against PSU is set for 10 a.m. PDT and its face-off with the Huskies is at 4 p.m. PDT