Week 8 Notes

LAST TIME OUT:

• The Zags returned to the Martin Centre last weekend, splitting matches against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. On Oct. 8, Gonzaga won the points battle 101-96 but lost three sets to two to Loyola Marymount. The Zags took the first and third sets handily, but LMU won the second and fourth by similar 25-21 scores to force the deciding fifth frame, which the Lions won by six. During the match, redshirt senior Savannah Blinn moved into third on Gonzaga's all-time kills list.
• GU bounced back from that loss in a big way, earning their first sweep of Pepperdine in 23 years on Oct. 10. Blinn posted a .615 hitting percentage with 18 kills while the Zags hit .449 as a team during the impressive win. Gonzaga took the first set against the Waves by eight points with Blinn hitting 8-for-8 during the frame, and they never trailed in the second en route to a 25-16 set victory. The third set was much more tightly contested, but the Zags got some separation late to clinch the sweep.

HITTING THEIR TARGETS:

• The Gonzaga attack is potent with the second best hit percentage (.263) in the WCC, and when the Zags are rolling, that attack is efficient as well. As a team, Gonzaga has hit better than .400 in three matches this season, more than in any of the previous 11 seasons. They have two of the three highest single-match hitting percentages in the conference this season, and their .489 percentage against Saint Mary's is the 16th highest in the nation. Over last weekend, GU hit .392, including a .449 mark against Pepperdine.
• A pair of Zags -- middle blocker Imani Wimbush and Blinn -- are hitting above .300 while five other regular attackers have marks above .220. Five Zags are currently on pace to set career highs in hitting percentage, and Wimbush's .309 mark would be the second highest by any Bulldog since at least 2004. Blinn's .307 would be fourth. Wimbush and Blinn have the program's five highest attack percentages during that time span.
• When only considering WCC play, the Zags are leading the conference with a .294 mark, nearly 60 points higher than the nearest competitor. Three Zags are hitting above .300 against WCC foes with Wimbush leading conference at .407 and Blinn third at .389. Paige Folger is hitting .302, and Jordan Gasser isn't far behind at .282, 10th-best in the WCC when considering attack minimums.

FEARLESS NETMINDERS:

• The Zags have seen strong play at the net lately, outblocking each of their last nine opponents (since Sept. 18) and not getting outblocked themselves in the last 13 (since Sept. 11). Four of their five highest block totals of the year have come since Sept. 11 including the season high of 17.0 against Pacific Sept. 24, and the Gonzaga has averaged 2.82 blocks a set since Sept. 11's match at Grand Canyon.
• On the year, the Zags lead the West Coast Conference and are 13th in the nation with 190.5 total blocks. They average 2.72 a set, second in the conference and 26th in Division I. That average is the program's best since 2007 and the third highest in the last 11 years.
• Three Zags - juniors Imani Wimbush and Paige Folger and sophomore Kaylie Loewen - are all among the conference's top 10 in blocks per set. Wimbush's mark of 1.12 per frame is seventh in the WCC while Folger is right behind with 1.10 and in eighth. Loewen is 10th with 1.06 a set. Wimbush and Loewen are currently posting career-best blocks per set ratios, as are Emmy Allen, Savannah Blinn, and McKayla Ferris.

#BLINNING INTO THIRD:

• Redshirt senior Savannah Blinn remains one of the most dangerous offensive players in Division I. Her 287 kills are second in the conference, and her 4.16 kills per set ratio is third. During her four year playing career (since 2012), she's averaged 4.10 kills per set, the sixth highest mark of all active players in Division I. She's also seventh in D1 with 1,540 career kills. The opposite hitter moved into third on Gonzaga's all-time kills list during the second set Oct. 8 versus Loyola Marymount. Blinn tallied 37 kills and just four attack errors last weekend, a .569 percentage and 4.62 kills-per-set ratio.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS WEEKEND:

• BYU enters the weekend ranked No. 13 in the nation and with a 15-2 record, 5-1 in WCC play. Last weekend, the Cougars beat Pacific and Saint Mary's on the road, and they're currently riding a four match win streak. Blocking is the biggest strength of the Cougars as they lead the WCC and are eighth in the nation with 3.02 blocks a set. Amy Boswell and Whitney Young Howard are Nos. 1 and 2 in the WCC and 20th and 23rd in the nation respectively with 1.45 and 1.41 blocks a frame. Opponents are hitting just .144 against BYU, the 10th best mark in D1, and the Cougars' own hit percentage of .259 is third in the WCC and 33rd overall. Alexa Gray tops the squad with 4.15 kills a set.
• The Toreros enter the weekend 11-6 overall but 5-1 in WCC play, only falling to the Cougars on Oct. 2 in San Diego. They've beaten all four Bay Area schools plus Pepperdine. USD tops the conference with 14.25 kills and 13.25 assists per set. Lisa Kramer is second in the WCC with 4.20 kills a frame, and she's also second with 4.78 points per set. Hunter Jennings' 4.15 digs a set is also fourth in the WCC, and as a team, the Toreros are fifth in digs per set.

ODDS AND ENDS:

• Gonzaga's lone win over BYU came in Provo on Nov. 17, 2011, the first year the Cougars played in the West Coast Conference. That was a 3-1 win for GU in which senior Laura Day posted 39 digs, the Zags' record for most digs in a four-set match. Fellow senior Denise Van de Mortel provided 45 assists in the 26-28, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 win. Overall, GU is 1-5 against the Cougars on the road.
• When comparing season and conference averages, the Zags have been hitting at a higher percentage and averaging more blocks against West Coast Conference competition. Their WCC attack percentage of .294 is 31 points higher than their overall percentage, and they're blocking .22 more attacks per set in conference play as well. Blinn (.389 to .307), Gasser (.282 to .223), Wimbush (.407 to .309), and Folger (.302 to .270) are all hitting better against WCC foes, while Blinn (0.96 to 0.78), Ferris (0.67 to 0.57), and Loewen (1.42 to 1.06) are blocking at a significantly higher percentage as well.
• Three Zags -- Allen, Blinn, and Faith Smith -- have started all 19 matches for Gonzaga, and those three plus Tiyana Hallums are the only Zags to play in all 19 matches. Loewen has played and started in 18 contests, while Gasser has seen action in 17 matches, starting 12 of them.