Box Score

SAN DIEGO-The Gonzaga University volleyball team pushed San Diego through three sets Saturday afternoon, but the Toreros ran away in the fourth to down the Bulldogs 3-1 at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.

GU held an early first-set advantage at 4-3 thanks to a pair of kills from redshirt senior Savannah Blinn and two errors by San Diego, but the host Toreros took the next seven points for a six-point advantage. Kaylie Loewen and Jordan Gasser halted the run with a block, and the squads traded points to a 14-7 set score in favor of USD. GU cut its deficit to four at 17-13 with three points in a row â€" a block from Blinn and Loewen, a kill from Gasser, and a USD error â€" but the Toreros won three in a row after a timeout to re-establish a seven point lead. Not done yet, the Zags ripped off five consecutive points â€" four on the serve of senior Lauren Joseph â€" to come within two at 20-18. Another San Diego timeout halted the visitors' run, however, and the Toreros took the final five points of the frame for a 25-18 set win.

After a second-set joust at the net resulted in a two point San Diego advantage, Gasser erupted for three consecutive kills to give the Zags a lead at 8-7. The Bulldogs maintained a tenuous lead in the set until a three-point swing which included a block from Blinn and junior Emmy Allen as well as kills from the pair. San Diego called a timeout in an attempt to halt the GU run, but Gonzaga kept up the pressure by taking the next two points for a 17-11 advantage. The Toreros drew within three at 18-15, but GU answered back with a four point run of its own while moving within two points from a set win. San Diego posted another late four-point run, but the Zags snapped that with a kill from redshirt junior Imani Wimbush and then won the frame 25-21, equalizing the match at one set apiece.

In the third, Gonzaga used a three point run to take an early lead at 8-5, but the Toreros drew even and took a lead of their own on the strength of a five-point swing. The Zags halted that run with a timeout and kill from Blinn, pulling even at 11-11 before the next Torero sideout. After that sideout, USD picked up another point for a 13-11 lead, and they essentially traded points until the Toreros won three in a row for a 19-15 lead. They Zags immediately trimmed the deficit to two, and the margin held at two through the rest of the set. By flooring two straight kills, Blinn helped the Zags stave off a pair of San Diego set points, but the Toreros converted their third set point of the frame and took the set 25-23.

San Diego won up the first five points in the fourth set and the offense continued to roll, picking eight of 12 points and five straight for a 13-4 lead. Allen halted the USD run with a kill and a sideout, and Blinn added another kill while Gasser served up an ace to bring the Zags within six at 13-7. USD countered with a four point run of its own to take a 17-7 advantage, and they held on to take the frame 25-11 and the match three sets to one.

Bulldog Bites:

• Blinn paced the Zags with 15 kills, making Saturday her 10^th consecutive match with double-digit kills. The Lewiston, Idaho, native picked up her 300^th kill during the first set, marking her third consecutive 300-kill season. With 1,566 kills in her career, she's third on the Zags' all-time kills list and has the seventh highest kill total of all active Division I players.
• Junior Morgan Douglass played in all four sets Saturday, marking her first full West Coast Conference match of the season. The defensive specialist dug up 11 balls to lead the Zags in the category, although two more â€" Ferris and freshman setter Faith Smith â€" posted 10 digs apiece as well. This is the third match this season in which three different Bulldogs have reached the double-digit dig mark.
• Gonzaga served up six service aces against the Toreros, just one off their season high of seven. They've posted more aces than their opponents in nine matches this season.

Zag Speak:

Gonzaga head coach Dave Gantt

• "It's a real challenge when we give up runs of points to any teams, but with good teams it creates a major obstacle. We did that in sets one, three and four, and trying to climb out of those holes will fatigue even the best of teams."
• "We did play at a very high level for periods of time today, juts not often enough."

Next Up: The Zags (12-9, 3-5 WCC) will return to Spokane for their longest conference homestand of the year, a three-game stint that begins against Portland. That match against the Pilots will take place Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:00 p.m. in the Martin Centre.