Box Score Aug. 28, 2015

Box Score | Northwest Challenge Tournament Central

SPOKANE, Wash.--The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team saw a tough start to the 2015 schedule Friday night, falling 3-0 to No. 10 Washington at the Martin Centre in Spokane, Wash.

In the first set, Gonzaga (0-1) took the match's first three points but Washington bounced back to take a large lead halfway through. The Bulldogs rallied to score five consecutive points on the serve of junior Morgan Douglass and six of seven total points near the end of the frame, but the Huskies claimed the set's final two points for a 25-19 victory.

The Bulldogs then stayed with the visitors for the entire second set but wound up on the wrong side of a 25-23 scoreline. They took an early lead thanks to five kills in the first 23 points from redshirt senior Savannah Blinn, the fifth of which gave GU a 13-9 advantage. The visiting Huskies then rattled off five straight points to take a brief lead, but then the Bulldogs re-claimed the lead at 20-17 lead after two GU service aces and a kill from Blinn. Junior McKayla Ferris helped the Zags halt a three-point UW run with a kill and moved GU within three points of a set win, but the visitors rallied back to take seven of the frame's final eight points and a 2-0 match lead.

After the break, Washington used a pair of four-point runs to take a comfortable lead, and they went on to take the final frame 25-15 and the match three sets to none.

The match kicked off both teams' 2015 seasons and the eighth annual Northwest Challenge, a yearly tournament between Gonzaga, Washington, Boise State, and Portland State. Boise State swept Portland State game two of the tournament 3-0.

Bulldog Bites:

• Blinn lead the all players with 14 kills with eight of those coming in the second set. The opposite hitter from Lewiston, Idaho, saw double-digit kills in 28 of 29 matches last season.
• Three Zags made their Gonzaga debuts tonight, and two of those three were in the starting lineup. Freshman Faith Smith and junior Emmy Allen both began the match on the floor for Gonzaga with Smith earning the first serve. Both Smith and fellow freshman Tiyana Hallums saw their collegiate debuts with Smith tallying 16 assists and eight digs while Hallums added a dig and an assist. Allen, who transferred into Gonzaga from Washington State in January, posted six digs, three kills, and an ace.
• Gonzaga is now 3-2 in season openers over the last five years. The Northwest Challenge has been the Bulldogs' opening tournament in each of the last four.
• Fourteen different Zags saw the floor during the season opener, including 11 in the first set alone.
• Washington was led by outside hitter Courtney Schwan, who tallied 12 kills and hit .500 on the night. The Huskies were voted No. 10 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches of America during the preseason poll.

Zag Speak:
Head Coach David Gantt

• "I thought Washington played pretty well, and I thought we didn't play well at all. We didn't handle the first contact of serve-receive, nor did we handle the off-speed shots they sent in. I'm confident that that is not our personality, but for some reason we just couldn't trust couldn't trust ourselves this evening. I was looking forward to this being a good match, but we just weren't ready to do that. But kudos to Washington; they played really well and we knew they were going to. That's a good team."

• "We play early tomorrow, so we have to be ready to go early. We have to switch gears pretty quick, which is good. We'll wash this off physically and mentally and get back in it."

Up Next:
The Zags won't dwell on the loss long as they square off against Portland State at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. That match will be both team's second of the season and will once again take place at the Martin Centre. At 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening, the Zags will finish off the Northwest Challenge with a 6:00 p.m. match against Boise State. Tickets for day two of the tournament will be on sale for $5 at the gate and are currently available at www.gozags.com/tickets.