UMKC Box Score | South Dakota State Box Score

LAWRENCE, Kan.-With two wins during the final day of the Jayhawk Classic Saturday, the Gonzaga University volleyball squad wrapped up its non-conference schedule on a high note at the Horejsi Center in Lawrence, Kansas.

Match One: Gonzaga 3, UMKC 1 (25-23, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20)

Down by one at 9-10 in the first set, the Zags took a lead with four points in five attempts, capping off the stretch with kills from juniors Imani Wimbush and Emmy Allen and a block from Allen and sophomore Kaylie Loewen. After a UMKC timeout, the Zags continued the run up with another Allen kill for a 14-11 advantage. Back-to-back blocks from senior Savannah Blinn and junior Paige Folger forced the Roos into a timeout, and coming out of the chat, Gonzaga took the next three points for a 20-12 set lead. In all, the Zags stormed ahead with a 12-2 run during the middle of the set. UMKC whittled the Bulldog advantage down to two, but junior McKayla Ferris ended the Roos' run with a kill for Gonzaga's set win.

In set two, the Zags used another large run to take a lead, taking six of seven points for a 15-13 lead. Blinn, Ferris, and senior Jordan Gasser each tallied kills during the stretch, and the GU defense forced three UMKC errors as well. The Roos came within one at 16-15, and the Bulldogs responded with five consecutive points for a 21-15 lead. They closed the set out with three straight points, the final two of which were kills from Ferris and Loewen.

Set three started as a sideout battle with both sides trading points into a 13-13 tie. The Roos then won each of the next nine points and hung on for a 25-17 set win to force a fourth frame. In that fourth frame, Gonzaga led for much of the way, taking an early three point lead thanks to quick sideouts while the Bulldogs were on defense. The Kangaroos did string together four points for a brief lead just past the midway point, but the Zags responded with a 4-0 run of their own with kills from Blinn and Allen and a service ace from freshman Faith Smith. They closed out the set and the match on a 5-1 run with three of those points coming on the arm of Blinn.

Match Two: Gonzaga 3, South Dakota State 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-12)

Gonzaga took an 8-2 lead in the first set against South Dakota State, scoring seven of those eight points on either kills or blocks. That lead held through the rest of the set as well with neither team putting together more than three consecutive points. Gasser posted seven of her nine kills versus the Jackrabbits during the frame, and Blinn added four more. As a squad, the Zags hit .353 to open the match with 17 kills coming in 34 attempts.

After the Jackrabbits took the first point of the second set, Gonzaga responded with a 10-1 run for an early eight-point lead. The Zags never looked back, winning the frame by 11 points at 25-14. Gonzaga's defense stepped up during the middle frame, digging out 20 balls and holding the Jackrabbits to a negative hitting percentage while earning a sideout 85% of the time (12 of 14). That was by far the Zags' highest sideout percentage of the match.

During the third set, Gonzaga again used a large run to take a permanent lead, scoring nine straight for a 15-9 lead halfway through the frame. Eight of those points came on the serve of Allen, including the two aces she served up as well. After getting a sideout, the Jackrabbits scored one more point, but Gonzaga again embarked on a lengthy run to end the match, taking 10 of the final 11 points to clinch a sweep. The Bulldog defense was just as strong in the third and final set as SDSU again posted a negative hitting percentage while GU tallied 18 digs and four blocks during the frame.

Jayhawk Classic All-Tournament Team

MVP: Tiana Dockery (Kansas)
Kelsie Payne (Kansas)
Cassie Wait (Kansas)
McKayla Ferris (Gonzaga)
Emmy Allen (Gonzaga)
Lynsey Wright (Missouri State)
Madison Mosier (UMKC)

Gonzaga took second in the Jayhawk Classic after tying for the spot with Missouri State, against whom the Zags did not compete. Both squads went 2-1 with wins against UMKC and South Dakota State during the weekend, but the Bulldogs finished ahead with seven set victories. The Zags took one from tournament champion No. 17 Kansas while the Bears were swept by the Jayhawks to close out the weekend.

Bulldog Bites

• With her first kill in the second set against South Dakota State, Blinn moved into fourth on Gonzaga's all-time kills list. She passed Becky Jones, who posted 1,429 kills from 2004 to 2007. Blinn ended the match with 1,437 career kills.
• The Zags dug up 69 attacks during the morning session, the team's highest total of the season, including 20 in the fourth set alone. Junior Morgan Douglass led all players with 22 digs - which equals a season high - and Ferris set a yearly best with 15.
• Gonzaga again out-blocked its opponents in both matches, winning the battle at the net 11.0 to 4.0 versus UMKC and 9.0 to 5.0 against South Dakota State. Gasser, Folger, and Ferris all had seven total blocks Saturday with six of Ferris' coming versus the Jackrabbits. Both Gasser and Folger blocked five attacks during the morning against UMKC. The Zags haven't been outblocked in their last six matches.
• Folger came alive offensively against the Roos, pounding 10 kills during the morning's match. The double-digit mark is the highest of the season for Folger, and she added five more block assists for 12.5 total points, also a season high.
• With the sweep against South Dakota State in the evening, Gonzaga collected its sixth 3-0 win of the season. That's the most since 2007 when the Zags swept 10 matches throughout the season. In each of the last three seasons, Gonzaga posted exactly five 3-0 victories.

Zag Speak

GU volleyball head coach Dave Gantt

"The morning match provided an opportunity to play a team that really stayed in system well and forced us to execute a very specific defensive game plan. Other than a little lapse during set three, we did a nice job playing at a consistent level versus UMKC."

"Against South Dakota State, we also played quite well. We created opportunities to get everyone involved and really played with a lot of heart and enthusiasm."

"Our preseason performance was overall very solid. By winning the matches we needed and by challenging ourselves with top-25 opponents, I think we are well prepared for WCC play."

Next Up

With the conclusion of the non-conference season, the Zags (9-4) will begin West Coast Conference play. To kick off the WCC campaign, they host Pacific on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6:00 p.m. That contest will take place in the Martin Centre in Spokane.