PDF Game Notes | Gonzaga Invitational Tournament Central

SCHEDULE:

LIVE VIDEO: TheW.tv

LIVE STATS: GoZags.com LAST TIME OUT:
- The Bulldogs went 2-1 at the Northwest Challenge, beating Portland State and Boise State in four sets while falling to No. 10 Washington in three.
- Blinn led the squad with 50 kills in those three matches, but Gasser's 21 against Boise State powered the Zags over the Broncos. Her kill total and .425 hit percentage throughout the match are highs for any single Bulldog in the young season.
- Against the Broncos, Gonzaga turned a 15-21 third set deficit into a 26-24 victory, ending the set on an 11-3 run. Gasser provided six of those points while both McKayla Ferris and Savannah Blinn contributed kills as well. They also came from behind to win the fourth and deciding set.

NEW YEAR, SAME SAV:
- Redshirt senior Savannah Blinn continued where she left off, tallying double digit kills in all three matches last weekend. She's now posted at least 12 kills in each of her last 20 matches, dating back to Sept. 27, 2014.
- She's only 106 kills from moving into #4 on Gonzaga's all-time kills list. The Lewiston, Idaho, native worked her way into the program's top 10 in kills last season. Currently, Becky Jones (2004-07) is fourth with 1,429.
- After earning a spot on the All-Northwest Challenge team, Blinn has been named to the all-tournament team at her last four tournaments dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season.
- Blinn was named Preseason All-WCC for the third straight year in 2015. She also earned a spot on the USA Collegiate National Team that toured China in June.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT:
- Three incoming players made their Gonzaga debuts last weekend: Emmy Allen, Tiyana Hallums, and Faith Smith. Both Allen and Smith were in the starting lineup for the season opener against Washington, and Smith took the first serve of the year. All three of them played in all three matches.
- Smith directs three rotations of the offense and leads the squad with 62 assists and 5.64 assists per set. She's also tallied 35 digs and five combined kills and aces. Allen, meanwhile, is the team's leading blocker with 14 total and 1.27 blocks a frame. The junior transfer is also third with 28 kills (2.55 per set). Both she and Hallums lead the squad with three service aces apiece. Hallums, a freshman from Hawaii, has also added 10 digs.
- Hailey Dunn, the only incoming player to not play last weekend, will redshirt the 2015 season.

BUILDING BLOCKS:
- Imani Wimbush blocked eight attacks against Boise State, the most in a year for the redshirt junior. She posted nine blocks during match two of the 2014 season, a span of 26 contests. Her eight against Boise State are also the most blocks any Bulldog has accumulated since Oct. 4, 2014 when Kaylie Loewen also hit that mark during Gonzaga's upset win over No. 22 Loyola Marymount.
- In both of Gonzaga's wins on the weekend, the Zags posted over 10 total team blocks (10.5 versus Portland State, 12.0 against Boise State). They saw 3.5 during the loss to Washington.

ZAGS PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL:
- The West Coast Conference coaches tabbed the Zags fourth in the annual preseason poll, just one point behind San Diego for third place. The ranking is the highest Gonzaga has received under Dave Gantt and believed to be the highest in school history. Fifty seven points is also believed to be a program best.

LET'S TALK GONZAGA INVITATIONAL:
- This is Gonzaga's second year of hosting the Gonzaga Invitational. GU swept the inaugural tournament last season, beating Grand Canyon, Canisius, and Montana State. Savannah Blinn was named tournament MVP while both McKayla Ferris and Jordan Gasser joined her on the All-Tournament squad.
- Wyoming is 3-0 on the year, giving the Zags yet another chance to give the Cowgirls their first loss of the season. In 2014, Gonzaga took down Wyoming in five sets in Laramie, snapping the Cowgirls' seven match win streak to begin the year. This season, Wyoming has a balanced attack as five players have at least 20 kills. Reed Copeland leads the squad with 21 total blocks, and two others are in double digits. The Cowgirls' serve/return game has been strong early with 18 Wyoming aces compared to just six for their opponents.
- Montana is 2-1 on the season with wins over Air Force and Northeastern. Hannah Sackett leads the Grizzly attack with 44 kills while Capri Richardson is second in kills but first with 10 blocks. Rachel DeArman's seen the majority of the team's assists, and Sadie Ahearn tops the squad with 53 digs, 4.42 per set. Last year, Gonzaga swept Montana 3-0 in Missoula, Mont.
- The Utes are 3-1 this season with wins over Idaho State, CSUN, and Utah State. Adora Anae has already racked up 70 kills in four matches this season while Kendall Cygan and Jessie Jorgensen split the setting duties. Defensively, Tess Sutton leads the Utes with 58 digs, and Brenna DeYoung has 17 total blocks, although Alyssa Koenig averages 1.57 per set. Saturday night's contest will be the first between the Utes and Bulldogs since 1998; Utah leads the series 5-1.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE:
- Gonzaga's 12 non-conference matches feature an opponent from seven different conferences.
- Eight opponents finished their seasons in the NCAA Tournament, four from non-conference play and four from the WCC.
- The Zags will play three opponents for the first time ever this year. On Sept. 12, they'll take on Southern Utah for the first time, and two of GU's three opponents in the Jayhawk Invitational, Kansas and UMKC, will also be brand new to the Zags.
- After hosting two non-conference tournaments, the Zags will play 15 of their 31 matches in the Martin Centre. They last played as many home matches in 1988 when GU played host 16 times.

FLASHING BACK TO 2014:
- Gonzaga went 17-12 overall and 8-10 in WCC play, both matching the highest totals in the last 20 years (in 2007, GU also won 17 overall matches; eight conference wins is a program record).
- The Bulldogs opened the year with a 9-2 record, the best start and the best non-conference record in school history.
- The Zags' attack was the best in the program's last 10 years and among the nation's top 20 with 1,737 kills (15th) and 1,640 assists (ninth). Also, the squads' .246 hitting percentage was the best in the last decade as well.