Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash.--With smooth passing and an efficient attack, the Gonzaga volleyball team continued its winning ways Saturday, sweeping past San Francisco 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-22) at the Martin Centre in Spokane.

The Zags dominated the beginning of the match, quickly taking a 10-point advantage. After swapping the first two points, GU won the next five, getting two kills from Emmy Allen, one from Imani Wimbush, and a block from Allen and Katelyn Oppio. Just a bit later, the Zags picked up five more consecutive points on the serve of Allen for a 13-3 lead. The teams held pace with each other for the rest of the frame before McKayla Ferris finished it off with a hard kill.

In the second, Gonzaga never trailed, but the Dons hung tough until the end of the set. Up 18-16, Oppio landed a kill for a sideout, and the Zags then took the lead via a San Francisco attack error. Oppio and Sarah Bradley then combined for a big block of USF's Tyna Adamcikova, which brought about a San Francisco timeout with the Zags up five for the first time in the frame. After the timeout, the pair again combined to turn aside another attack USF attack, which led to a weak over ball from the Dons and an easy kill for Oppio. That put the Zags up six points at 22-16, and they took the frame by seven at 25-18. Bradley tallied the clinching kill.

San Francisco saw its only leads of the match during the third set, the latest coming at 15-16. An attack error from the Dons tied the frame, and Ferris finished off a pass from Jenna Kuehn for the lead. Three points later, with the score tied at 18, the Zags won three straight with a USF ball-handling error, kill from Wimbush, and block by Paige Folger. That stretch proved to be the difference as the Zags took set three 25-22 to clinch the match win.

Bulldog Bites:

• With the 3-0 victory, Gonzaga picked up its fifth sweep of the season and second in West Coast Conference play. Last year, the Bulldogs swept five conference matches, including their home match against San Francisco as well.
• Gonzaga has now won four consecutive home games against the Dons dating back to the 2013 season. During that time, the Bulldogs are 6-1 overall against San Francisco.
• Allen was the Zags' top offensive threat Saturday, landing 11 kills on 19 swings with just one error. Her .526 attack percentage was a season high, and she's now led the Zags in kills during three of their four conference matches.
• Marit Thorkildsen played her second match of the season Saturday, coming in as a defensive specialist in sets two and three. She tallied three digs and one assist on the day, her first career marks in either category. Thorkildsen made her collegiate debut Sept. 3 at Montana.

Zag Speak: Thoughts from head coach Diane Nelson:

• "If you watch our serve and pass game, we did a pretty good job in it. That's what keeps us in it every time. We can control the game with it, and I think we did for the most part."
• We're looking forward to being on the road and the chance to be good on the road next week. This should be a great refresher for us...LMU and Pepperdine are going to be tough, but if we're good, we can play with them."

Next Up:

With the completion of their first weekend at home, the Bulldogs (9-5, 2-2 WCC) return to the road for two matches in southern California. They begin the trip in Malibu on Thursday, Oct. 6, with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Pepperdine. Two days later, they'll take on Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles at noon.