Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash.--It was another five-set thriller for Gonzaga volleyball Saturday afternoon, and thanks in part to a career-high 30 kills from senior Emmy Allen, the Zags downed Pepperdine 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12) to sweep the season series.

Down 1-2 after dropping the third set, the Zags came out firing at the start of the fourth. Gonzaga raced out to a 5-0 lead - with two points coming on blocks from Allen and Katelyn Oppio - and forced Pepperdine to take an early timeout. Coming out of the break, the Zags won three more for an 8-0 lead before the Waves landed a kill for a sideout. Allen responded with another kill and sideout, and the Zags took six more consecutive points for a 14-1 advantage. The Waves fought back to within six points at 22-16 and 23-17 but Gonzaga won the frame by seven.

In the deciding fifth set, Gonzaga again jumped out to a big 6-0 lead, getting a pair of kills from Allen and a pair from Imani Wimbush in addition to a block and an ace. After the large opening advantage, they held the lead throughout the period, but the Waves did use a four-point run to pull within one at 12-11. Allen halted the run with a kill, but Pepperdine immediately earned a sideout with a point from Gaby Palmeri. Allen again earned a sideout with a kill, her 30th of the game, and the Bulldogs clinched the match when an attack from Palmeri sailed wide.

Gonzaga opened the match with a 25-18 first-set victory, but the Waves won the next two to take the match lead. In the first, Gonzaga used a five-point run to turn a two-point margin into a 21-14 lead. Pepperdine clawed back to within four, but the Zags ended the frame with three straight points: a kill from Paige Folger, a block by Folger and Jenna Kuehn, and a solo stuff by the freshman setter.

The second set, which Pepperdine won 23-25, was the closest of the match with 12 tie scores. Gonzaga managed to tie the frame at 23-all, but the Waves won the final two points to tie the match heading into intermission. Coming out of the 10-minute break, the Waves took an early lead and stretched it out to nine points at 14-23. The Bulldogs won six of the next seven points to reel the score closer, but Pepperdine closed out the frame at 20-25.

Bulldog Bites:

• Today's win and October 6th's 3-1 victory over Pepperdine gives Gonzaga wins in both matches against the Waves this season. This is the first time in program history the Bulldogs beat the perennial conference powerhouse twice. The win is Gonzaga's seventh-ever victory over Pepperdine, and four of those seven have come since 2014. Gonzaga has claimed the last three matches against the Waves inside the Martin Centre.
• Allen's 30 kills were a season high, and they came on a blistering .433 attack percentage. That kill total is the highest by any Bulldog since Savannah Blinn landed 32 at Wyoming Sept. 12, 2014, and it's tied for the sixth-most in a five set match in Gonzaga history. Additionally, it's the second-highest kill total in a match this season for the West Coast Conference, just one behind McKenna Miller's 31 for BYU in September.
• The Gonzaga defense blocked 14 attacks Saturday, third-most on the year and the second highest total in WCC action. Folger led the match with nine block assists, and five others tallied at least two. Allen added five - one solo, four assisted - and Kuehn blocked four total attacks.
• Three Zags posted double-doubles Saturday: Faith Smith, McKayla Ferris, and Morgan Douglass. Smith added 32 assists and 12 digs to Gonzaga's cause, while Ferris posted 13 digs and 10 kills. Douglass, meanwhile, saw her first of the year after 17 digs and 10 assists. Allen was just one dig shy of a double-double as well.
• Gonzaga advanced to 5-1 in five-set matches this season. One of those - a 3-2 win at Loyola Marymount Oct. 8 - has come in WCC play. This was Gonzaga's first five-setter inside the Martin Centre.

Zag Speak: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Diane Nelson

• "[Before the fourth set] I said `settle into our level of play, feed Emmy, and our block needs to be better.' We found the hitters better, we slowed down, and that makes our defense better."
• "There's no stopping Emmy when she has her mind set to something. Early in the match she'd been getting a block and wasn't real effective, but she settled into something and they never stopped her. I told our setters to feed her. I haven't said that before this season."

Next Up:

Gonzaga (14-9, 7-6 WCC) returns to the road for tough away matches against ranked foes next week. On Thursday, Nov. 10, they'll take on the No. 14 BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah, and on Sunday, Nov. 12, they face No. 7 San Diego in San Diego. They lost to both squads earlier this year in Spokane.