Gonzaga Notes | BYU Notes | San Diego Notes

LAST TIME OUT:

• The Bulldogs went 1-1 again last weekend, falling to a hot-hitting Loyola Marymount squad before downing Pepperdine in five sets...on Nov. 3, LMU swept GU but didn't run away from the Zags until the middle of each set...OH Emmy Allen led all players with 15 kills on a .419 attack percentage in a preview of what was to come in two days' time versus the Waves.
• On Nov. 5, the Zags downed Pepperdine in five sets thanks in large part to Allen's arm...the Mill Creek, Washington, native landed a career-high 30 kills while hitting .433...GU came from behind to win the fourth and fifth sets against Pepperdine, taking large leads early in both frames and holding on for the win...the victory completed the season sweep against the Waves, marking the first time in program history Gonzaga posted two wins against the conference powerhouse.

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM:

• Gonzaga has jumped out to an early lead in most matches, winning the first set in 16 of 23 instances and eight times during West Coast Conference play...the Zags are 13-3 on the year when claiming the first set.
• Offensively, the Zags hit their season average of 12.95 kills in first sets, but the attack is more efficient at .247 (season average of .223)...they also serve up 0.2 more service aces in the first frame, and they block 3.04 attacks to open the match as opposed to 2.38 overall.

REGARDING THE TWO-STATE TRIP...:

• In October, the Zags fell to both San Diego and BYU inside the Martin Centre, seeing 3-0 losses in both matches...against the Toreros Oct. 13, the Zags pushed hard in the first set, forcing an extra point, but the Zags fell 26-24 before falling behind in the middle of the second and third sets...the match was the first-ever contest between the Douglass sisters (senior libero Morgan Douglass for GU, freshman libero Peyton Douglass for USD), a pair of siblings from Spokane...against BYU two days later, the Cougars controlled the match, pulling ahead early in each frame and closing it out...OH Emmy Allen reached double-digit kills in both matches to lead the Zags, and Douglass wore the red jersey for GU for both matches as well.
• Gonzaga is now 1-14 all-time against BYU, but that one win did come in Provo, Utah, during the 2011 season...the Bulldogs are actually the last West Coast Conference school to beat BYU inside McKeon Pavilion...seven of the 15 matches between Gonzaga and BYU have taken place in Provo, and the Zags are 1-6 in those matches.
• Gonzaga has picked up four wins in San Diego, the last of which came in 1991...in each of the last two contests at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, Gonzaga won at least a set, taking two in 2014 and one in 2015...the Toreros lead the all-time series 50-9.

MARKING MILESTONES:

Numerous Zags are approaching career milestones, including:

Morgan Douglass:

• 51 digs away from 1,000...would be 13th member of 1,000-dig club at GU.

McKayla Ferris

• 50 kills away from 1,000...would be 14th member of 1,000-kill club at GU.

Paige Folger:

• Six block assists away from 342 and fourth place all-time in GU history.
• 28 total blocks away from 396 total blocks and fifth in GU history.

Imani Wimbush

• 18 blocks away from 300...would be fourth player over last 12 years to land 500+ kills and block 300+ attacks.

IRON WOMEN:

• Three Zags have played in all 85 sets this season: OH Emmy Allen, MB Katelyn Oppio, and S Faith Smith...all three have also started every match as well...last year, Allen played in all 118 sets and started all 31 matches as well, meaning she has not yet missed one frame as a Bulldog...Smith only missed one during her freshman season.
• MB Paige Folger has only missed one match this year, that coming last Thursday versus Loyola Marymount...she and OH Imani Wimbush have each started 22 of Gonzaga's 23 contests, with Folger playing in 82 sets, Wimbush 81...L/OH Tiyana Hallums has also seen action in 80 frames this season.

FIVE BY FIVE:

• The Bulldogs' five-set win over Pepperdine last Saturday was their fifth of the year and second in conference action...on Oct. 8, they downed Loyola Marymount in five sets in Los Angeles, fighting from two one-set deficits.
• Two of those five five-set wins came at the beginning of the year...they beat Butler and Utah in five at the Utah Volleyball Classic in August...they also beat Southern Utah in five at the Nevada Wolf Pack Tournament in September.
• Last season, the Zags were 0-9 in five-set matches, including home losses to both BYU and San Diego.

LAST MATCH'S STARTING LINEUP: