Box Score

LINCOLN, Neb.- It was a strong end to the non-conference season for Gonzaga volleyball Saturday as the Bulldogs swept past Montana State 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-20), wrapping up both teams' involvement at the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Gonzaga used two big runs to take the first set 25-12. After nabbing the lead early on a block by Paige Folger and Emmy Allen, the Zags strung together seven straight points in the middle of the frame for a 16-5 advantage. Three of Folger's six first-set kills came during that stretch, and Payton Mack also found the floor once as well. The Bobcats ran off four straight to cut the margin to seven, but Gonzaga capped off the frame by winning the final six points, the final one a kill from Allen.

Montana State took a three-point lead early the second at 4-7, but the Zags halted the run with a sideout and proceeded to dominate the middle of the frame. Gonzaga embarked on a 17-3 stretch over four servers, with Allen, Jenna Kuehn, and Faith Smith each serving up at least three points apiece. Twelve of those points came off kills as the Zags hit .393 in the set, just seven points off their first-frame percentage of .400.

The final set was a closer contest, seeing seven tie scores, the last coming at 15-all. At that mark, McKayla Ferris pounded two kills while Katelyn Oppio added one more for a three-point GU advantage. Montana State earned a sideout with a kill from Natalie Passeck, but Ferris answered back immediately with another point. The Zags got three more for a six-point lead at 22-16 before winning the set 25-20, completing the sweep.

All-Tournament Team:

The entire Ameritas Players' Challenge All-Tournament Team will be released at the end of Nebraska's match against Creighton tonight, but it was announced that Folger is Gonzaga's representative on the squad. Against Montana State, she tied her career high with 13 kills while hitting a personal best .722 (13-0-18). Accounting for all three matches this weekend, Folger tallied 26 kills, hit .447, and blocked eight attacks.

Passeck earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for Montana State.

Bulldog Bites:

• Gonzaga's attack was once again bolstered by the middle blockers: Folger, Mack, and Oppio. Together, they combined for half of the Bulldogs' 43 kills and hit .605 (23-0-38). Both Folger and Mack tied career highs for kills in a match (Folger with 13, Mack with 5), while Folger's .722 attack percentage (13-0-18) also set a personal best.
• The Zags end non-conference action with a 7-3 record. This is the third consecutive season with a winning mark against non-conference foes as they went 9-4 in 2015 and 9-2 in 2014. Winning marks in 2011 and 2012 make it five times in six years that GU wrapped up non-conference play with more wins than losses.
• Defensively, the Zags dug up 51 Bobcat attacks Saturday, averaging 17 a set. That's the squad's highest per-set mark since their season high of 18.75 August 27 against Idaho State. Libero Tiyana Hallums led the way with 16 digs for Gonzaga while Ferris added 12. Ferris also tallied 10 kills for her fourth double-double of the season, tying for the team lead.

Zag Speak: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Diane Nelson

• "The middles had fun today being an offensive threat."
• "Going into conference next week, we need to steady our level of play, there's too many ups and downs right now. In our conference, anybody can beat anybody because we all know each other's systems. It'll be about playing every point."

Next Up:

With the conclusion of nonconference play, Gonzaga (7-3) now turns to West Coast Conference action. They'll begin the WCC slate on Thursday, Sept. 22 with a 7:00 p.m. matchup at Saint Mary's in Moraga, California. The weekend wraps up on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Pacific in Stockton.