Tournament Central | Gonzaga Notes | Nevada Notes | UC Davis Notes | Southern Utah Notes

LAST TIME OUT:

• The Zags remained undefeated with a three-set win at Montana in their only match last weekend...they never trailed, winning the first two sets 25-18 before dominating the third 25-9...the service game powered Gonzaga onto victory as GU landed seven aces on the day, including five in the final set alone...Gonzaga's attack also combined for a .345 hitting percentage, the best of the young season.

CONNECT FOUR:

• This 4-0 start is Gonzaga's best since beginning the 1990 year 6-0...this is the second time in their Division I history (since 1986) that the Zags started a season with four wins.
• The Zags have now strung together four wins in each of the last three seasons...in 2014, the Zags won five in a row during non-conference play before winning four straight WCC matches later in the year...that five-game win streak was the program's longest since an eight-gamer in 2008.

STARTING FAST:

• The Zags have opened every match this year by winning the first set...they have never trailed in the match score column and have seen four tie scores: two against Butler and one each at Utah and versus Idaho State...last year, the Zags went 18-13 in first sets.
• As a team, they've tallied a .273 hitting percentage and 3.5 blocks per set in the first frame, both well above the season average...OH McKayla Ferris is also topping her averages during first sets, posting 5.25 kills per frame and attacking at a .432 clip...OH Imani Wimbush's attack percentage (.215) and MB Katelyn Oppio's blocks per set (1.75) are also elevated in the first set.

PLAYING THE (TOURNAMENT) FIELD:

• Gonzaga looks to even up the all-time series with Nevada Friday night as the Wolf Pack lead it 4-3...Gonzaga won the first three matches between the two schools (1988, 1989, 1994), but Nevada is on a four-match win streak (1999, 2002, 2002, 2003)...they've only squared off once in Reno, a three-set GU loss in 2003.
• The Bulldogs are 1-0 against both UC Davis and Southern Utah, winning the only match between the two clubs in four sets during the 2005 season...that took place in Missoula, Montana...GU and UC Davis feature one common opponent this season as they both have yet to face Santa Clara...they shared two common opponents last year; UC Davis went 1-1 vs. Southern Utah and Portland in 2015 while Gonzaga went 3-0.
• That Bulldog/Thunderbird matchup during the GCU Invite in Phoenix last season is the only time the two sides have met...Faith Smith dished out 27 assists and three different Zags reached double-digit kills as GU swept SUU 25-23, 25-19, 25-14.

NEW LOOK UP TOP:

• GU head coach Diane Nelson became the first head coach in the program's Division I history to open her tenure with four consecutive wins...Nelson has been on the Gonzaga staff for five seasons, joining as a volunteer assistant in 2011 and becoming a full-time assistant in 2012.
• Nelson (née Pascua) is the first alum of GU volleyball to take over the squad...she graduated in 1999 and is still in Gonzaga's record books as part of the school's 1,000-kill club (11th; 1,094 career kills)...she's also eighth with 95 career service aces.

TALKING TOURNAMENTS:

• With a win at the Utah Volleyball Classic to begin the year, GU has won a tournament in each of the last three seasons...they have not won multiple tournaments in the same year since 1990.
• McKayla Ferris earned her first career Tournament MVP award in Utah and made her fifth All-Tournament Team...she made one each in her first two seasons and two as a junior...Emmy Allen picked up her third All-Tournament honor as a Bulldog...like Ferris, she too made two Teams last year...Faith Smith earned her second career tournament honor at Utah after being named MVP of the GCU Invite as a freshman.

SCHEDULE NOTES:

• The Zags will play six teams who made the NCAA Tournament last season, two in non-conference action and four during the WCC rotation...both of those non-conference matchups will come at the Ameritas Player's Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska, when they square off against Creighton and defending national champion Nebraska...this will be the first time since 2006 that GU has faced a defending national champion (Washington).
• BYU, San Diego, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara each reached the NCAA Tournament from the WCC...the first three schools each won at least one match during the tournament with both BYU and LMU reaching the Sweet 16.

FLASHBACK TO FIFTEEN:

• Gonzaga ended 2015 with a 16-15 overall record, its second consecutive winning season...they were seventh in the WCC with a 7-11 conference mark.

LAST MATCH'S STARTING LINEUP: