San Diego State Box Score | UC Riverside Box Score

DENVER, Colo.--The Gonzaga volleyball team wrapped up both the Denver Invitational and its non-conference slate Saturday, falling to San Diego State but sweeping UC Riverside at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver.

Match One: San Diego State 3, Gonzaga 2 (25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 21-25, 15-10)

Gonzaga saw a two-set rally fall just short in the morning match, losing to San Diego State in five sets. After the Aztecs pulled away at the end of both the first and second frames, the Zags rebounded to win the next two. In the third set, GU led the entire way and tallied four of their seven team blocks. In the fourth, they trailed just briefly in the beginning before holding a four-point advantage through most of the frame.

The fifth set saw three tie scores and three lead changes, but San Diego State pulled permanently ahead with a 7-1 run in the middle of the frame. Gonzaga maintained the deficit at four points, but the Bulldogs could not cut into it, falling 15-10 and seeing their comeback end prematurely.

Gonzaga's middles - Alyse Whitaker, Kaylie Loewen, and Payton Mack - helped lead the rally, tallying 15 of their 24 kills and 2.5 blocks during the final three sets. Outside hitter Sarah Penner led the Zags with 11 kills against SDSU, and both Whitaker and Loewen added 10 apiece.

Freshman setter Mary Marzo added a career-high 17 assists after seeing the most playing time of her young career, and Marit Thorkildsen paced the defense with 15 digs, three more than Tiyana Hallums.

Match Two: Gonzaga 3, UC Riverside 0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-21)

In the afternoon, the Zags picked up their third sweep of the season against UC Riverside. They opened the match with six straight points and clinched the first set without trailing, and then they fought off a pair of UCR set-points in the second to take it 28-26. In the third set, GU opened up a 10-point lead and withstood a furious Highlander rally, holding on for their fifth win of the season.

Freshman Chapin Gray saw the biggest match of her young career, setting personal bests with 13 kills, nine digs, and a .414 hitting percentage. She was just one dig shy of her first double-double, a plateau Jenna Kuehn did reach with 18 assists and 10 digs. Gray spread her kills throughout the match, landing four in both the first and second sets and flooring five in the third.

The Zags' defense also shined versus the Highlanders, registering 60 digs and nine blocks. Hallums, playing as the libero all match, topped her season-high with 20 digs, and Kuehn also reached double figures. Both Gray and Faith Smith were just shy of that mark at nine.

Redshirt junior Kaylie Loewen also had a big day offensively, pairing 12 kills with just two errors for a .400 attack percentage. Both she and Gray landed 29 kills over the three matches in Denver.

With the end of the Denver Invitational, the Bulldogs (5-7) also wrap up their non-conference slate. They now move onto West Coast Conference play by hosting Saint Mary's and Pacific next weekend in Spokane. The match against the Gaels will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21 inside the Martin Centre.