SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak in style with a thrilling five-set victory over visiting Santa Clara (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) Thursday evening at the Martin Centre. The Bulldogs hit .298, their second-best hitting percentage this season, and added 12.5 blocks, also a second-best season performance.
 
Gonzaga (5-11, 2-3 WCC) was led by Sarah Penner with a season-high tying 17 kills. The sophomore added four digs and a career-high tying four blocks in the win. Seniors Peighton De Von and Kaylie Loewen also finished in with double-figure kills as De Von finished with a season-high 12 and Loewen added 11. Jenna Kuehn added a double-double with a season-high 10 kills and 22 assists.
 
"This is big," Penner said. "Because to get to five sets and be able to battle it out, it's good for us. We need to be able to push through and fight to win games."
 
The Bulldogs were on fire to start the match, hitting .516 for 18 kills off 31 swings with two errors. The Zags raced out to the 5-1 advantage and maintained a steady lead throughout. Santa Clara (5-12, 0-5 WCC) was unable to close the gap despite hitting a solid .250. Gonzaga terminated at a high level and ran away in the first set for the 25-16 win.
 
The second and third sets were not nearly as lopsided, and each ended in favor of the Broncos with identical 25-23 set scores. The fourth set was a show offensively as both squads hit over .320, yet neither team was able to pull away with eight ties and five lead changes. With the set tied 20-all, freshman Kennedy Croft connected for a kill and senior Tiyana Hallums followed it up with a service ace to gain a two-point advantage, 22-20. The Zags continued to push with back-to-back kills and a service ace to win the set 25-21 and force a fifth.
 
In the fifth set, Gonzaga claimed the early 2-0 lead following a kill from Croft and a Bronco attacking error, but Santa Clara was able to quickly close the gap forcing five ties and two lead changes early in the set. With the fifth set tied six-all, the Bulldogs strung together a 5-2 run to gain the 11-8 advantage. Though the Broncos later came to within one point (11-10), the Zags powered through, stringing together four kills to dominate late for the 15-12 fifth set win.
 
"They taught themselves something tonight that we have really been challenged with all season," head volleyball coach Diane Nelson said. "They literally just dug deeper and found a way to play together. It's contagious. There was an obvious flip in how we approached, literally approached to attack balls. If we can attack well, we are really tough to stop."
 
Santa Clara was led by Michelle Shaffer with a match-high 24 kills while Anna McCreadie and Allison Kantor added 12 and 10, respectively.
 
Gonzaga continues play Saturday, Oct. 6 at 12 p.m. against San Francisco in the Martin Centre.