PORTLAND, Ore. – The Gonzaga volleyball team picked up its second straight victory with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-15) win over Fresno State Friday evening at Viking Pavilion as part of the Les Schwab West Coast Challenge.
Gonzaga (2-5) finished with 51 kills hitting at a .203 clip through four sets, and added 66 digs and an even 9.0 blocks to overpower Fresno State (7-2). It was another team effort for the Zags as eight players finished with at least five kills while three players finished with double-digit digs. Freshman
Kennedy Croft finished with a season-high eight kills, while
Chapin Gray added eight kills of her own hitting at a .348 clip.
Tiyana Hallums finished with a match-high 28 digs.
"We found some rhythm and served tough," Gonzaga volleyball head coach
Diane Nelson said. "Fresno State is a scrappy team. Our offense started to come together with some of our kids off the bench."
In the first set, Fresno State rattled off an 8-3 run to take a late 17-12 lead, but a 10-5 Gonzaga run brought the Zags within one, 23-22. Fresno State finished with two-straight kills to take the set 25-22. In the second set, neither team led by more than three points until two consecutive Fresno State attacking errors gave Gonzaga the 19-14 lead. The Zags were able to keep the lead, trading point for point in the final possessions to earn the 25-20 set win.
In the final two sets, Gonzaga combined to hit .223 for 25 total kills with just eight errors. The Zags raced out to a 10-5 lead in the third set, but Fresno State responded with an 8-3 lead to tie the set 13-all. Late in the set the match was tied once more, this time at 21-all, but Gonzaga finished on a 4-1 run to take the set 25-22.
In the final set, Gonzaga raced out to a 9-1 lead and never looked back. The Zags forced eight hitting errors on Fresno State, limiting the Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage, and cruised to the 25-15 fourth set win.
Fresno State was led by both Taylor Slover and Jessica Gilbert with 12 kills each.
Gonzaga continues play at the Les Schwab West Coast Challenge Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. against host Portland State.
