SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team fell to visiting Saint Mary's in four sets (25-19, 13-25, 23-25, 15-25) Thursday evening at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. The Zags fall to 6-11 overall on the year with an 0-5 mark in West Coast Conference play.
Sophomore
Kennedy Croft led the Zags with 10 kills on the evening, her second double-figure kill effort on the season. The Tumwater, Wash., native added seven digs, two assists, one ace and one block. Senior
Jenna Kuehn added a double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs to go along with four kills.
As a squad, Gonzaga finished with 44 kills hitting .092, 40 assists, 51 digs and 9.0 blocks.
"[Positivity] is more important than anything," head volleyball coach
Diane Nelson said. "I asked us to win the 'WE' over 'ME' battle tonight, and I think we did a pretty good job in that category. We're still working on it though, and I think that's the most important part of it."
Gonzaga opened the match with a strong first set, connecting for 17 kills off 32 swings with just four errors to hit .406. The Bulldogs recorded two blocks in the set and force Saint Mary's (5-10, 1-4 WCC) to hit .121. The Bulldogs'
Payton Mack opened the set with a commanding kill, and GU built the early 10-5 lead. SMC cut GU's lead to three on three separate occasions, but Gonzaga continued to push, finishing the set on a 5-2 run to claim the 25-19 first set win.
The Zags' hot hitting cooled off in the final three sets as the Bulldogs suffered 28 hitting errors while Saint Mary's controlled the net, recording 12.0 blocks in the final three sets. The Gaels converted the 25-13 second-set win, 25-13 win in the third set and a 25-15 fourth-set win.
SMC was led by Elena Baka with 12 kills hitting .290 to go along with 13 digs while Alexsa Parker added 21 assists. As a squad, Saint Mary's finished with 45 kills hitting .205, 37 assists, 47 digs and 13.5 blocks.
Gonzaga returns to the court Saturday, Oct. 12 against visiting Pacific at 12 p.m. at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. The game will serve as the Bulldogs' Dig Pink game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to receive a five-dollar ticket.
