SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team won its third-straight match Saturday evening in another come-from-behind five-set victory, this time at Saint Mary's. The Zags dropped the first two sets 25-21, 25-10 before surging back to take the final three sets, 25-23, 25-16 and 15-9.
Gonzaga (9-16, 3-10 WCC) was led by
Sarah Penner with 17 kills hitting .244 to go along with five digs and six blocks.
Kennedy Croft added a double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs to go along with two service aces; Croft now sits in second in program history during the rally-scoring era in single-season service aces with 37. Savannah Blinn owns the record with 42, which she set back in 2012.
Jenna Kuehn added a match-high 38 assists while
Julia Talarico finished with a match-high 21 digs.
"Grit, passion and perseverance prevailed today," head volleyball coach
Diane Nelson said. "We won the serve and pass game, and it gave us the momentum we needed to push through. My seniors are leading by example;
Payton Mack and
Jenna Kuehn are a force to be reckoned with."
Saint Mary's (9-15, 5-9 WCC) dominated the first two sets, leading most of the first set and all of the second set. The Gaels hit .632 in the second set alone while limiting Gonzaga to -.043. Heading into the break with an 0-2 deficit, GU faced an uphill battle.
In the third set, the Gaels' hot hitting cooled off and Gonzaga capitalized finishing with 10 kills and 4.0 blocks. Penner accounted for four of Gonzaga's 10 kills; the junior also contributed two digs and two blocks in the 25-23 set win. Gonzaga's momentum continued into the fourth set, and GU claimed an early 10-5 lead over Saint Mary's.
A quick 5-1 run in favor of the Gaels cut the Zags' lead to one (11-10), but GU responded with a run of its own, outscoring the Gaels 11-5 to take a commanding 22-15 lead. The Bulldogs closed the set with a kill from Penner to take the 25-16 set win and fourth a fifth set for the third time in the last four matches.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the final set, racing out to an 8-2 lead in route to the 15-9 fifth set victory.
Saint Mary's was led by Elena Baka with 17 kills hitting .217, five digs and five blocks. Breyan Ashley added 15 kills and 11 digs with two blocks.
Gonzaga returns home to host San Francisco (Nov. 14, 5 p.m.) and Santa Clara (Nov. 16, 12 p.m.) next week at the Martin Centre.
