ARLINGTON, Va. – The Gonzaga volleyball team picked up its second sweep of the young season as the Zags defeated Air Force in three sets (25-16, 27-25, 25-22) to win the Service Academy Challenge.
 
Gonzaga (3-0) combined to hit .265 on the afternoon for 31 kills along with 29 assists. Sarah Penner and Chapin Grey led the attack with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Gray hit .391 on the afternoon while Penner finished .321. The Zags collected 14 service aces on the day to tie the program's single-match record. Freshman Alisa Kim led the Zags in digs with 11 and added two service aces, while Kennedy Croft and Penner added five aces each.
 
"To us, commitment means grit through it all together," head volleyball coach Diane Nelson said. "We did not play a clean game today, but we never gave up. Our serving kept us in it, and key serves by Kennedy, Rhea, Sarah and Alisa created momentum shifts. All in all, we played as a team."
 
The Bulldogs started the first set off hot and quickly moved to a three-point lead (6-3) off a kill from Katelyn Oppio. Midway through the first set, Air Force (0-3) tied things up 16-all off a Falcons' kill, but Gonzaga responded, outscoring Air Force 9-0 to close the set with a 25-16 win.
 
The Bulldogs continued on for the 27-25 second set win and 25-22 third set win to solidify the 3-0 sweep and perfect start to the 2019 season.
 
Air Force was led by Brookelyn Messenger with eight kills while Andi Ahlers added 26 assists.
 
Gonzaga returns to Spokane for its own Gonzaga Invitational Sept. 6-7 at the Martin Centre. The Bulldogs open tournament play against Grand Canyon on Friday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.