SEATTLE – The Gonzaga volleyball team split matches to open the Redhawk Invitational Friday at the Redhawk Center in Seattle. The Bulldogs defeated New Mexico 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) to open the day and fell in five sets to host Seattle (25-17, 25-9, 22-25, 21-25, 12-15).
Against Seattle (6-2), Gonzaga (6-2) had three players finish with double-figure kills for the first time this season.
Payton Mack led the charge with 13 kills off 19 swings with four errors to hit at a .474 clip;
Sarah Penner and freshman
Zoe Thiros added 12 and 11 kills, respectively. The number was a season high for the first year Zag Thiros.
After a clean sweep on New Mexico to start the day, the Bulldogs started off strong against Seattle and made quick work of the Redhawks with the early 25-17, 25-9 set wins. Yet a hot start from the Redhawks in the third set saw the Zags fall behind 11-5 early, and GU was unable to close the gap. Late in the set the Bulldogs cut Seattle's lead to one (22-21), but SU finished on a 3-1 run to claim the third set win.
In the fourth set, GU raced ahead for the early 4-1 lead and held the advantage until a service ace from the Redhawks midway through the set tied the set nine-all. The set featured seven additional ties, and with the set tied 21-all a GU attacking error gave SU the lead. On the next rally, Seattle registered a kill followed by a GU attacking error to take the late lead. GU was unable to close the gap, and Seattle claimed the 25-21 fourth set win.
In the final set, GU never led. Seattle held off a late-set Bulldog rally to cruise to the 15-12 fifth set win.
"We had some moments of great volleyball," head volleyball coach
Diane Nelson said. "When you get pushed to the fifth set, it provides a great opportunity to learn and grow as a team. In the end, we just ran out of steam."
Gonzaga opened the day with its third-straight sweep with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) victory over New Mexico. It marked the Zags' second-ever win over the Lobos, and the first since their last meeting in 2007.
"The girls played strong this morning," Nelson said. "We were able to execute on serves, and we passed well. Our offense was really clicking, and their energy was great. I am really proud of how they started the weekend."
Gonzaga hit .333 as a squad and tallied eight service aces in the three-set match, led by three from Croft. Penner led the attack for GU, tallying a match-high 14 kills hitting .310 while Croft added nine kills hitting .533 and
Chapin Gray added eight.
The first set started in favor of New Mexico (2-5) as the Lobos opened with a 5-2 run to claim the early lead. Yet kills from
Katelyn Oppio and Croft, coupled with several New Mexico errors, gave GU the advantage 7-6. New Mexico would once more take the lead, capitalizing off a kill and ace along with a Bulldog service error, but GU countered one more. Trailing 11-8, the Bulldogs outscored UNM 9-2 to gain a four-point advantage (17-13) late in the set. Gonzaga kept terminating at a high level and cruised to the 25-19 first set win.
New Mexico once again claimed the lead early, taking a 2-0 lead in the second, and neither team led by more than two points until midway through the set. A block from Oppio and Croft along with an ace from Croft and a New Mexico attacking error gave GU a four-point cushion (19-15), and the Bulldogs never lost their position. Back-to-back kills, one from Oppio and another from Croft, finished the set with a 25-20 Zag win.
In the final set, GU set the tone early pushing for a 10-4 advantage behind multiple Zag kills. New Mexico nearly closed the gap, cutting the lead to two (15-13) midway through the set, but Gonzaga powered through for the 25-17 win and 3-0 sweep.
New Mexico was led by Kaitlynn Biassou with eight kills while Lauren Twitty added 29 digs.
Gonzaga is back in action Saturday, Sept. 14 against Pac-12 foe Oregon State at 2 p.m. at the Redhawk Center in Seattle.
