SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team fell to ninth-ranked BYU in three sets (25-13, 25-13, 25-17) Thursday evening in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre.
 
"I think that we sustained our level of play [tonight]; our discipline was truly the key," head Gonzaga volleyball coach Diane Nelson said. "We knew who we had to slow down, and we didn't do that they way we wanted to. But I think in our big picture, we can be more stubborn about it."
 
Gonzaga (6-7) was led by junior Sarah Penner with six kills, one dig and a service ace, while freshman Zoe Thiros added five kills, five digs and a block. Fellow freshman Tia Andaya delivered 16 aces and four digs. As a squad, the Zags finished with 22 kills off 22 assists, 32 digs, 3.0 blocks and four service aces.
 
"We expected them to bang balls, and they showed out with their strength and explosiveness," freshman Zoe Thiros said. "I thought that we responded really well during the first half of the set…We wanted to come out and play Gonzaga volleyball."
 
The Bulldogs kicked off the first set with three unanswered points behind a kill from Penner and a service ace from senior Jenna Kuehn. Gonzaga held the lead until a kill from BYU's Kennedy Eschenberg snapped a 6-6 tie to give the Cougars their first lead of the night. That lead change was the last of the set as BYU continued on for the 25-13 set win.
 
The second set started off nearly identically to the first as GU strung together a 5-1 run, backed by kills from Katelyn Oppio, Andaya and Thiros. BYU quickly closed the gap, tying things up at 7-all, the first of three ties in the set. The Zags responded with a short 2-0 burst behind a kill from junior Chapin Gray and a BYU attacking error, but the Cougars once more closed the gap to tie the set 10-all. The next rally, BYU's McKenna Miller finished for a kill to fuel a 5-0 run in favor of the Cougars. GU was unable to close the gap as BYU finished for the 25-13 second set win.
 
The final set featured seven ties and two lead changes, and neither team led by more than two points for the first half of the set. With the score tied at 11 apiece, BYU recorded back-to-back kills to take the 13-11 lead. The Bulldogs were unable to respond, falling 25-17 in the final set to give BYU the 3-0 victory.
 
BYU (10-2) was led by Miller with 13 kills hitting .333 with two blocks and seven digs. Kate Grimmer added 10 kills hitting .412 to go along with five digs and two blocks.
 
Gonzaga returns to the floor Saturday, Sept. 28 against (RV) San Diego. The match is set for 12 p.m. inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre.