SPOKANE, Wash. -- Gonzaga volleyball (9-19, 5-12 WCC) celebrated Senior Day in the Martin Centre Saturday afternoon with a straight-sets rout of Portland (5-18, 2-12), notching 45 kills and a .427 hitting average as a team to send off senior Cara McKenzie in style.

GU avenged a three-set loss to the Pilots on the road in September with a dominant offensive performance, led by double-digit kills from Kennedy Croft (11) and Zoe Thiros (10). Croft nearly notched a double-double with nine digs, and both players hit above .400 with just three total errors between them. After being honored pregame as the Bulldogs' lone senior, McKenzie added nine kills of her own with two blocks. McKenna Marshall and Juliette Russell added seven more apiece, with Russell leading the Zags in hitting percentage (.583) and blocks (three).

Viktoriya Ivanova served up a career-high three aces while also leading GU in digs with 11, and Keau Kamake'eaina generated 37 of the Bulldogs' 40 total assists to go with seven digs of her own.

A 5-0 run fueled by Marshall gave GU a 5-2 lead after the Pilots got off to a 2-0 start, and the Bulldogs never trailed again while hitting at a .414 clip and recording 15 kills. UP pushed to keep the score within two, but Marshall and Cara McKenzie each put up three kills through the rest of the set while GU closed on a 15-8 tilt.

The Zags maintained control in the second, starting the set on an 8-2 run. The Pilots kept the score within six throughout the rest of the set, but it was Gonzaga's early surge that proved to be the difference. They never looked back as it was Thiros and Russell who led the charge, racking up eight of the team's 15 kills in set two. 

The trend continued in the third, as a 5-0 run by the Bulldogs to open the set sparked a dominant offensive performance. Gonzaga tallied 15 kills and recorded a game-high kill percentage of .609. With the score at 13-8, a 6-0 GU run extended the lead with McKenzie recording three kills during that stretch. The Zags would go on to outscore the Pilots 12-6 to complete the sweep and earn their ninth win of the season.

Up Next

The Zags head to Malibu, Calif. on Tuesday for their season finale against (RV) Pepperdine [21-5, 13-4], set for a 3 p.m. start. Check GoZags.com and follow @ZagVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date game time information, live coverage and more.