SPOKANE, Wash. — In the first game of a weekend West Coast Conference homestand at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre, Gonzaga volleyball (7-17, 3-10 WCC) closed the gap more in each set but ultimately fell in three (9-25, 19-25, 21-25) to No. 6 BYU (22-1, 12-0) Thursday evening.

Sophomore outside hitter Zoe Thiros led the Bulldogs with nine kills with just one error, finishing with a .444 hitting average on the match while nearly notching a double-double with nine digs. Five other Zags notched multiple kills, including junior outside Kennedy Croft (six), grad middle Cara McKenzie (five), freshman middle Juliette Russell (three), junior outside McKenna Marshall (three) and sophomore middle Grace Ehler (two). 

Marshall and Thiros both served up an ace apiece, and Thiros and freshman setter Keau Kamake'eaina finished with nine digs each behind a team-high 12 from sophomore libero Viktoriya Ivanova. Kamake'eaina produced 23 of the Zags' 27 assists, with Ivanova adding three.

After a first set that saw the Cougar put up 15 kills on a game-high .556 hitting average, the Zags held them to .216 and .343 average over the next two while closing in on them in each. A decisive third set was the closest, with 11 kills and a game-high .241 average helping the Zags cut BYU's lead to one at 15-14 -- but BYU scored six unanswered points to go up by seven and the Zags couldn't force a fourth despite outscoring the Cougars 5-4 over the last nine points of the set.

Up Next 

The Zags are set to host another national-ranked WCC opponent in the Martin Centre on Saturday, facing No. 20 San Diego at noon. Check GoZags.com and follow @ZagVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date game time information, live coverage and more.