SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga volleyball team clinched a five-set win (25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 17-25) over Loyola Marymount Monday afternoon inside the Martin Centre.
 
Gonzaga (3-6, 3-6 WCC) was led by junior outside hitter Kennedy Croft with a team-high 16 kills hitting .286 to go along with 18 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and second-straight. Chapin Gray put down 15 kills on 42 attempts hitting .262 and the recorded the only solo block for the Zags on the day. Two more Bulldogs hitters were in double-digit kills with Alyssa Hughes' 11 kills on 21 swings hitting a team-leading .476 while Sarah Penner tallied 12 kills. Julia Talarico led the Zags in digs with 21, while Tia Andaya finished with a team-high 46 assists and four service aces.
 
As a squad, GU finished the day with 62 kills on 174 attempts with 16 errors hitting .264. The Bulldogs finished the match with 57 assists, 79 digs, and a whopping 12 aces—that number ranks third all time for aces in a single match during the rally scoring era. LMU (3-6, 3-6 WCC) finished with 71 kills hitting .262 for the match with 64 assists, 85 digs, and seven aces.
 
"We made some blue-collar plays today to fuel us through the match," Head Coach Diane Nelson said. "It was a fun day, but they certainly tested what we are made of. This team is always learning, and always growing."
 
In the opening set the Lions took the early lead before two big kills from Hughes tied it up 12-12. From there, Gonzaga took control behind Andaya's first ace of the day. Later in the set, sophomore Alisa Kim served up two back-to-back aces to put the Bulldogs ahead 22-18. LMU attempted to make a comeback with a pair of kills, narrowing the margin to 23-22, but Penner got the sideout for the Zags with an impressive attack and kill to nearly seal the deal for GU. The first set went to Gonzaga 25-22.
 
The Zags pulled ahead early in the second with help from Andaya's second ace of the match. They extended their lead with a kill and an ace from Penner, putting GU up 9-5. The Lions battled back to gain the lead following a pair of errors by GU, but a kill from Croft would tie it up 12-12. It was a back and forth battle from there with the Lions pulling ahead 22-16, the largest deficit the Zags faced in the second. A set of kills for Gray would keep the Zags in it, but ultimately the Lions would finish this one ahead 25-23.
 
It was back-and-forth in the third set with four ties in the early plays. Gonzaga took the early lead behind a serving run from Julia Talarico and a pair of kills from Gray and Penner to put the Bulldogs up 6-4. LMU served up back-to-back aces, courtesy of Isabella Bareford, to tie the set 9-all. From there, the Zags heated up, putting together a 8-3 run to take a 17-12 lead, cruising to the third-set victory. Croft put up an impressive seven kills and with Penner close behind with six to help lead GU to a 25-19 win.
 
The Zags offensive prowess continued into the fourth set as the Bulldogs led 3-1 early. But LMU responded with a commanding performance from outside hitter Kari Geissberger. Behind a pair of kills from Geissberger, LMU was able to take the lead back 10-9. The Zags went on a run late in the set behind a pair of Croft kills and a couple of LMU attacking errors to take a 21-16 lead late in the set. Yet Geissberger tallied four more kills in the final plays of the match to lead the comeback effort to take the set 25-23 and force a fifth set.
 
In the fifth set, Andaya started out strong registering her fourth ace of the day to put Gonzaga up 2-0. But the Lions outscored the Zags 7-2 behind three-straight kills from Rose Booth to take a 7-6 lead. The set was back-and-forth the rest of the way, with 10 total ties and four lead changes in the final set alone. Gonzaga fought for back-to-back match points, and a monster kill from Hughes ended the set 17-15, giving Gonzaga the 3-2 match win.
 
LMU was led by Booth with 22 kills and 17 digs, while Isabella Bareford brought in 55 assists for the Lions.
 
Gonzaga will be back in action Tuesday, Feb. 23 against LMU at 12 p.m. inside the Martin Centre. Up-to-date match information is available on GoZags.com.