SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga volleyball team fell in four sets (25-20, 23-25, 24-26, 23-25) to Loyola Marymount Tuesday afternoon inside the Martin Centre, with each of the final three sets decided by two points.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Hughes had a standout performance for Gonzaga (3-7, 3-7 WCC) with 11 kills on 19 swings and one error hitting .526 and 10 block assists—that ranks tied for sixth all-time for block assists in a single match. Three other Bulldogs were in double-digit kills as Chapin Gray put down 14 kills on 35 attempts to go along with two solo blocks, while Kennedy Croft added 12 kills and two service aces to lead the team. Sarah Penner tallied 11 kills and 12 digs, while Julia Talarico led the Zags in digs with 19. Tia Andaya finished with a match-high 51 assists.
 
As a squad, Gonzaga finished the match with 57 kills hitting at a .237 clip. The Bulldogs finished the match with 56 assists, 64 digs, five service aces and 13.0 blocks. LMU (4-6, 4-6 WCC) finished with 57 kills hitting .225 for the match with 55 assists, 69 digs, and eight aces.
 
In the opening set, the Lions scored the initial point but it was a back and forth battle before the Zags pulled ahead behind a kill from Gray and an ace from Croft to put GU ahead 14-11. The Bulldogs were able to keep their lead with help from Hughes' first three kills of the day. One more ace from Croft sealed the deal, giving the Zags their first set 25-20.
 
A couple of kills from Penner to open the second set tied things up at 3-all, and the set saw ties at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7. From there, LMU answered with a serving run from Isabella Bradford and a pair of kills from outside hitter Kari Geissberger that put the Lions ahead 11-7 before Hughes answered with a kill for a sideout for the Zags. Another serving run later in the match by LMU's Annabella Pirrotta helped put the Lion's up 18-14.  But pair of aces from Alisia Kim and Andaya, followed by a pair of kills from Hughes and Croft kept it interesting for the Zags, narrowing the score to 23-22. LMU was able to close out the set, 25-23 following a GU service error.
 
GU turned up the heat early in the third set behind a couple of kills for both Croft and Juliette Russell to put the Zags up 7-5. LMU was able to claim the lead after a pair of hitting errors by the Zags. From there, it was a battle for the Bulldogs to chip away to reclaim the lead from the Lions. Three kills for Gray helped set up the Zags to tie it up at 22-22, following a couple of errors from the Lions. Ultimately three kills from LMU's Rose Booth in the final points of the set was able to give the Lions the set win, 26-24.
 
It was back-and-forth in the fourth set with nine ties in the first points, with help from a pair of kills from Gray, Croft, and Hughes and an ace from Gretchen Rudel before the Lion's used a serving run from Ella Boehle to put the Lion's up 14-11. The Zags were able to battle back to tie it up at 22-all behind a pair of impressive kills from sophomore outside hitter Zoe Thiros, but the comeback fell short as LMU secured the 25-23 fourth set victory for the 3-1 match win.
LMU was led by Geissberger with 18 kills and Booth with 17 kills and 11 digs. Bareford contributed 48 assists for the Lions, while Mary Shroll led in digs with 24.
 
Gonzaga will be back in action on Friday, March 5th against Pepperdine at 3 p.m. in Malibu, Calif. Up-to-date match information is available on GoZags.com.