Box Score STOCKTON, Calif. – The Gonzaga volleyball team fell in four sets (14-25, 21-25, 25-23, 20-25) Saturday afternoon inside the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif. The Zags are now an even 1-1 on the season and in West Coast Conference play.
Gonzaga (1-1, 1-1 WCC) was led by a career-high 10 kills from sophomore middle blocker
Alyssa Hughes who hit .300 for the game to go along with four blocks and two digs.
Sarah Penner added a near double-double with nine kills hitting .269 with a team-high-tying 15 digs.
Tia Andaya led the Zags with 27 assists.
The first set was all Pacific (1-1, 1-1 WCC) as the Tigers claimed the early lead and Gonzaga was never able to tie or reclaim the lead. Gonzaga struggled to connect, hitting .057, while Pacific connected for 15 kills off 36 attempts with five errors to hit .278. The Tigers took the early 9-3 lead and cruised to the 25-14 first set victory.
The second set was closer, as Gonzaga tied the score four separate times and took the lead once, but Pacific thwarted a late-set GU push to claim the 25-21 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Zags responded after the break, speeding to an early 10-5 advantage in the set behind a couple of kills from Penner and multiple attacking errors from the Tigers. A 5-0 run in favor of Pacific tied things up at 10-all—one of five ties in the set—but another short run gave GU some breathing room at 16-12. Gonzaga withstood a late set rally from Pacific and claimed the set win off a Pacific attacking error to close the gap in the match, 2-1.
The fourth set momentum swung in favor of Pacific as the Tigers broke an early 2-2 tie to lead 9-5. Then three-straight Pacific service aces extended the lead to 12-5. The Zags were unable to close the gap despite hitting .308 for the set, and Pacific continued on for the 25-20 fourth set victory and 3-1 match win.
"Today was about the mental fortitude," Head Coach
Diane Nelson said. "We had some true resilience, but Pacific made some great adjustments, and we didn't respond. We know the work we need to put in."
Pacific was led by Alexa Edwards with a game-high 20 kills to go along with seven digs and two solo blocks, while Riley Patterson added a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs.
Gonzaga continues play on the road at BYU Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. in Provo, Utah.
