SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team concluded its regular-season home slate with a three-set sweep (25-21, 25-22, 25-20) of the Santa Clara Broncos on Senior Day Saturday afternoon in the Martin Center.
 
Gonzaga (4-10, 4-10 WCC) was led in kills by senior outside hitters Chapin Gray and Sarah Penner, each with 10 kills. Penner recorded her second straight double-double, recording 12 digs as well. Senior libero Julia Talarico led the team in digs with 15, while sophomore setter Tia Andaya put up 34 assists on the day.
 
As a squad, GU finished with 41 kills off 91 attempts with 11 errors to hit .330 for the match. The Bulldogs finished the three sets with 37 assists, 48 digs, and five aces. Santa Clara (3-5, 3-5 WCC) finished with 40 kills hitting .171 for the match with 36 assists, 34 digs, and five aces.
 
In the first set, senior Claire Barbe connected for a kill from Andaya for the early lead, and a kill from Gray later in the set extended the lead 11-7. The Broncos battled back, tying the set at both 12 and 15, but GU never trailed. Two big service aces late in the set from Penner and senior middle blocker Katelyn Oppio put the Bulldogs up 22-20, and Penner's third ace of the set would give the Zags the go ahead win 25-21.
 
Gray opened the second set with a kill to give Gonzaga the sideout and Talarico the serve. With Talarico serving, the Zags were able to put together a 4-0 run behind kills from Zoe Thiros, Penner and Oppio to lead 7-2 early. Santa Clara closed the gap late in the set, narrowing the lead to one (18-17) off a pair of swings from Sophia Tulino. But two more kills from Penner put the set away, 25-22.
 
It was back and forth during the early points of the third set, but Penner's consistent serving was able to give the Zags a nudge in the right direction, putting them up 9-3. A scoring run and a kill from SCU's Tulino, cut the Bulldogs lead to one with a score of 11-10. However, another strong serving performance from senior Gretchen Rudel extended the Bulldogs' lead to 16-11. After a ball handling error against GU, Penner responded with two monster kills putting the Zags up 18-12. Gonzaga was able to put this one away winning 25-20, delivering the three-set loss to the Broncos.
 
"I'm so proud of our response today," Head Coach Diane Nelson said. "After losing a tough five-set battle yesterday, our girls stepped up with confidence in themselves and each other today. To get a win on Senior Day with our six seniors was really special."
 
Santa Clara was led by Tulino with 14 kills with eight errors hitting .158 on the afternoon. Michelle Shaffer led the Broncos in assists with 23.
 
Gonzaga returns to play Friday, March 19 facing San Francisco in San Francisco Friday, March 9 at 12 p.m. Up-to-date match time information is available on GoZags.com.