SAN FRANCISCO - The Gonzaga volleyball opened up a two-match series at San Francisco with a win in straight sets (26-24, 25-16, 25-12) on Friday afternoon inside War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco.
 
Sophomore setter Tia Andaya set the pace for Gonzaga (5-10, 5-10 WCC), leading the Zags with a match-high 33 assists and 12 digs, while also adding three assisted blocks, two kills, and a service ace. Two other Zags hit in double-digits in the match as Sarah Penner tallied a match-high 11 kills on the day hitting .385. Kennedy Croft was close behind with 10 kills off 18 attempts with no errors, tied for a team high of hitting .556 on the day.
 
As a squad, GU finished with 47 kills on 105 attempts with 7 errors to hit a season-high .381 for the match. The Bulldogs finished the three sets with 42 assists, 49 digs, and four aces. San Francisco (6-9, 6-9 WCC) finished with 35 kills hitting .155 for the match with 33 assists, 45 digs, and two aces.
 
Andaya opened up the first set with an automatic ace to get things moving for the Zags, helping GU to the early lead. The Zags maintained the lead, and a kill by senior outside hitter Chapin Gray extended the Bulldogs advantage to 13-9. Another kill from Gray, coupled with a kill from Zoe Thiros and an ace from Penner put GU up 13-18. The Dons started to battle back, rallying behind two big blocks, an ace from Anna Dalla Vecchia, and a kill from Greta Corti to tie the set at 22-all. It was a back and forth battle in the final points of the set, but Gonzaga was able to pull out the 26-24 win with a kill from Croft and a USF attacking error.
 
A 6-0 scoring run started the second set for the Bulldogs behind superb serving from senior Gretchen Rudel.  USF responded with a 6-2 run, and after a pair of kills from McKenna Marshall, GU saw its lead narrow to two, 8-6. The Bulldogs responded, and a kill from Croft ignited a run for the Zags, and one play later back-to-back kills from Gray pushed the Bulldogs ahead 11-8. Four more swings for Penner extended the Zags lead to 17-9. The Zags thwarted any and all comeback attempts from the Dons, cruising to the 25-16 second-set victory.
 
In the third set, San Francisco got out to an early lead before consecutive Zag kills—one from Penner and another from Croft---broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Zags the slight edge, 5-3. An ace from Julia Talarico continued the run for the Zags, and Talarico served eight times before retiring, fueling a 7-1 run for GU. Later in the set, a monster kill by Alyssa Hughes gave the Bulldogs a 14-6 advantage. USF never recovered, and GU continued on for the 25-12 victory and 3-0 match sweep.
 
"We were ready to compete from the first point," Head Coach Diane Nelson said. "Our seniors led by example, and we came prepared. We executed the game plan, and we stayed disciplined. All the things we know lead to greatness."
 
San Francisco was led by Marshall and Greta Corti with 11 kills each. Corti also led the Dons in digs with a match-high 14 on the day. Aylen Ayud added in 25 assists for USF on Friday afternoon.
Gonzaga returns to play Saturday, March 20 at San Francisco at 12 p.m. Up-to-date match time information is available on GoZags.com.