SAN FRANCISCO – The Gonzaga volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision at San Francisco Saturday afternoon, falling 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 28-30 inside War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center.
Gonzaga (5-11, 5-11 WCC) had four players finish with double-digit kills, led by
Sarah Penner with 12 kills off 39 swings to hit .231.
Alyssa Hughes added 11 kills and eight block assists, while
Kennedy Croft and
Katelyn Oppio each added 10 kills each. Five Zags finished wit double-figure digs, led by Croft with 21.
Julia Talarico (18), Penner (17),
Tia Andaya (13) and
Gretchen Rudel (11) rounded out the double-digit digs. Andaya delivered a match-high 48 assists.
As a squad, the Zags finished with 57 kills hitting .194 for the match with 54 assists, 84 digs (which ranks tied for fifth all time for digs in a four-set match during the rally-scoring era), 14.0 blocks and five service aces. San Francisco (7-9, 7-9 WCC) finished with 58 kills hitting .162 with 81 digs, 11.0 blocks, 53 assists and four service aces.
Penner opened the first set of the match with a kill, and GU held a slight lead over the Dons until a Bulldog attacking error broke a 6-6 tie to give San Francisco its first lead of the set. Midway through the set, the Zags trailed by two (14-12), but back-to-back Dons' errors, coupled with a kill from Oppio gave the Zags the 15-14 lead. USF responded with three-straight points for the late 17-15 lead, but GU responded once again, this time with an ace from Croft to ignite a 4-0 run to put GU up by two, 19-17. Gonzaga never relinquished the lead and continued on for the 25-22 first-set victory.
The back-and-forth play continued into the second, as the set featured eight tied scores and two lead changes. Four of Hughes' 11 kills came in the second frame, but it was not enough for the Bulldogs to stop the late surge from USF. Gonzaga held a two-point advantage late in the set (21-19), but a four-point USF run put GU behind 23-22, and the Dons continued on for the 25-23 victory to even the match, 1-1.
San Francisco controlled the third set, breaking the early 6-6 tie with four-straight kills to take a 10-6 lead. Late in the set, GU had fallen behind by nine (22-13), but three Zag kills—one from Oppio and two from Gray—gave the Zags some life. GU outscored USF 9-2 to cut the lead to two, 24-22, but a final kill from USF's McKenna Marshall gave USF the 25-22 third set win.
The fourth set was back-and-forth from the first serve, with 18 total ties and 10 lead changes. Penner broke a 19-all tie with a kill late in the set. Hughes followed with another kill, and Croft delivered a third to give GU a 22-20 lead late. A USF attacking error followed by a service error gave GU set point at 24-21, but the Dons battled back to tie the set at 24. Four ties and two lead changes later, USF delivered a kill to claim the match point for the 30-28 set victory and 3-1 match win.
San Francisco was led by McKenna Marshall with 20 kills and 20 digs while Greta Corti finished with 18 kills and 21 digs.
The Zags continue play on the road next week with their final two matches of the season at Portland State. Gonzaga's first match against the Pilots is Saturday, March 27 at 12 p.m. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date match time information.
