Spokane, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team fell in three sets (25-14, 25-19, 25-20) at No. 25 Pepperdine Friday afternoon in the first of two matches in Malibu, Calif.
Gonzaga (3-8, 3-8 WCC) was led by sophomore setter
Tia Andaya with 28 assists on the afternoon along with 10 digs.
Chapin Gray and
Sarah Penner also added to the attack with 11 kills each, while
Gretchen Rudel finished with a team-high 11 digs.
As a team, GU finished with 31 kills off 109 swings with 18 errors to hit .119 for the match. The Bulldogs finished with 31 assists, 48 digs, and 5 service aces. Pepperdine (7-2, 7-2 WCC) finished with 46 kills hitting .330 for the match with 44 assists, 50 digs, and 5 service aces.
In the opening set, the Bulldogs and Waves traded points early with kills from Gray and Penner to keep the score tied. Midway through the set the Waves went on a big 15-4 run to take a 21-10 lead. The Zags were unable to mount a comeback, ending the set in favor of Pepperdine, 25-14.
The Zags had a slow start in the second set with one early kill from Penner before falling behind 4-1. The Waves separated the score to 10-4 with a couple of service aces from Rachel Ahrens. Gonzaga climbed back to bring the score to 13-12 with a few attacking errors by the Waves and kills from Gray. Pepperdine was able to pull away later in the set following multiple hitting errors from the Zags. A kill by Pepperdine's Shannon Scully finished the set with a final score of 25-19.
In the third and final set, Gonzaga raced out to an early 3-1 lead following a service ace by
Julia Talarico. Following a flurry of GU errors, Pepperdine took a slight 10-9 advantage, but the two squads traded points for the next few plays. Four ties at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, and 14-14 kept the set gridlocked midway through. Pepperdine's Ahrens fueled a late run with a few kills, helping the Waves pull away for the 25-20 third-set victory and 3-0 match sweep.
"Greatness comes from learning and growing," Head Coach
Diane Nelson said. "This is the best ball control team we've played, which allows them to run their offense. We have to learn and return tomorrow executing more often!"
Pepperdine was led by Shannon Scully with 15 kills and Emma Ammerman with 12 kills. Isabel Zelaya added a game-high 38 assists to help lead the Waves to the victory.
Gonzaga and Pepperdine play again tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. inside the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Up-to-date information is available on GoZags.com.
