Box Score MALIBU, Calif. -- The Gonzaga volleyball team nearly upset No. 25 Pepperdine Saturday afternoon, battling back from a two-set deficit to push the match to five sets, but the Waves finished with a commanding fifth set to earn the 3-2 win (25-14, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20, 15-5) inside Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. The Zags have now taken two Top 25 teams to five sets this season (#18 San Diego, Feb. 20).
 
Gonzaga (3-9, 3-9 WCC) was led by senior outside hitter Chapin Gray with a team-high 21 kills on the afternoon. Sophomore setter Tia Andaya added to the Bulldog attack with 47 assists and eight digs with three blocks and one service ace, while Zoe Thiros. Zoe Thiros finished with a season-high 13 kills on the afternoon.
 
As a squad, GU finished with 55 kills hitting .155 for the match with 54 assists, 55 digs, and two aces. Pepperdine (9-1, 9-1 WCC) finished with 66 kills hitting at a .291 clip with 62 digs and 64 assists on the match.
 
The Bulldogs kept things close in the first set and trailed by three mid-way through the set, 9-6. After a string of attacking errors, the Zags fell behind 19-12. Pepperdine capitalized and continued on for the 25-14 first-set win.
 
The Zags kept it close in the second set with help from a few Waves' attacking errors and a kill by Gray to bring the Zags within two, 10-8. After back-to-back kills by the Waves Rachel Ahrens, Pepperdine extended its lead to 16-12. A kill each from Thiros and Gray nearly sparked a late run for the Zags, but Pepperdine thwarted the effort for a 25-19 second-set victory.
 
The third set was back and forth as neither team pulled away to more than a three three until a four-point run, fueled by two kills from Penner and a kill from Thiros, to take a 17-13 lead. Gray was nearly unstoppable in the third, totaling seven kills to help the Zags secure the lead and win the set 25-22.
 
Gonzaga jumped out to the early 6-2 lead and never trailed in the fourth set. Multiple Pepperdine errors coupled with multiple kills from Thiros helped the Zags maintain a four-point lead (20-16) late in the set. The Bulldogs outscored Pepperdine 5-4 to close the set for a 25-20 set victory to force a fifth set.
 
In the fifth and final set, Ahrens connected for four-straight kills to push Pepperdine to the early 7-1 lead. A few errors from GU's hitters coupled with two more kills from Ahrens extended the lead to nine (12-3) late in the set. The Zags scored two more points off a Pepperdine service error and a kill from Penner, but back-to-back kills from Pepperdine's Shannon Scully put the set away 15-5, giving the Waves the 3-2 match win.
"We got better today as the match went on," Head Coach Diane Nelson said. "The challenge is being ready from the first point. Every match we build belief; this is no different. We are capable of playing with anyone in the country. So, we learn from this, and get back to work."
 
Gonzaga returns home for its final home matches of the season next week. GU hosts Santa Clara on March 12-13, with both matches starting at 12 p.m. inside the Martin Centre. Up-to-date match time information is available on GoZags.com.