PULLMAN, Wash. — In its Cougar Challenge finale at Bohler gym Friday night, Gonzaga volleyball fell in straight sets (14-25, 17-25, 11-25) to Washington State, which improved to 3-0 on the weekend as the event's host.
Juliette Russell and McKenna Marshall paced the Bulldogs with seven kills apiece, with Cara McKenzie and Kennedy Croft adding four each. Keau Kamake'aina led GU with 21 assists, and Marshall, Alisa Kim and Viktoriya Ivanova combined for 14 of the Zags' 24 digs.
Friday's matchup was the first game between the two teams in more than ten years. The Bulldogs and Cougars had most recently faced in 2010 in Pullman, when GU was downed in four sets.
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In its first game of the day, Gonzaga volleyball battled to a decisive fifth set with Long Beach State Friday at Washington State's Bohler Gym, but ultimately fell late (19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-19, 13-15) despite the Zags' most assertive offensive performance of the season so far, led by a career outing from junior Kennedy Croft.
Croft's career-high 27 kills are the most of any player in a single game of the Cougar Challenge so far and the most in a single game for a Zag player this season, finishing with a .462 hitting average. McKenna Marshall added 16 kills of her own to help fuel a mid-match surge that pushed Beach to its limit, with both players combining for 44 of GU's 67 points.
Keau Kamake'aina put up 46 of GU's 52 assists, and Alisa Kim and Viktoriya Ivanova recorded two service aces apiece, with Kim picking up a team-high 18 digs and Ivanova adding eight.
"We competed," said Zags head coach Diane Nelson. "That's a great response to yesterday. Continuing to build confidence with such a new group is what preseason is about. Kennedy was awesome and can go against anyone."
After dropping the first set 19-25 despite a combined 10 kills from Marshall and Croft, GU dominated the second and third, pulling away mid-set in both to retake control of the match.
The second set was tied up at 6-all before a 7-2 run that saw three kills from Croft and an ace from Kim and gave the Zags control that they wouldn't relinquish. The Zags closed out the set with a 4-0 run that saw two more kills from Croft and Kim's second service ace to even it up at a set apiece.
GU's roll continued in the third, with a service ace from Ivanova and another Croft kill capping off a 10-4 start. That lead stretched to 18-11 after a kill from Juliette Russell and Ivanova's second ace of the game, and the Bulldogs weathered a late push from Beach that got them within five before Cara McKenzie put the set away with her fourth kill of the match for a 2-1 lead.
Beach responded in kind in the fourth, jumping ahead 18-11 after a kill and a ball handling error and holding onto the lead throughout the rest of the set. GU got within five after another kill from Russell made it 20-15, and both teams traded points until LBSU could force a final set with a 25-19 win.
The decisive fifth set was the closest, with six ties and lead changes and neither team leading by more than two at any point for the first time in the match. Croft and Marshall combined for all five of GU's kills and Croft and McKenzie both served up aces, but LBSU closed with a 4-0 run of their own to nullify a 13-11 Zags advantage and clinch the match win.
Up Next
The Zags' focus now shifts to Portland, Ore., where they will face North Dakota State and host Portland State next weekend in their final nonconference event of the fall. The Vikings (3-4) finished the 2021 spring season with a 6-12 overall record including a 5-11 mark in Big Sky Conference play, while the Bison (5-3) posted a 10-8 overall mark last season with an even 8-8 record in the Summit League.
