SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga volleyball jumped out to an early lead and closed out strong in the fourth set to dispatch Air Force (25-17, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17) in its second game of the GU Invitational, leaning on a variety of contributors to remain in control while resisting late surges by the Falcons.

Junior outside hitter McKenna Marshall and grad middle Cara McKenzie both cracked double-digit kills with 15 and 11, respectively, and grad transfer setter Brynn Chandler posted a double-double with 35 assists and 13 digs to lead the team in both categories on the night. Outside hitters Kennedy Croft (nine kills, eight digs) and Zoe Thiros (seven kills, three digs) rounded out a balanced Zags outing.

Nine GU service aces and a season-high 16 block assists — including four apiece from McKenzie and Chandler — came from seven different players, and four different players reached double-digit points.

"The team had great energy and fight tonight," said head coach Diane Nelson. "Their poise in those tight moments carried them to the win."

The Bulldogs move to 3-2 on the season and remain unbeaten in this year's GU Invitational to set up a Sunday finale against Oklahoma (2-3), who defeated Air Force 3-1 on Friday and Seattle 3-0 on Saturday.

The Zags hit .280% in the first while holding the Falcons to .103% hitting on their end, putting together five runs of three or more unanswered scores in the process. Marshall's first kill of the night capped off a 3-point swing to make it 10-5, and another three-point surge made it 17-9 after a service ace from Alisa Kim. That eight-point lead held through set point, when Thiros sealed a 1-0 GU advantage with her second kill of the night.

Air Force took its first lead of the game in the second after scoring three straight to go up 10-8, but GU responded with a 5-0 run of its own, punctuated by a kill and service ace from Croft. The lead changed seven more times and tied nine times through set point, when a Falcons service error set the stage for Ivanova to enter the game and serve up her first ace of the night to end the set with a commanding 2-0 Bulldogs advantage.

Down by as much as three in another tight set in the third, GU scored three straight to tie the game at 17-all on a service ace from Dani Batenhorst and pulled within one on a bad set after falling behind 23-20, but the Falcons picked up a kill and a block in succession to force a fourth set.

GU regained control in the fourth and closed out strong, going on to take a 19-13 lead after a 4-0 run and never relinquishing it again while hitting .267 in the process. Back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Jody Smith and Marshall ended the game on a high note.

The Bulldogs are set to face Oklahoma at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Martin Centre.  Check GoZags for live video, up-to-date game time information and live stats. Tickets are available here.