SPOKANE, Wash. — Facing its third Top-20 opponent this week, Gonzaga Volleyball took set one but fell in four (25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 22-25) to No. 15 BYU at the Martin Centre Saturday afternoon.

Zoe Thiros led a resilient effort from the Bulldogs (3-12, 0-5 WCC) with 18 kills and Kennedy Croft added 11, with four other Zags combining for 17 more. Thiros also served up a career-high four aces, with GU finishing the game with a season-high 10. Croft and Dani Batenhorst supplied two aces apiece while leading the team in digs with 14 and 11, respectively.

GU started off Set No. 1 white-hot, with three consecutive aces from Thiros spurring an 8-0 run that put the Bulldogs in the driver's seat early. BYU managed to chip into the lead, eventually taking a 19-18 lead after a 3-0 run. But GU found a response coming out of a timeout, with Ivanova serving up an ace to spur a 4-0 run that shifted momentum back in the Zags' favor. Thiros delivered her sixth kill of the set to put GU a point away from the set win, and Croft sealed the deal with a kill of her own to put GU up 1-0.

The Cougars jumped out to a quick lead of their own in the second, with GU playing from behind the whole way despite BYU never leading by more than six. The Bulldogs kept it tight in set three and four with nine tie and five lead changes in both, but late surges from the Cougars in both kept the game from going to five.

GU's homestand continues with a nonconference matchup with Chicago State (5-8) on Tuesday at the Martin Centre at 6 p.m. Live stats and streaming options will be available via GoZags.com. Follow @ZagVolleyball on IG and Twitter for updates and more.