SPOKANE, Wash. — Following a week with matchups against three Top-20 teams, Gonzaga Volleyball put together one of its most emphatic offensive performances of the season in a nonconference sweep (25-16, 25-22, 25-17) of Chicago State in the Martin Centre Tuesday.
Kennedy Croft led a balanced attack from the Bulldogs (4-12, 0-5 WCC) with nine kills, one of five GU players to record at least three. The Cougars committed 46 errors in the process, with GU only committing 21.
Keau Kamake'eaina generated 22 of GU's 26 assists, finishing second to Zoe Thiros' team-high nine digs with eight of her own. GU picked up 10 total team blocks, led by seven block assists from Kelsie White.
Chicago State's strong serving put them ahead early in a choppy first set that didn't see many extended rallies, with a pair of early aces and two GU attack errors lifting them to a 6-3 lead before GU got back into it with a 7-2 swing that saw a pair of kills from White and five Cougars attack errors. A block from Grace Ehler and Thiros put GU up by two for the first time of the game, and the Zags kept rolling from there, scoring five of the next six points to take control before closing the set on a blocking error for a set win. GU finished with .467 hitting on the set on just two errors compared to the Cougars' -.148 clip.
A second set that saw eight ties and five lead changes gave GU more of a challenge. The Cougars went up early again, but the Bulldogs regained control again despite a 3-0 run from Chicago State — their first of the match. GU responded by scoring seven of the next eight — five of which were Chicago State attack errors — to go up 17-11, weathering another push from the Cougars to close out the set with kills from four different Zags and go up 2-0.
GU scored the first in a decisive third set, but the Cougars stormed back with six straight to keep things interesting once again. The Bulldogs scored five of the next six, including back-to-back aces from Croft, to get momentum back, but didn't go up by more than two until a pair of attack errors from the Cougars made it 12-9 Zags. Another 5-0 surge — all on attack errors — put the Bulldogs up 20-12, and the two teams traded points before GU scored two of the next three to close out the sweep.
Up Next
The Bulldogs return to WCC play this Saturday with a home matchup with Portland (8-8, 1-4) at noon on Saturday. Live stats and streaming options will be available via GoZags.com. Follow @ZagVolleyball on IG and Twitter for updates and more.
