SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga Volleyball put together a dominant first two sets in a home matchup with Santa Clara, but ultimately fell in five (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 15-25, 7-15) when a late rally from the Broncos (9-18, 5-10 WCC) undid some of the Bulldogs' cleanest offensive sets so far this season.  

The Bulldogs (6-19, 2-12) were led by double-doubles from Zoe Thiros (21 kills, 20 digs) and Kennedy Croft (15 kills, 13 digs), with Alyssa Hughes adding 10 more on team-high .381 hitting. 

Alisa Kim's 25 digs were a team-high, and Keau Kamake'eaina added nine more while producing 45 of the Zags' 55 assists. Thiros served up two of GU's six aces, with Dani Batenhorst supplying two more and Hughes and Kamake'eaina adding one each.

The Bulldogs hit .314 in set one to go with 14 kills and followed that up with 13 more in set two on .200 hitting en route to 25-21 and 25-22 set wins, respectively. Croft and Hughes got the Zags going with six and five kills in the first set respectively, with Thiros connecting on seven in set two to seal a 2-0 advantage.

With a chance to secure a sweep, GU reached game-highs in kills (17) and percentage (.428) in the third, including a 3-0 run that made it 23-24 before SCU closed out with a kill. The Broncos' offensive show continued en route to the reverse sweep, with 45 of the next 65 points scored coming from kills. 

Up Next

The Zags host San Francisco on Saturday at Noon in the Martin Centre, set to honor six seniors on Senior Day. Live stats and streaming options will be available via GoZags.com. Follow @ZagVolleyball on IG and Twitter for updates and more.