NORMAN, Okla. — In its second matchup of the day with a power-conference foe, Gonzaga volleyball surged to tie it up twice in the first two sets but was ultimately retired in three by Oklahoma (18-25, 19-25, 19-25) Friday evening at Howard McCasland Field House.
The Zags' hitting and serving improved in the matinee from their season opener against Iowa, cracking double-digit kills in all three sets and connecting on a game-high seven service aces to the Sooners' two. But OU's Savannah Davison (16 kills) and Megan Wilson (14 kills) helped the Sooners take control late in each set and finish with 20 more kills in total.
Zoe Thiros led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and three service aces, and Kennedy Croft followed up her six-kill performance from the morning with eight more and three aces of her own. With those three aces, Croft is now four away from holding the career aces record in the rally scoring era. Three other Zags finished with at least four kills — Dani Batenhorst, Alyssa Hughes and Kelsie White.
Keau Kamake'eaina led the Zags in assists for the second straight game, pouring in a team-high 31 assists to go with six digs. Alisa Kim finished with a team-high 12 digs.
Twice the Zags made pushes to retake control in the first and second set — down five at one point, four unanswered points made the first set 13-all off back-to-back aces from Thiros, and another four-point swing that saw a pair of kills from Thiros and an ace from Batenhorst tied it up at 15-all in the second. But the Sooners responded to both immediately with four- and five-point swings, respectively, to close out strong.
GU closes out the OU Invitational tomorrow with a matchup against Florida International at 10 a.m. Check GoZags.com for live stats options and follow @Zagvolleyball on Instagram and Twitter for updates.
Zags Downed by Iowa in OU Invitational Opener
Opening its 2022 season at the OU Invitational, Gonzaga volleyball fell to Iowa in straight sets Friday morning (15-25, 13-25, 18-25), with a dominant 17-kill performance from Iowa's Michelle Urquhart giving the Hawkeyes control early despite a Zags effort that tied it up midway through the first and third sets.
McKenna Marshall (seven kills) and Kennedy Croft (six kills) led the way for the Bulldogs on offense, with Zoe Thiros adding three more and a trio of Zags getting a pair of kills apiece. Junior setter Keau Kamake'eaina finished with team-highs of 16 assists, nine digs and two service aces, and was one of four Zags to finish with three block assists.
