SPOKANE, Wash. – Trailing 2-0, the Gonzaga volleyball team rallied with a dominant third set victory but fell just short in the fourth as Pacific snagged a 3-1 win inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre on Saturday.
THE ACTION
First Set – Pacific, 25-16
- Despite an early back-and-forth affair, Pacific (17-9, 9-5 West Coast Conference) would pull away to strike first on Saturday afternoon. Alexa Edwards and Darina Kumanova led the Tiger offense with five kills each, combining to hit .600 in the opening set. As a team, Pacific hit at a .538 clip.
- Gonzaga benefitted from some early strikes from senior Zoe Thiros, who immediately picked up a pair to ignite the Zags' offense. After another two kills from Thiros, Viktoriya Ivanova served up her first ace of the day to bring the set to a 14-14 tie.
- Pacific found a rhythm out of the media timeout, expanding to a 20-14 lead. Despite efforts from Maggie Rickert, the Tigers continued to roll to a 25-16 win. Thiros finished the set with four kills, while Rickert and Grace Ehler added two each.
Second Set – Pacific, 25-15
- Pacific's Edwards continued to heat up in the second set with eight kills to her name. The Tigers never trailed in set two, despite Gonzaga bringing the score to several ties.
- The Zags looked to Rickert, trailing 8-5 early. The Tennessee-native notched two more kills, while Autumn Larson and Jody Smith made a stand at the net to help GU tie things up at nine. Looking to respond, Biamba Kabengele of Pacific took a crack at a pair of kills to extend their lead once again. Kumanova added one as the Tigers entered the media timeout up 15-10.
- Late pushes from Smith and Rickert were a little too late, as Pacific found the 25-point mark and a 2-0 match lead. Rickert's three kills led the balanced GU offense in set two, while Thiros added two more and Ehler, Smith, and Fallon Thompson recorded one each.
Third Set – Gonzaga, 25-18
- Gonzaga responded promptly in the match's third set with a flurry of offense from Rickert, Thiros and Smith. Rickert's four kills led the way as the Zags hit .409 before a 25-18 win.
- Despite trailing 6-3 early, GU quickly erased the deficit as Rickert ripped a kill past the Pacific defense. The Tigers would take a 13-11 lead, but Juliette Russell thwarted that run immediately with a kill.
- GU grabbed their first lead of the set at 16-15 and never looked back. Smith, Rickert and Thiros helped the Zags expand their lead and force a fourth set. Along with Rickert's four kills, Thiros and Smith picked up three each while the Gonzaga defense held Pacific to a .069 clip.
Fourth Set – Pacific, 25-22
- Looking to force a fifth set for the second straight match, Gonzaga found themselves down 4-1 early in set four. GU would trail 7-4 before a 6-1 stretch put them in back in front.
- Gonzaga and Pacific would trade blows through the midway point, as back-to-back kills from Thompson and Rickert knotted the score at 16. The Tigers would gain momentum after an Edwards kill, as a final 9-6 push sealed the fourth set and 3-1 win.
- Pacific's Kabengele recorded six kills in the final set to lead all hitters. GU got a trio of kills from Thiros, Russell and Rickert despite falling in a tight fourth set.
QUICK STATS
- Pacific's Alexa Edwards led all scorers with 19 kills. Four players in the match finished with 12 kills (Zoe Thiros – GU, Maggie Rickert – GU, Darina Kumanova – PAC, Biamba Kabengele – PAC).
- Alisa Kim's 11 digs brings her career total to 960, needing to average 20.0 over the final two matches to become just the 15th member of the 1,000 dig club in program history.
UP NEXT
The Zags will be in action one last time at home on Thursday, Nov. 16 against Portland. First serve is set for 6 p.m. GU will conclude their 2023 season on Saturday, Nov. 18 at San Diego.
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