LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Loyola Marymount volleyball notched their tenth West Coast Conference victory to remain in second place in the WCC with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-18 win over Gonzaga inside Gersten Pavilion on Saturday.
 
THE ACTION
First Set – Loyola Marymount, 25-20

• After Loyola Marymount (17-6, 10-3 West Coast Conference) opened with a 6-2 lead, Juliette Russell ignited a Gonzaga (3-20, 0-12 WCC) response with her second kill, and Alisa Kim dropped a service ace to bring GU within two. After a LMU kill from Tyler Alcorn, Autumn Larson picked up her first kill ahead of a Russell ace to bring the set to a 7-7 tie.
• The Lions, despite a barrage of kills from their front line, remained just one point ahead (15-14) going into the media timeout as a trio of service errors and an attack error kept the Bulldogs within range. Maggie Rickert provided some more offense to keep the set at a 17-17 tie, before a 4-0 LMU run forced the Zags to burn both timeouts.
• Trailing 22-17, Gonzaga mounted some pressure on Loyola Marymount as Russell, Jody Smith and Grace Ehler found space with a kill each to keep pace, but the Lions would hang on for the 25-20 set victory.
• Russell led the Zags with three kills in the first. Larson, Rickert and Ehler each recorded a pair, and setter Nia Damuni assisted on all ten of GU's kills.

Second Set – Loyola Marymount, 25-13

• Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount started the second set with eight total kills in the first eight rallies to push a 4-4 tie. Rickert (two), Smith (one), and Larson (one) picked up the Zags' four. The Lions' Amethyst Harper kept their run going, picking up a trio of kills amidst a 6-0 LM run to take a 10-4 lead.
• Harper, along with Alcorn, extended the LMU lead even further to 17-7. Despite a handful of kills from Russell, Rickert and Larson, Loyola Marymount could not be caught in set two as they would go on to take the 25-13 win and 2-0 lead.
• Gonzaga picked up another ten kills in the second set behind Rickert's four, Larson's two and Russell's two.

Third Set – Loyola Marymount, 25-18

• Like the first, LMU began set three with a 6-2 run. The Zags immediately began to chip away at the lead as Larson, Ehler, and Rickert each recorded kills before a Lion attack error made it 9-7 in favor of LMU. Three straight points by Loyola Marymount was responded with three straight from Gonzaga, making it 12-10 Lions.
• A 5-1 LMU run forced a GU timeout as the Lions began pulling away. The Zags immediately got two back out of the break, but three straight from Loyola Marymount forced Gonzaga to call their second timeout.
• Larson's seventh kill, and back-to-back Russell aces brought Gonzaga within five, now trailing 21-16. LMU neared the 25-point mark behind two kills from Michelle Shaffer. They would eventually notch the 3-0 sweep after a 25-18 set three win.

 
Maggie Rickert just missed double-digit kills, leading Gonzaga with nine on the afternoon. Autumn Larson added seven, and both Juliette Russell and Grace Ehler pitched in five. Rickert and Alisa Kim tied with nine digs each, and Nia Damuni picked up 27 assists.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga returns to the Martin Centre for their final homestand of the 2023 season. On Thursday Nov. 9, Saint Mary's comes to town at 6pm before the senior day match on Saturday Nov. 11 against Pacific. Their final home match will take place on Nov. 16 against Portland before wrapping up the season at San Diego on Nov. 18.
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