SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga volleyball reached match point in the decisive fifth set against Saint Mary's but fell short Thursday evening inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. The Gaels prevailed for their eighth West Coast Conference victory, 22-25, 27-25, 25-27, 25-20, 17-15.
 
THE ACTION
First Set – Gonzaga, 25-22

• Autumn Larson was the leading scorer for Gonzaga (3-21, 0-13 West Coast Conference) in the opening set, picking up three of her five set kills early on to open a quick 3-1 GU lead. For Saint Mary's (14-11, 8-5 WCC), it was Genevieve Bane and Hannah Taylor taking the top mark in set one, each with three kills as they would respond to bring the set to its first tie at 9-9.
• The highlight of the first set came after Larson's fourth kill, which sent Viktoriya Ivanova to the service line. Trailing 18-13, Ivanova dropped four straight service aces to bring Gonzaga within one and force a Saint Mary's timeout. A final 8-3 push from the Zags completed the comeback to take the first set and 1-0 lead.
• Maggie Rickert and Grace Ehler each added two kills to go along with Larson's five, while Nia Damuni assisted on all 11 Bulldog kills in set one. Alisa Kim notched seven digs on defense to aid the opening set win.

Second Set – Saint Mary's, 27-25

• Set two was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish. Neither team grabbed more than a two-point advantage until the 10-7 mark after a Saint Mary's attack error gave GU their largest lead of the set.
• Ivanova continued to dominate at the service line, picking up three more kills to bring her match total to seven. Her final two came on back-to-back players and extended Gonzaga's lead to six, 15-9 heading into the media timeout.
• Despite reaching set point at 25-24, the Zags could not keep Saint Mary's away as the Gaels' Kjersti strong picked up a kill, before two more consecutive points flipped the score and gave SMC the 27-25 win.
• For the Zags, Juliette Russell took the lead on the front line in set two, picking up five kills at a .714 clip. Jody Smith finished right behind with four, hitting at a .429 clip. Damuni added 15 more assists, while Kim picked up four more digs to enter double-figures on the night.

Third Set – Gonzaga, 27-25

• Looking to bounce back and take a 2-1 lead, Gonzaga looked to Rickert, who came alive with seven kills in the lengthy third set. Trailing 4-1 early, it was Rickert's first two of the set that kept Saint Mary's at bay.
• After the media timeout saw a 15-12 Bulldog lead take shape, the Gaels used the latest kill from Strong to knot the score at 16. Rickert promptly responded with two of her own as GU regained an 18-16 advantage.
• Both teams would battle for the lead, seeing six more ties by the 25-25 mark. Gonzaga would prevail as a Saint Mary's service error, followed by Smith/Rickert block sealed the third set in favor of the Bulldogs.
• After missing a week of action due to injury, Zoe Thiros returned to the court tonight, picking up five of her 15 total kills in a nail-biting third set. Smith added four on five attempts and zero attack errors. Damuni added 20 assists while Brianna Martin led the defense with five digs in set three.

Fourth Set – Saint Mary's, 25-20

• Thiros picked up right where she left off in the fourth, adding six kills to reach double-figures for the 11th time this season, hitting .417 in set number four.
• Gonzaga and Saint Mary's continued their close battle, trading blows early. The Zags saw offensive production from Thiros, Ehler, Smith and Rickert despite trailing by one heading into the media timeout.
• The Gaels quickly found their stride in the fourth, as a 10-6 run moved the match to a decisive fifth set, a 25-20 victory for SMC.

Fifth Set – Saint Mary's, 17-15

• Gonzaga was all hands on deck in the tiebreaking set, benefitting from four Smith kills, three from Thiros, and two each from Rickert and Ehler. Not wasting any time, the Zags quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead. Saint May's was quick to respond, however, picking up four straight points to force GU to call a timeout.
• The Zags looked to pull away late in the shortened final set, as a Rickert ace put them up 13-11. However, the Gaels went back to Bane, who went back-to-back to bring the score to another tie. Out of Gonzaga's second timeout, Jody Smith quickly found some open floor for her 15th kill, putting the Bulldogs in their first match point.
• A lengthy challenge confirmed a Hannah Taylor kill to knot the score once again, this time 14-14. Ehler quickly put one down to regain a 15-14 Gonzaga lead, but Taylor and Strong proved too powerful, picking up three straight kills to close out the five-set battle in the Martin Centre.

 
QUICK STATS

• Viktoriya Ivanova's seven service aces etches a new Gonzaga rally scoring era record. Ivanova's performance is third all-time in program history, tying four other Zags.
• With their 12 combined service aces, the Zags move into seventh place all-time for single-season aces. They currently sit at 143 with just three matches left in the season.
• Alisa Kim nears 1,000 digs in her Gonzaga career. Her 23 digs on Thursday puts her at 949 total.

 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga celebrates their senior day on Saturday as they take on Pacific at 12 p.m. in the Martin Centre. Four seniors: Viktoriya Ivanova, Grace Ehler, Alisa Kim, and Zoe Thiros will play in their final home match next Thursday against Portland at 6 p.m.
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