SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team fell in their home opening match of the 2023 season to Air Force in five sets on Friday night. Despite victories in the second and fourth sets, Air Force sealed the 3-2 win with a 15-8 victory in the tie-breaking fifth set.
 
THE ACTION
First Set – Air Force, 25-21

• Air Force (4-1) quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead to force a Gonzaga (1-3) timeout. The Zags would respond to pull within five, down 11-6.
• Despite GU's efforts to close the gap, the Falcons' Joi Harvey recorded four kills to extend their lead back to seven, up 19-12.
• The Air Force lead would hold, as they took the opening set, 25-21. Zoe Thiros led all Zags with four kills in Set One.

Second Set – Gonzaga, 25-18

• The Bulldogs and Falcons traded points early in the second set, but a 4-0 Gonzaga run had the home team up 8-4, leading to an Air Force timeout.
• The four point lead would hold through the midway point of Set Two with the Zags up 19-15, but a 6-3 stretch for GU brought the set to a close, 25-18.
• Juliette Russell added four kills in the second set, bringing her match total to seven as Gonzaga evened the score 1-1.

Third Set – Air Force, 29-27

• Russell led the Zags to an 8-2 start in Set Three, recording a pair of aces and kills. Thiros followed suit with two kills in that stretch, adding two more while GU extended the lead to 11-3.
• Air Force was quick to respond, rattling off five straight points to cut the deficit to just three. Gonzaga would build up another lead, this time up 18-12, but another response from the Falcons eventually brought the third set to a 21-21 tie.
• GU and Air Force traded blows, keeping the score knotted at 23 until the Bulldogs put together what was initially thought as two straight points and a set win, however a successful challenge by the Falcons reversed the point and evened the score at 24-24.
• Continuing to trade points, Air Force eventually took the advantage and 29-27 win in Set Three, forcing the Zags to have to win two straight sets. Thiros and Russell tallied 13 of Gonzaga's third set 18 kills, while Alisa Kim recorded 12 digs on the defensive side.

Fourth Set – Gonzaga, 25-17

• Opening the fourth set, the battle continued as Air Force and Gonzaga once more traded points, with neither team taking more than a two point advantage early on. The Falcons found a rhythm to build a 10-6 lead, looking to add.
• Trailing by four and with the help of a Nia Damuni ace and three straight kills from Fallon Thompson, Autumn Larson, and Russell, the Zags responded to take a 12-10 lead.
• The Bulldogs would never look back, continuing to widen the gap in Set Four. A 5-1 run would cap off the Gonzaga comeback, winning 25-17 and forcing the match into a tie-breaking fifth set.

Fifth Set – Air Force, 15-8

• Despite scoring first in the final set, Air Force would use a pair of runs early on to take an 8-2 advantage as the teams switched sides.
• Gonzaga battled to close the gap in Set Five, but the Air Force lead proved too much as the Falcons would cap off their third straight match of five sets with a 15-8 victory, earning the 3-2 win.

QUICK STATS

• Russell led the Zags with a career-high 16 kills. The 6'1" junior hit at a .324 clip and added four blocks and four digs.
• Thiros recorded her twelfth career double-double, notching 15 kills and ten digs, adding four blocks.
• As a team, Gonzaga notched 11 service aces and 13.5 blocks, matching Air Force with a .205 attack percentage.

UP NEXT
Gonzaga returns to the Martin Centre on Saturday morning to take on Idaho at 11 a.m. Later, the Zags will face UC San Diego to close out their first of two home tournaments of the 2023 season.
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