SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga volleyball was on the verge of pushing Pepperdine to a fifth set, leading 23-20 in a back-and-forth battle in set four, but a 5-0 Waves run out of a timeout cut the GU comeback short. Pepperdine improved to 3-0 in West Coast Conference play Thursday evening inside the Martin Centre, defeating Gonzaga 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23.
 
Gonzaga (1-11, 0-2 WCC) found themselves in a 2-0 hole early on Thursday, but found some life in the third and fourth sets thanks to a strong defensive showing. Four Zags finished with double-digit digs led by 19 from freshman Maddie Cugino. Maggie Rickert added 14, Brianna Martin had 13, and Nia Damuni notched ten along with 45 assists.
 
Pepperdine (6-7, 3-0 WCC) was off and running early in the first, taking an eight-point lead that proved enough to thwart a late Gonzaga surge. Reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year Grace Chillingworth led the Waves with six kills in set one as part of her 22-kill performance.
 
Despite keeping close with Pepperdine in the second, Gonzaga was held off by Chillingworth's nine kills and .381 hitting percentage. Rickert led the Bulldogs with six kills of her own and Fallon Thompson added five in the set-two loss.
 
The tides started to turn in the third for the Zags, who held Pepperdine to just a .122 team hitting percentage while benefitting from another strong performance from Rickert (five kills) and Thompson (four kills). This time, it was Gonzaga who came out on top with the 25-22 win, forcing a fourth set as their momentum continued to build.
 
The thrilling fourth set consisted of 11 ties and never saw a lead bigger than three by either team. A balanced spread of kills from Gonzaga, along with some timely digs from the back row pushed the Bulldogs to a late 22-20 lead and forced Pepperdine to call a timeout. A well-located kill from Rickert put GU up three, but the Waves would not go quietly. Five consecutive points later quickly ended the threat and halted the match at four sets.
 
Rickert ended her night with a career-high 19 kills to pair with her 14 digs. Thompson finished with 12 kills while hitting at a .440 clip, and Raechelle finished in double figures for the fourth time in her last five matches.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will wrap up their five-match homestand on Saturday as Portland visits the Martin Centre at noon.