SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga volleyball battled Saint Mary's tough in the first and third sets on Thursday inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre, but the Gaels would prevail in both amidst their 3-0 sweep over the Bulldogs. GU led 21-20 in the first and trailed by just two in the third, but Saint Mary's had the final say as they went on to win 25-22, 25-13, 25-20.
 
In the match-opening set, Gonzaga (1-21, 0-12 WCC) led by as many as five, holding the advantage until Saint Mary's (8-13, 4-8 WCC) took a late 22-21 lead. Raechelle Dykstra led the Bulldogs with four kills and eight digs in set one, while Genevieve Bane picked up three to lead the Gaels. The Zags outhit Saint Mary's 13-12, but three Gael service aces were costly for GU.
 
Set two was controlled by Saint Mary's from the beginning, with the Gaels using a pair of 5-0 runs to take 6-3 and 16-7 leads. Bane was the offensive leader in the second, notching seven kills on a .429 hitting percentage. Dykstra added four kills and four digs, bringing her running total to eight and 12.
 
Saint Mary's ran out to a quick 8-2 lead in the third frame to force a Gonzaga timeout, but the Zags responded to eventually bring the score within two. Autumn Larson served an ace to force a Saint Mary's timeout, but the Gaels came back out on a short run to open the lead back to five. That lead would hold steady as Saint Mary's wrapped up the sweep with a 25-20 win. No hitter recorded more than three kills for either team in the final set.
 
Dykstra's final line included 11 kills and 14 digs, hitting at a .286 clip. Larson added six kills and three service aces for the Bulldogs in the loss. For Saint Mary's, Bane led with 13 kills on 32 swings and six errors, while libero Natalie Peete picked up 19 kills to lead all defenders.
 
UP NEXT
GU will next welcome Pacific to the Martin Centre on Saturday at noon and Washington State on Nov. 13 before an eight-day break.