SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga volleyball pushed Pacific to a fourth set after close losses in the first two sets, but the Tigers hung on for the 3-1 win on Saturday inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. Pacific nearly completed the sweep after scoring on four-straight GU set points, but the Tigers settled for a 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20 win.
 
Gonzaga (1-22, 0-13 WCC) trailed by as many as nine in the opening set but battled to bring the deficit to just one. Avoiding a 23-23 tie, Pacific (15-10, 5-8 WCC) benefitted from a pair of late kills from Alexa Edwards to thwart the GU rally and hang on for the 25-23 win. Edwards notched eight kills in the opener to lead all attackers. Raechelle Dykstra was 5-for-16 for Gonzaga in set one.
 
After the Zags took a 1-0 lead in the second, Pacific scored two straight to take the lead for good. Darina Kumanova led a 5-0 Tigers run with two service aces to open a 7-2 lead. Another pair of Kumanova aces put Pacific up 20-12 amidst another 5-0 run. Despite a final push from Gonzaga, the Tigers held on for a 25-20 win to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Jody Smith heated up in the third, posting four kills on eight swings and adding three blocks as the Zags pushed a fourth set. With GU trailing 8-6, Maggie Rickert and Autumn Larson led a Bulldog barrage, combining for four kills during a 6-0 run to put Gonzaga up 12-8.
 
Facing a GU set point, Pacific rattled off four straight points to knot the score at 24, but the Bulldogs came out of a timeout with back-to-back points to immediately end the threat.
 
A pair of short runs for Pacific made the difference in set four, with the Tigers breaking an 11-11 tie with a 4-0 run heading into the media timeout. Consecutive kills from Edwards brought her match total to 22 and put Pacific up 18-14. In the end, another 25-20 win sealed the match for the Tigers.
 
Rickert, Dykstra, and Nia Damuni each recorded double-doubles for Gonzaga on Saturday. Rickert led GU with 12 kills, adding 14 digs while Dykstra posted ten kills and 13 digs. Damuni's double-double consisted of 38 assists and ten digs.
 
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Gonzaga will face Washington State inside the Martin Centre on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Cougars will be making their first trip to Spokane since 2009.