BOISE, Idaho – Gonzaga volleyball opened their three-day weekend at the Boise State Classic inside Bronco Gym on Friday, falling in three sets to Idaho State. Despite pushing the Bengals past 25 points in the first and third sets, the Zags could not pull ahead and fell 25-27, 19-25, 26-28.
 
Gonzaga (1-5) outhit Idaho State (6-2) .265 to .250 in an opening set that saw 18 ties and 11 lead changes. An array of kills from Jody Smith (5), Maggie Rickert (4), and Raechelle Dykstra (4) led the Bulldogs despite the 27-25 loss.
 
The second set opened in similar fashion to the first, but Idaho State would break a 16-16 tie with a 7-1 run that all but sealed the win. A final kill from Meline Robarge earned the 25-19 win and put ISU up 2-0 as GU looked to turn the tides.
 
Despite a hot start in the third by Idaho State that saw the Bengals lead 9-4, Gonzaga pull the score even at 10-10 with the help of some timely service aces from Rickert and Krista Kostoff, along with a pair of Dykstra kills. The Bengals and Bulldogs battled back-and-forth to another 25-25 tie, but a final Rickert kill was not quite enough to push the match to a fourth set as Idaho State completed the sweep.
 
Rickert's seven third-set kills brought her match total to 11 to lead Gonzaga, adding ten digs for her second double-double of the season. Maddie Cugino and Nia Damuni also recorded ten digs in the loss, while Smith and Dykstra finished with nine kills each.
 
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Gonzaga will face a quick turnaround with an 8 a.m. PT match against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday. The Zags will wrap up their weekend on Sunday against tournament-host Boise State at 11 a.m. PT.