SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga volleyball battled back to push San Diego State to a fifth set but fell just short in the tiebreaker on Friday inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. After dropping the first two sets to SDSU, the Bulldogs rattled off back-to-back set wins to push the match to five before the Aztecs put the match away 25-14, 25-14, 21-25, 18-25, 15-12.
 
In the opening match of the Gonzaga Invitational, San Diego State (7-2) defeated Gonzaga (1-8) in the first and second sets. After breaking a 9-9 tie in the first, SDSU used a 16-5 scoring run to grab the opening-set win. A similar story appeared in the second when San Diego State broke an early 4-4 tie before finishing on a 21-10 run to quickly put the match to 2-0 in their favor. Jasmine Davis was the kill leader for the Aztecs, picking up seven in the first two sets.
 
The Bulldogs battled right back in the third, taking a close 25-21 win after a 6-0 run flipped the score and pushed the match to a fourth set. Maggie Rickert and Autumn Larson caught fire for Gonzaga late in the third, leading a combined 15 kills for the GU offense with four each, while the freshman pair of Hayley Ogden and Raechelle Dykstra each added three for the cause.
 
The momentum kept building in the fourth for Gonzaga, who took a 14-8 lead thanks to a 6-0 run led by Dykstra and Larson. After San Diego State brought the score within two at 18-16, the Bulldogs settled down after a timeout with a 7-2 run that pushed the match to a tiebreaking fifth set. Dykstra was the set leader with five kills, hitting at a .455 clip.
 
A final battle ensued in the fifth set as Gonzaga was first to strike with an early 6-2 lead. San Diego State would not trail for long, bringing the score to a 9-9 tie before taking the lead for good amidst a 5-0 run. The 13-11 Aztec lead would hold as SDSU finished off with a 15-12 win, denying Gonzaga of a reverse sweep inside the Martin Centre.
 
Dykstra finished with 13 kills on the night to lead GU, adding 12 digs for another double-double. Odgen notched 12 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, and Larson was the third Zag in double figures with 11 kills. Maddie Cugino continued to shine on defense and at the service stripe, recording 21 digs while adding 4 service aces.
 
Rickert also served up four aces for Gonzaga, who too all of six days to break the program (rally scoring) service ace record once again. After notching 15 against Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 15, GU broke the record again Friday night with 16 against San Diego State.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will face cross-town rival Eastern Washington on Saturday at 7:30pm to wrap up the Gonzaga Invitational and their non-conference schedule for the 2024 season.