SPOKANE, Wash.- The Pepperdine Waves (16-7, 10-2) swept Gonzaga Volleyball (12-10, 5-6) on Thursday night to increase their hold on second place in the WCC.
The Waves had to battle through a lot of extra points to capture the first set 31-29 before they went on to capture the next two sets 25-20 and 25-21. The match was very competitive and highlighted by several incredibly long rallies featuring numerous remarkable defensive plays by each teams.
The Zags had their most digs in a three set match in the last 8 years, putting up 55 digs to highlight a great team wide defensive display. They held Pepperdine, one of the top hitting teams in the WCC, to just a .165 total hitting percentage. The Waves hit just .118 and .114 in the first two sets, and the Zags had less attacking errors in both of those periods.
The lack of a cohesive attack was a not the failing of the Zags but a reflection of a phenomenal defensive performance on the other side of the net, as Pepperdine also had 55 digs in the same match. Pepperdine is in the top 25 in the country in opponent hitting percentage, showing that the Zags ran up against a team that every other Division 1 team is also still struggling to solve.
Head Coach JT Wenger said after the match that he felt the team played incredibly well as a unit and he was incredibly proud of the clean match and lack of errors against a polished side. The Zags had three players in double digits in digs, with Sjakkie Donkers leading the team in both digs (14) and kills (9). Kate Herrick had 10 digs while also leading the team in assists with 13, while Carina Zaldivar put up another great libero performance in the midst of collecting 11 digs.
The Zags are also sure to be incredibly proud of the atmosphere they have built in the Martin Centre, as over 900 fans created a raucous environment that directly led to uncharacteristic serving and attacking errors by Pepperdine. The Zags will look to continue to promote a fantastic gameday atmosphere as they welcome in the in-state rival Washington State Cougars on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will hope to get back to their winning ways before then, traveling to Portland to take on the Pilots on Saturday.
