PORTLAND, Ore. — Gonzaga Volleyball (13-10, 6-6) captured a huge comeback win over Portland (11-13, 6-7) in a five-set match on Saturday at Chiles Center, rallying to capture the final two sets and another WCC. 

The Zags rallied to a 3-2 victory after dropping two of the first three by a score of 25-27, 25-23, 23-25, before storming back to win the fourth and fifth sets by 25-19, 15-7 margins. The Zags had 71 Kills, their most kills in a match since 2014. The decade-best offensive performance was powered by deadly accurate hitting, as the Zags hit .301 on the night. 

Sjakkie Donkers led the night with an incredible 30 kill performance after hitting .348%. This ties the GU record for the second most kills in a match since 2001. Raechelle Dykstra added another 20 kills in a remarkable career best performance, as the two combined for a huge offensive spark in the rally. 

The Zags fell behind after dropping the first set in extra points. The Pilots had a balanced attack with four players collecting double digit kills, proving too much in the first set. The Zags rallied to take the second behind back to back kills from Dykstra and Fallon Thompson to even the effort. 

Gonzaga dropped the third set as a result of a strong service game from Portland. UP's Taina Kaauwai had five aces in the game, several of which came at pivotal times in the third and built a deficit that the Zags couldn't overcome. 

GU rallied with a decisive 25-19 win in the fourth set, overcoming an early deficit through a series of effective plays. An offensive explosion powered the Zags in the fourth, as they hit a huge .414% and had only two errors. The Zags had at least 14 kills in every single full set, while UP only surpassed this number in the first set. 

The Zags rushed out to a 10-2 lead in the final frame, taking over the game at the very end to take back a win in a huge rally. Fittingly, Donkers had five kills in the final frame and Dykstra terminated the game winning kill, as the two Zag stars again came up big to officially win the game in a huge comeback for GU. The entire team contributed to the win, and Nia Damuni put up 48 assists to help the Zags. Damuni and Dykstra tied for a team high in digs with 15 apiece, each scoring a different style of a double double to conclude a huge afternoon. 

The Zags will look to bring the same energy (and get a further boost from the Martin Centre crowd) in their next match, returning home to face Washington State.