Box Score Phoenix, Arizona.- Gonzaga Volleyball started the season with a win in Phoenix on Friday, beating the UTRGV Vaqueros in four sets.
The team was led by newcomer Sjakkie Donkers, who led the game with 24 kills. This is the most kills by a Bulldog in a four-set game since 2014. The Zags open a new era under head coach JT Wenger with an emphatic win in the nonconference.
Nia Damuni led the game with 43 assists, over fifteen more assists than the team leader for the Vaqueros. Taylor Walsh added a game high 4 blocks and a career high 3 aces to cap the tremendous team effort to open the year in the win column.
The Zags showed grit when going on a 9-2 run to comeback to close out the first set 25-23. The second set unfolded in the exact opposite way, with the Zags leading since just the 12th point of the set. While they dropped the third set, GU rallied to close out the fourth set in crunch time, pulling ahead 25-22 after the set was tied at 19 each.
The Zags will hope that this win generates positive momentum as they play their second game of the season less than 24 hours from now. Volleyball will take on LIU Brooklyn at 3 pm on Saturday. The Sharks are a preseason favorite to win their conference, having been picked to win the NEC. Live Stats and a watch stream for the game will be linked on GoZags.com
