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Bulldogs Drop Heartbreaker to Washington State, 3-2
Sept. 10, 2008
PULLMAN, Wash. - Gonzaga University women's volleyball, which won the first two sets easily against Washington State University, let the Cougars win the final three sets to earn the five-set victory at Bohler Gym in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won the crucial fifth set by a score of 15-8 on the strength of both Brittany Tillman and Cassie Robbins who had two kills apiece in the come-back set. The loss drops the Bulldogs lead to 2-6 while the Cougars are now 4-3 on the season. Gonzaga earned the 25-19 first set victory on the strength of both senior Elaina Renius and junior Layne Brosky. Renius had five kills on nine total attempts for a .444 hitting clip. The middle blocker also had the crucial block on the set point to give the Bulldogs the six-point victory. Brosky, the left handed right-sided hitter, gave the Cougars some trouble, finishing the first set with five kills on eight total attempts for a impressive .625 attacking percentage. Renius set the tone in the second set, blocking Washington State's first kill attempt. Renius would go on to have two block assists in the set, along with five kills. Freshman Laura Day and sophomore Allyson Powell served up the match's first two service aces to help Gonzaga capture the set, 25-19. Brosky again was on fire for the Zags, connecting on four passes from freshman setter Denis Van de Mortel for four crucial points. Washington State doomed itself in the second set, miss hitting on three services, along with having two reception errors and one ball handling error. Washington State led by three early in the third set until Renius turned it on. With the Cougars leading 11-10, Renius had two kills and two blocks, including one block which gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the set at 13-12. A see-saw battle ensued until back-to-back kills by WSU gave the Cougars some breathing room at 23-21. The Bulldogs battled though, as sophomore Caitlin Cozad and Van de Mortel tag-teamed for a block to put the score at 23-22. Jackie Albright had her eighth kill of the night and Renee Bordelon closed out a long rally by both teams to give Washington State the 25-22 victory.
Gonzaga led 5-2 early in the fourth set but let Washington State take a hold of the set and gained an 11-6 advantage. The Bulldogs fought back though as Renius had a block and a kill and Brosky hammered home two kills to slice the Cougar lead to one at 14-13. GU and WSU traded points back and forth until four-straight points by Washington State put the Coug lead at 22-17. The Bulldogs valiantly tried to overcome the deficit but the Cougars pulled out a heart pounding 28-26 win to force the fifth and deciding set. Renius had a monster night for Gonzaga, finishing with a match and career high 22 kills along with six solo blocks and four block assists. She also had four digs in the setback. Layne Brosky added 15 kills and five digs for GU. Van de Mortel dished out a career-high 65 assists and had a career-high 18 digs for her first career double-double. Washington State was led by Johnson who had 18 kills, 10 digs and three solo blocks. Kelly Hyder led the Cougs defensively with 27 total digs. Gonzaga will be back in action this Friday and Saturday when it hosts the Gonzaga Volleyball Tournament. The Bulldogs first match of the tournament will be against UTEP on Friday at 7 p.m. |
