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Oct. 16, 2008

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team played some of its best volleyball of the season, putting a scare into No. 16 Pepperdine University Thursday evening in Malibu, Calif. The Bulldogs had the nationally ranked Waves on their heels for spurts of the match but ultimately fell 3-1 (27-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-15). Gonzaga avoided a sweep in the Firestone Fieldhouse for the first time since 1998.

With the setback, Gonzaga, who has lost six-straight, dropped its record to 6-15 overall, 0-5 in West Coast Conference action. Pepperdine improved its record to 15-1 overall and are now 3-1 in the WCC.

Senior Elaina Renius and juniors Emily Johnson and Layne Brosky were the catalysts offensively for the Zags. Renius had her 16th double-figure kill performance of the season, finishing with a match-high 17 kills and a team-best .438 hitting clip. Johnson and Brosky both tallied 10 kills in the hard-fought loss.

It was senior Paige Dillingham who kept the Bulldogs in the match with her defensive prowess. Dillingham collected her third 20-plus dig performance of the season, first of the WCC campaign. She had 22 digs on the night, a match-high. Sophomore Allyson Powell added 12 digs, while freshman Laura Day had six.

Freshman setter Denise Van de Mortel passed out a match-high 43 assists as the Zags had 48 total team kills and a .220 attacking percentage on the night. Van de Mortel also had seven digs and three blocks for the Bulldogs.

Julie Rubenstein and Rachel Lumsden led the way for the Waves. Rubenstein closed out the match with 16 kills and a .429 hitting clip, while Lumsden had a double-double of 15 kills and 11 digs.

The Bulldogs will look to rebound against Loyola Marymount University Saturday. The match, which will feature the Zags' Day facing off against older sister Emily Day, of LMU, is set to begin at 1 p.m.