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Zags Head To Portland State For Northwest Challenge
Sept. 2, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
Matches 4-5-6 Northwest Challenge - Hosted By Portland State Portland State Washington Boise State
THIS WEEKEND: Gonzaga University women’s volleyball continues it 2009 non-conference slate Sept. 4-5 when it travels to Portland for the Northwest Challenge, hosted by Portland State University. The Bulldogs open play against the host Vikings on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Zags then play the University of Washington, currently ranked No. 3 in the nation, and Boise State University, on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. LIVE STATS: Live stats of all matches at the Northwest Challenge can be found on GoZags.com. Live video/audio will be available for Gonzaga University’s match against Portland State at www.GoViks.com. LAST SEASON’S NORTHWEST CHALLENGE: The Northwest Challenge is a rotating four-team tournament that includes Gonzaga University, Boise State University, the University of Washington and Portland State University. The Huskies were the hosts last season. The Bulldogs finished the NW Challenge last year with a 1-2 record, defeating Boise State and falling to then-No. 9 Washington and Portland State. OPENING WEEKEND: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team began its 2009 season at the Weber State University Tournament where it finished 1-2. The Bulldogs fell in their opening match to Utah Valley University 3-1 but rebounded with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Utah State University in their second match. Gonzaga again went to five sets in its final match of the tournament but couldn’t pull out the victory as it dropped the heartbreaker to Weber State. ABOUT PORTLAND STATE: Portland State University enters into the Northwest Challenge with a 0-3 record. The Vikings opened the 2009 season at the New Mexico Tournament where they dropped a 3-1 decision to UC Santa Barbara and 3-2 setbacks to both New Mexico and Delaware. Portland State leads the all-time series with Gonzaga University 6-4, including a 3-0 sweep of the Bulldogs in the Northwest Challenge a season ago. ABOUT WASHINGTON: The No. 3 University of Washington holds a 3-0 record after winning The Invitational At Seattle, Washington, a tournament co-hosted by the Huskies and Seattle University, last weekend. UW swept Seattle, San Jose State University and San Diego State University. No team reached 20 points in any set against the Huskies and held all three opponents to under .110 hitting percentages. The Huskies hold the 10-2 advantage in the all-time series and has defeated Gonzaga University seven-straight times. UW swept GU last season at the Northwest Challenge in Seattle, Wash. ABOUT BOISE STATE: Boise State University hosted the Bronco Invitational to open the 2009 season. BSU finished the tournament 0-3 after falling to Northern Arizona, University of Tulsa and Cal State Northridge. The Broncos lead the all-time series 12-8 but Gonzaga University has won the last two meetings. The Bulldogs defeated Boise State 3-1 at the Northwest Challenge last year. WHAT A DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE: Caitlin Cozad began her junior season with a bang at the Weber State University Tournament. The middle blocker earned All-Tournament honors after collecting 24 total blocks, including 20 block assists and four solo blocks. Cozad also tallied 19 kills in the Bulldogs 1-2 opening weekend. SINGLE-MATCH RECORD: Gonzaga University women’s volleyball junior Caitlin Cozad broke the Bulldog single-match block assists record against Utah State University Aug. 29. The middle blocker finished the match with 15 block assists, breaking assistant coach Abby (Cullen) Bennett’s eight-year record of 13. Bennett tallied 13 block assists against the University of Portland in 2002. Cozad became the sixth Zag to register double-digit block assists in a single match. CAREER MATCHES: Seniors Michelle Boevers and Layne Brosky, along with sophomore Kaprina Goodwin eclipsed multiple personal career-highs at the Weber State University Tournament. Boevers collected her first career double-double against Utah State University with 13 kills and 11 digs. The 11 digs was also a career-high, breaking her previous mark of seven that she tallied on four different occasions. Brosky, who finished the three-match tournament with a team-high 43 kills, finished with 18 kills against Utah State, one more than her previous career-high of 17. Goodwin also had her first career double-double against Utah State, collecting a career-high 10 kills and a career-high 11 digs. Her previous highs were six kills and two digs. She also finished the tournament with 16 total blocks, including a personal best seven block assists against USU. NEARING 1,000 KILLS: Senior Michelle Boevers is inching towards eclipsing the 1,000 kill mark. The outside hitter enters into the Northwest Challenge with 963 kills, just 37 kills shy of 1,000. When she does hit 1,000+ kills, she will be the 11th Gonzaga University women’s volleyball player to do so. The last player to tally 1000-plus kills was Becky Jones (2004-07) who finished her career with 1,429. FIRST BULLDOG WIN: Gonzaga University first-year women’s volleyball head coach Dave Gantt earned his first Bulldog career win against Utah State University Aug. 29. Gantt, who was out of the volleyball circuit for seven years, picked up his 217th overall career victory with the 3-2 win. ON DECK: After the Northwest Challenge, the Gonzaga University women’s volleyball squad will play in its final in-season tournament of the year. The Bulldogs will travel to Oklahoma to partake in the University of Tulsa Tournament Sept. 11-12. GU will face Tulsa, Texas Tech University and Stephen F. Austin.
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