Oct. 28, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Match 25
No. 22 San Francisco at Gonzaga
Thursday Oct. 30 - 7 p.m.
Live Gametracker & Live Video: GoZags.com
Radio: 1050 the Key
Match 26
No. 15 San Diego at Gonzaga
Saturday, Nov. 1 - Noon
Gametracker & Live Video: GoZags.com
THIS WEEK: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team begins the second half of West Coast Conference action by hosting two ranked opponents. The Bulldogs welcome No. 22 University of San Francisco to the Martin Centre on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The Zags will then host No. 15 University of San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Noon. The Dons currently lead the WCC with a perfect 7-0, while the Toreros are in second with a 6-1 mark.
BULLDOGS SWEEP TWO OPPONENTS: Gonzaga University women’s volleyball got back to its winning ways with back-to-back sweeps last week. The Bulldogs broke a seven-match losing streak with a 3-0 victory over non-conference opponent Seattle University before breaking as six-match WCC losing skid with a sweep of the University of Portland.
ON TAP: Gonzaga University volleyball will play three of its final five West Coast Conference matches of the season at home in the Martin Centre. The Bulldogs will hit the road for matches at Santa Clara University (Nov. 6) and Saint Mary’s College (Nov. 8), before closing out their season with Loyola Marymount University (Nov. 13), Pepperdine University (Nov. 15) and the University of Portland (Nov. 22).
ABOUT THE DONS: The University of San Francisco women’s volleyball squad, picked to finish tied for fourth in the West Coast Conference, is currently leading the WCC with a perfect 7-0 mark. The Dons, ranked 22nd in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, are 17-4 overall and have won 10-straight. USF is led by Sarah Mandala, the reigning WCC Player of the Week, who is averaging a team-best 3.54 kills per set, along with 1.21 digs per set. Gonzaga University leads the all-time series with San Francisco 25-18 but lost the first meeting between the two schools 3-1 on Oct. 4. The Bulldogs and Dons have split the WCC series meetings for the past two seasons.
ABOUT THE TOREROS: The University of San Diego enters into its contest with Gonzaga University with a 16-3 overall mark and a 6-1 record in West Coast Conference action. The Toreros are currently ranked 15th in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll and have won 11 of their last 13 matches. USD’s lone WCC loss of the season was a 3-1 setback to the University of San Francisco on Oct. 11. San Diego is led by Amy DeGroot who is averaging a team-best 4.16 kills per set and a 2.47 digs per set. The Toreros lead the all-time series with the Bulldogs 34-9 and have won 28-straight.
ON FIRE: Gonzaga University senior middle blocker Elaina Renius had a superb week for the Bulldogs. Renius posted back-to-back .500-plus hitting percentages to propel the Zags to two victories. Renius finished with 11 kills and a smoking hot .714 hitting percentage in the Zags 3-0 victory over Seattle on Oct. 22 and then had 16 kills and a .591 attacking clip in GU’s sweep of the University of Portland. For the season, Renius is hitting .308.
SIX DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Gonzaga University freshman setter Denise Van de Mortel has six double-doubles to her credit this season; third best in the West Coast Conference. Emily Day of Loyola Marymount University leads the WCC with 12 double-doubles and Megan York, of Saint Mary’s College, is second with 11. Van de Mortel continues to pace the conference with 892 assists on the season.
TWENTY-SIX: Senior libero Paige Dillingham broke her career dig record, well actually she shattered her career dig record against Boise State University, Sept. 5. Dillingham finished the 3-1 victory with 26 digs. Her previous best was 17 attained this season against both the University of Montana and North Dakota State University. Along with being a personal-high, Dillingham’s 26 digs was also the highest individual dig amount in a single-match since 2004 when Jessica Herrera also had 26 against the University of Portland. Dillingham has 337 digs to her credit this season; second best in the West Coast Conference.
DOMINATING THE AIRWAVES: Senior middle blocker Elaina Renius had a career-high 12 blocks to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-1 victory over Boise State University, Sept. 5. Her 12 blocks, eight of which were block assists, were the most blocks by an individual Zag player since former Bulldog Briawna Mueller collected 12 against San Francisco in 2005. Renius was also just four blocks shy of breaking former Zag and current assistant coach Abby (Cullen) Bennett’s school record of 15, set against Portland in 2002.
LEADING THE WAY: Senior Elaina Renius continues to lead the West Coast Conference with 100.0 total blocks and is second in total kills with 322. She had a career-high 24 kills against Eastern Washington University.
THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Junior outside hitter Emily Johnson tallied her third career double-double, with 11 kills and 13 digs, in a 3-1 setback to Loyola Marymount University, Oct. 18. Her only other double-double of the season was an 11 kill, 11 dig performance against North Dakota State University, Aug. 20. Johnson’s first career double-double came as a freshman when she had 13 kills and 11 digs against the University of Idaho.
LEFTY HAS CAREER-HIGH NIGHT: Layne Brosky, a junior for the Gonzaga University volleyball squad, finished with a career-tying and match-high 17 kills in the Zags 3-1 setback to the University of San Francisco. The left handed hitter, whose previous best this season was 15 at Washington State University Sept. 10, tied a career-high mark in kills that she set the opening weekend of her freshman campaign, two seasons ago. She last had 17 kills against North Dakota State University Aug. 26, 2006; it was Brosky’s third match in a Bulldog uniform.
HEAD COACH Kip Yoshimura: Kip Yoshimura is in his seventh year as Gonzaga University’s head coach. Yoshimura has compiled a 55-146 record during his tenure with the Bulldogs. A former assistant coach at Gonzaga during the 1992 season, Yoshimura has complied a 306-218 career record which includes nine seasons at Lewis-Clark State College where he guided the Warriors to nine-straight NAIA tournament appearances. A 1990 graduate of Long Beach State University, Yoshimura entered the coaching ranks as a student-assistant on Long Beach State’s 1989 NCAA National Championship team.
VOLLEYBALL RULE CHANGES: NCAA volleyball rules changes this year include three important changes. First, the term “set” has replaced the word “game” as it is used internationally. Second, the number of points to win a set has been reduced from 30 to 25. Teams must still win by two points and the fifth set will still be played to 15. And lastly, because sets are now shorter, the number of allowable subs per set has been reduced from 15 to 12.
LIVE ON THE INTERNET: All Gonzaga University women’s volleyball home matches are available via Gametracker and live streaming on the internet at www.gozags.com. Check the Gonzaga website for all Gametracker and live streaming links. Gametracker for selected away matches are also available. Check out gozags.com for all Gametracker links.
