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Volleyball On The Road Again; Plays at LMU and Pepperdine
Nov. 4, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
Match 23 Match 24
THIS WEEK: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team hits the road for the second consecutive week as it plays in California at Loyola Marymount University and at Pepperdine University. The Bulldogs face the Lions on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. and match-up with the Waves on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. Gonzaga is looking to improve on its 4-4 West Coast Conference record and on its two-match winning streak.
ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Loyola Marymount University enters into its contest with Gonzaga University at 10-13 overall and 1-8 in the West Coast Conference. The Lions have lost 10 out of their last 11 contests; their lone victory coming over the University of San Francisco (3-1) on Oct. 24. The Bulldogs earned a 3-0 sweep of the Lions in their first meeting this season. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE LIONS: Loyola Marymount University leads the all-time series over Gonzaga University 34-11. The Bulldogs and Lions have split their yearly WCC series the past three seasons. In 2008, Gonzaga dropped a 3-1 decision on the road to LMU before rebounding with 3-2 victory at the Martin Centre. The Zags open their 2009 two-match series with a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 17. ABOUT PEPPERDINE: Pepperdine University is currently 12-10 on the year and 5-4 in West Coast Conference action - which puts it third in the WCC standings. The Waves are coming off an impressive two-match weekend which saw them sweep then No-19 University of San Diego on ESPNU to knock the Toreros out of first place in the WCC. Pepperdine lost a heart breaking 3-2 match to Saint Mary’s College - who is now in along atop the WCC standings - in its second match of the weekend. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE WAVES: Pepperdine University is 42-3 all-time against Gonzaga University and has won 25 in a row. The last Bulldog win was in 1996 when they defeated the Waves 3-1. All three Gonzaga wins have taken place in Spokane, as Pepperdine is 22-0 at in Malibu. A GOOD START TO CONFERENCE: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team earned a 3-2 come-from-behind victory at the University of Portland on Oct. 31 to improve its WCC mark to 4-4. It was the first time since the 1994 season the Bulldogs opened the WCC slate with a 4-4 record. The Zags finished the 1994 campaign with a school history best 10-4 mark in conference. A MOMENTOUS VICTORY: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team was one set away from being swept by Santa Clara University after losing the first two sets. The Bulldogs rallied to win the next three sets to claim the West Coast Conference victory 17-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12. The come-from-behind victory is all-too important as Gonzaga improved to 3-2 in conference and 7-11 overall, but the meaning behind the win was just as important. The Bulldogs went into the match with the Broncos having lost 28-straight, dating back to the 1995 season. GU had lost five close five-set matches in those 14 years but hadn’t been able to break SCU since it earned a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 4, 1994. WINNING CONFERENCE OPENER: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball squad opened its West Coast Conference season with a bang, defeating the University of Portland 3-0 at the Martin Centre Oct. 3. The WCC opening victory was the first since the 2005 season and only the second since 1994. The win was also just the second WCC opening sweep in school history. The only other time GU opened the WCC season with a 3-0 victory was in 1991 when it swept Saint Mary’s College, also at the Martin Centre. A HOT HITTING DAY: Gonzaga University women’s volleyball opened its West Coast Conference season with its best hitting outing in 63 matches. The Bulldogs closed out their 3-0 sweep of the University of Portland hitting a smoking .423 in the match. The last time the Zags hit with that much accuracy was Sept. 14, 2007 when Gonzaga had a .457 attacking percentage in 3-0 sweep of Alcorn State University. The Bulldogs finished with 51 kills and only 10 errors on 97 total attempts against the Pilots. THANK YOU Emily Johnson: Senior Emily Johnson was one of the biggest reason the Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team defeated the University of Idaho 3-2 on Oct. 27. In the crucial fifth-set, Johnson finished with six kills, two digs and one block to help propel the Zags to the 15-6 victory. For the match Johnson registered a career-high 18 kills and a season-high 16 digs. DOING HER THING: Gonzaga University junior libero Allyson Powell had an explosive defensive outing against the University of Tulsa at the Radisson Tulsa Airport Invitational Sept. 12. Powell finished the match, a 3-2 victory over the Hurricane, with a career-high 31 digs. She is the first Zag to finish with 30-plus digs in a five-set match since 2003 when Heather Signor had 35. MOST DIGS IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Junior Allyson Powell has the third highest dig total in a five-set match in the West Coast Conference this season. Powell collected a career-high 31 digs at Tulsa on Sept. 12 to stand third on the WCC list. Powell also has the fifth-highest dig total as she recorded 29 digs in the Bulldogs 3-2 victory at the University of Portland. Danielle Dupar, of the University of Portland, is the WCC leader with 34 - collected against the Zags Oct. 31. 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. The 15 blocks is also a WCC single-match high. WEST COAST CONFERENCE STAT LEADERS: Caitlin Cozad has amassed 109 total blocks this season, which leads the team and leads the West Coast Conference. Shannon Lowell, of Saint Mary’s College, is second with 96 blocks. Sophomore Kaprina Goodwin is in third with 93 total blocks. Junior libero Allyson Powell is sixth in digs, averaging 3.65 per set, sophomore setter Denise Van de Mortel is seventh in assists per set at 6.83 and senior Michelle Boevers is ninth in service aces at 0.23 per set. DOUBLE-DIGIT BLOCKS: Sophomore Kaprina Goodwin had a monster defensive outing for Gonzaga University in the Zags 3-2 setback to the University of San Francisco Oct. 15. Goodwin finished with 10 block assists. She is only the seventh Bulldog all-time to finish with double-digit block assists in a single-match. Teammate Caitlin Cozad also made the list this year, finishing with a school record 15 block assists against Utah State University, Aug. 29. DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Sophomore setter Denise Van de Mortel registered her team-leading sixth double-double of the season against the University of Portland Oct. 31 and her third-straight. Van de Mortel dished out 38 assists and collected 13 in the Zags 3-2 come-from-behind victory. 1,000 KILLS: Senior Michelle Boevers became the 11th Gonzaga University women’s volleyball player to eclipse the 1,000 kill plateau after tallying 29 kills at the Radisson Tulsa Airport Invitational. Boevers currently has 1,159 kills to her credit to stand tied for sixth in the record book. The last player to tally 1000-plus kills was Becky Jones (2004-07) who finished her career with 1,429. NEARING 1,000 KILLS: Senior Layne Brosky is looking to become the second Gonzaga University women’s volleyball player to eclipse the 1,000 career kill plateau this season. Brosky currently has 864 kills to her credit. Her classmate Michelle Boevers already has amassed the 1,000 kill point this season and now has 1,125 for her career. 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.
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