SPOKANE, Wash. – A Halloween match had the home team handing the candy bag as Gonzaga swept the Dons 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 on Saturday afternoon at the Martin Centre.
USF scored the first point of the afternoon on a kill from
Madison Murtagh off the assist from
Kiara McKibben and the two squads to see-saw for points in the early-goings of the match. The score was knotted at 7-all after Murtagh and
Jessica Gaffney combined for the block, but Gonzaga would score four unanswered to build a cushion in the frame. The Dons would rally to pull the score to 14-13 after a kill from
Katarina Pilepic, but the USF offense hit a wall as the Bulldogs put together an 8-2 run to force a Dons' timeout with the score at 22-16. Gonzaga would go on to take the frame 25-19 after hitting .350 in the frame.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-4 advantage in the second after Kaylie Loewen registered the unassisted block, but the Dons rallied back to tie the game at 9-9 off the ace from Pilepic. The score was again knotted at 10 before Gonzaga scored four straight to gain the lead in the set. USF challenged late after Murtagh and Pilepic denied the attack from Savannah Blinn to pull within 23-20, but the Bulldogs would go on to nab the frame 25-21 heading into the halftime break.
The Dons came out firing in the third, building a 6-2 lead with Gaffney manning the service line. During the five-point stretch, Murtagh and
Emily Reed were involved in each USF point and the run forced a Gonzaga timeout. The Bulldogs went on a run of their own and the score was tied at nine, 10, 11 and 12 points with each team battling for momentum. The pendulum swung the way of the Bulldogs, who went on the take the frame 25-19 and secure the sweep.
USF was paced by nine kills for Pilepic and a 13-assist, 11-dig double-double for junior setter
Kiara McKibben. The Dons' other setter
Jurja Vlasic nearly recorded a double-double of her own, finishing with 13 assists and nine digs in the loss.
Sara Staengle notched 10 digs for USF, and Murtagh added seven kills and seven blocks for the Dons.
The Bulldogs only hit .250 in the match, but USF could only muster a .130 hitting percentage on the day. The Dons move to 16-9 on the season and 3-9 in West Coast Conference play while the Bulldogs improve to 14-10 (5-6 WCC).
Next up for USF is a trip to longest rival, Santa Clara, to take on the Broncos at the Leavey Center on Thursday at 6 p.m.
