LMU volleyball's road struggles against Gonzaga continued on Saturday as #22 LMU (15-2, 3-2 WCC) was upset by the Bulldogs (11-4, 2-2 WCC) in a hard-fought four-set match by scores of 27-25, 31-29, 26-28, 28-26. The Lions are now 2-7 on the road at Gonzaga since 2006.

LMU managed 12 team blocks, but Gonzaga registered 18.5 team blocks en route to the upset victory. Imani Wimbush (eight block assists) and Kaylie Lowen (seven block assists) guided the effort for Gonzaga. While the blocks accounted for many of the 26 Lion attack errors, LMU also committed 11 costly service errors, handing valuable points over to the Bulldogs in the setback.

Freshman Sarah Sponcil and senior Caitlin DeWitt each collected 21 kills, with DeWitt hitting .318, but the Lion defense seemingly had no answer for Savannah Blinn on the other side of the net. Blinn guided the attack with 29 kills on 53 swings for a .396 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs hit .306 receiving sets from Nikki Leonard (34) and Kiani Lane (25) over the course of the four sets. McKayla Ferris also contributed a strong match, teaming 19 kills and 13 digs for a double-double. Junior Hannah Tedrow did manage 61 assists with seven block assists, but it was not enough to escape Spokane, Wash. with the victory.

LMU never led en route to dropping a tough first set by a count of 27-25. LMU surrendered the first three points of the set, and it took them virtually the rest of the set to crawl back even, eventually spoiling three-set point chances from 24-21 to even at 24 to make things interesting. Once again tied at 25, Amber Mirabello was charged with a blocking error for the 26th point before Loewen and Wimbush combined to block DeWitt for the set winner.

The Lions twice served for the set in the second, but were unable to close out the Bulldogs before eventually dropping a heartbreaking marathon set by a score of 31-29. LMU's first opportunity came at 26-25, but Blinn responded with a kill to spoil that opportunity. After Sponcil recorded a kill to hand LMU its second set-point chance, she dropped back to serve and served just long to knot the tally at 27-27. The two teams traded blows for the next two points, but a pair of Bulldog blocks, both involving Jordan Gasser, handed Gonzaga the huge 2-0 lead in the match score.

The Lions survived another intense set in the third, nearly handing away a sweep to Gonzaga with a number of late service errors. Fortunately for LMU, the Lions were able to eventually earn a 28-26 victory in the third. LMU trailed early, falling behind by a count of 9-3, but would work back to even at 14 and 16 before going on a four-point run, highlighted by a kill from Rachelle Suaava and an ace from Avery Bush. LMU led 22-18, but committed three big service errors to hand points to Gonzaga to keep things close. The Bulldogs went on a four-point run to erase a 23-19 Lion advantage, sending the set into another close race to the finish. Tied at 26 apiece, LMU received a kill from Mirabello before Gonzaga had trouble controlling a possession on the ensuing play that resulted in an attack error and forced a fourth set.

Costly errors down the stretch once again hurt the Lions, as Gonzaga recorded the 3-1 victory over the Lions by way of a 28-26 decision in the fourth. Suaava had a free shot at the court with the score tied at 24, but sent her attack long to hand Gonzaga a point. LMU continued to battle from there, earning a 26-25 set-point chance only to have Bush err on a serve to leave the door open for the Bulldogs. The home team took advantage of the opportunity, winning the set as Ferris collected a kill and a solo block to record the upset.

LMU will return to action next Saturday when it travels to Wells Fargo PCH Cup rival Pepperdine for a match at 1 pm.