Box Score

Playing in its fourth straight five-set match against Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon, LMU dropped the five-setter by scores of 17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14, 15-11. The Lions had won the previous three five-set matches against the Bulldogs.

Both team struggled on the attack, as LMU hit just .104 to Gonzaga's .096. Savannah Slattery connected for 17 kills and seven digs for LMU, while Sarah Sponcil and freshman setter Jessie Prichard each recorded a double-double. Sponcil teamed 11 kills with 13 digs for her 10th double-double of the year, while Prichard passed out 48 assists and managed 12 digs.

The Lions served up four aces, but also erred from the service area 11 times. On the other side of the net, Gonzaga managed six aces to six service errors.

Despite hitting just .096 for the match, Gonzaga did receive 11 kills from McKayla Ferris and 10 more from Emmy Allen. Allen also had two aces and three block assists, helping the Bulldogs to 15 total team blocks. Paige Folger led the way at the net, recording a block solo and five block assists.

Both teams had only one set in which they hit over .250, with LMU registering a .385 clip en route to capturing the third set, 25-16, before Gonzaga bounced right back with a .429 hitting percentage to run away with the fourth, 25-14.

The Lions jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the decisive fifth set, but six straight points from Gonzaga turned that two-point lead into a 7-3 deficit. LMU would claw back to within a point at 11-10 on a ball handling error to force a timeout, but Gonzaga scored three straight points out of break, including one when the Lions were called for being out of rotation, to force match point at 14-10. LMU erased that first opportunity, but Ferris connected for her final kill on the ensuing play, sending the Bulldogs into celebration.

LMU was called for being out of rotation twice in the fifth set, ultimately being called for the infraction four times in the loss.

LMU will return to action on Thursday when they travel to Santa Clara for a match at 7 p.m.