Gonzaga Volleyball Bounces Back To Get First Conference Win Since 2022
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Sjakkie Donkers (far left), Nia Damuni (center), and Carina Zalvidar (far right) celebrate after Gonzaga scores a point against San Francisco on Sept. 27, 2024 at Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram [/caption]
For the first time in 40 games, Gonzaga volleyball (8-5, 1-1) finished a WCC match on the winning side. After falling to Santa Clara (6-6, 1-0) in five sets in the conference opener, the Zags responded two days later in a comeback effort to best San Francisco in another five-set affair.
Both games at the Martin Centre followed the same formula as far as getting pushed to a ‘first to 15’ final set. The Bulldogs went into the fourth set down 2-1 against the Broncos and the Dons, and even with San Francisco going up 9-2 in the fifth set, Gonzaga went on an incredible run to eventually tie things up at 12 with their backs to the wall.
The last WCC win for GU came on Nov. 5, 2022, against Portland, also in five sets. The first in-conference win nearly three years later was a big moment for the players, the program, and the fans, and after the game, Taylor Walsh expressed the Zags’ excitement about the huge win on the ESPN+ broadcast.
“Our team’s so hype,” she said. “All the juniors, like this is our first win in conference, it’s amazing”.
San Francisco and Santa Clara were ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the WCC Preseason Poll, so the Zags didn’t go through a total gauntlet for their biggest win in three years. But GU finished at just 11th in their own right, and the team battled regardless in its first two conference games of the season, and there were plenty of strong signs to latch onto moving forward.
Fallon Thompson Fuels Comeback
Returning to play on the outside was Fallon Thompson, who was spotted in a boot and street clothes during her team’s two matches last weekend. Fast forward five days, and Thompson was back in action. Head coach JT Wenger did work her in slowly though, as she didn’t start either game. Thompson subbed in against the Broncos in the second set, while not entering the match against the Dons until the fourth set. She moved fairly well in her eight-kill showing against Santa Clara, but it seemed her personality was more prominent as the Bulldogs battled with San Francisco.
Thompson had just four kills but recorded two of them in the fifth set. After Gonzaga tied set four at si, there was a clear energy shift for the team when Thompson walked onto the floor. She yelled, clapped, and motioned to her teammates on the bench to keep spirits up. The Zags then went on a 19-14 run, forcing a match-deciding set.
In set five, Thompson began on the floor and experienced her squad going down seven points with the Dons needing just six to clinch the victory. But the Bulldogs never wavered and stormed back with a 10-3 run to knot things up. They still had to finish as San Francisco reached set point and was on serve. After a Donkers’ dig and a back set by Damuni, Thompson opted for a push attack just over the rising middle hitters at the net instead of a furious kill shot. The ball landed just behind the Dons’ front line and in front of a diving player on the backline to even the set at 14. Kelly McAuley closed the game with a couple of kills a few plays later.
One of only two seniors on the roster, Thompson has been through more downs than ups with Gonzaga volleyball over the years. And with an opportunity to do something she hasn’t since her freshman season, Thompson provided experience, energy, and production in the most pivotal moments for the Zags.
Other Players Step Up in Wenger’s Rotation
As expected and displayed throughout the preseason, Wenger is not going to deploy a routine rotation throughout the year. Many players on the roster will receive their fair share of opportunities, and with these chances, they will have to step up and maximize their playing time. The book is clearly out on outside hitter Sjakkie Donkers, which should be no surprise, as the sophomore transfer earned Preseason All-WCC honors and entered WCC play leading the league in kills per set (4.32).
Well, Gonzaga’s conference opponent made sure that it wouldn’t be the Zags’ best player to beat them, as Donkers was limited to just seven kills while hitting .091 against Santa Clara in the loss. She had a team-leading 18 kills versus San Francisco, but still hit an abysmal .085. In this case, stepping up for the Bulldogs was freshman Kelly McAuley, who recorded a season-high 17 kills against the Broncos before earning 14 against the Dons. From the middle, Taylor Walsh tallied nine and 11 kills, respectively, while also getting six service aces in the win over San Francisco, the second-most by a Zag in the rally scoring era.
A big determinant in the game against Santa Clara was the serve-receive and attacking discipline, which have been plagues of the program in the past and focal points that Wengert has emphasized. In the second set, the Zags had nine errors to an even nine kills, good for a dead zero hitting percentage. The Broncos also controlled the net, doubling the Bulldogs’ seven blocks with 14 of their own.
Damuni Digs, Dumps, and Bumps
The Bulldogs were down a setter in the first two games of WCC play as Kate Herrick was out with an undisclosed injury in both matches. This meant more action from junior Nia Damuni, and she showed her value to the team in a multitude of ways.
Damuni is the starting setter and gets the majority of time on the floor as the team’s setter anyway, but she did about as much assisting as you could hope for over the last two matches. Against Santa Clara, Damuni logged 38 assists, bumping perfect passes for her hitters to get kills. In the process, she earned the 2000th assist of her career and moved to sixth in program history. Damuni stepped her game up to another level against the Dons, totaling an eye-popping 49 assists as she is now just six assists away from moving into the top five in the all-time category for Bulldogs volleyball.
Another skill she flashed was her quick dumps over the net to the unsuspecting defense. It’s a deceptive tactic for setters to knock the ball back the other way when everyone in the building is expecting them to pop it up for a teammate. It proved especially effective as she earned five kills on six tries with the move. She did it in each of the first two sets, before pulling it out three times in the third set. Damuni added 11 and 13 digs, respectively, in the two games as well, recording her seventh double-double of the year and her fourth in the last five matches.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a matchup with Washington State (8-4, 2-0) next Saturday, Oct. 4, at 1 pm PT. The Cougars tied for fourth in the Preseason WCC poll and will be a step up in competition as the Zags look to stack conference wins.
