Gonzaga volleyball knocks off California for first victory of season

PORTLAND – Gonzaga’s first volleyball win of the season was one to remember.

Senior outside hitter Perry Ramsey finished with a career-high 20 kills and added 11 digs Friday to lead the Bulldogs to a 26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 23-25, 15-11 win over California (5-2) of the Pac-12 Conference at the Les Schwab West Coast Challenge.

The only other time the teams matched up, Cal swept the Zags 3-0 in 1993.

GU is 15-57 against Pac-12 teams, although the Bulldogs defeated Arizona State last season.

GU’s Sarah Penner and Kennedy Croft had back-to-back kills to seal the first-set win.

Back-to-back Cal hitting errors in the fifth set gave the Zags the lead for good at 10-8.

GU’s Jenna Kuehn had a career-high 52 assists and added 12 digs. Tiyana Hallums added 19 digs, and Peighton De Von and Katelyn Oppio had 10 kills apiece for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs (2-5) followed up the win with a 3-1 victory over Fresno State (7-2), with Croft and Chapin Gray leading a balanced attack with eight kills apiece.

Kuehn added 34 assists and 12 digs, and Hallums had 28 digs.