SPOKANE, Wash. - Nevada volleyball closed the day with wins against the CSUN Matadors and the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Friday afternoon. 

The Pack swept the Matadors (25-23, 25-23, and 31-29) for the first win of the season. 

In the second match, the Pack made a comeback in the final set against the Bulldogs to win the contest, 3-1, with scores being 25-14, 24-26, 25-17, and 25-22.

Nevada 3 – CSUN 0 

The squad was led again by Honolulu, Hawaii native Kayla Afoa with 16 kills. The game was the fourth in a row that Afoa has put out double-digits in kills. Afoa ended the match with a .300 hitting percentage, ten digs, two assists, one service ace, and one block assist.  

Senior Andrea Alcaraz recorded another double-digit game in assists (30) and digs (12) in the match. Kia Kaohelaulii led the Pack defense in the back row with 14 digs.  

Freshman Jordan Schwartz continues to impact the Pack blocks after recording five total blocks against the Matadors.  

How it happened 

Nevada took an early lead in the first set. The Pack made a four-score run and forced CSUN to call a timeout at the 12-5 mark. The Matadors cut the deficit to tie the game 19-19. Nevada put two points on the scoreboard, forcing CSUN to call the second timeout of the game. The Matadors tied the game 23-23, but a kill by Afoa and an attack error by CSUN closed the set 25-23 for the Pack.  

The second set started off the same way as the first set, but the Matadors picked up and tied the game earlier at the 6-6 mark. The game continued back-and-forth until the Pack closed the set 25-23 on a serve ace by Gabby McLaughlin. 

The final set belonged to Nevada all the way through, until the 24-23 mark when CSUN tied the game and could stop the Pack from closing out the match. The squad was able to find the rhythm again, and an attack error by the Matadors closed the third set 31-29 for the Pack. 

Nevada 3 - Gonzaga 1

Gabby McLaughlin led the Pack offense with 21 kills, three service aces, 18 digs, and one block. Kayla Afoa, Andrea Alcaraz, and Kia Kaohelaulii registered back-to-back double-digits games. 

Afoa put 19 kills on the scoreboard and ten digs. Alcaraz had 40 assists and 12 digs, and Kaohelaulii recorded 27 digs in the match. 

How it happened

The first set belonged to the Pack from the beginning after a five-scoring run. Gonzaga called a timeout at the 10-4 mark but did not pick up the rhythm. Nevada continued on the lead, and back-to-back kills by McLaughlin closed the set 25-14 for the Pack.  

The game was completely different in the second set, as both teams kept a close match from the beginning. The Pack picked up the lead at the 11-11 mark, but Gonzaga tied the set 19-19, pushing Nevada to call a timeout. Gonzaga added points on the scoreboard to get the set point 24-23. The Bulldogs made a serve error that tied the game 24-24, but Gonzaga made a comeback to close the set 26-24 on a solo block. 

In the third set, the Pack took an early lead to control the game from the beginning. The Bulldogs tied the game at the 17-17 mark, but Nevada took over after back-to-back kills by Afoa to close the set 25-17. 

In the final set, the Pack struggled to keep the offense from previously, as the Bulldogs put up a five-point lead. Nevada made a comeback after trailing 11-7 to keep the game within one and forcing Gonzaga to call a timeout. The Bulldogs continued with the lead until the 22-22 mark, where the Pack reversed the score to close the set 25-22.

UP NEXT
Nevada will be back tomorrow for a match against Idaho State at 10 a.m. Fans can follow the live stats HERE.