Gonzaga sweeps up opponents in volleyball

The Gonzaga University volleyball team evened its record to 3-3 with victories over UC Riverside and Eastern Washington on the final day of the Gonzaga Invitational Saturday.

Savannah Blinn had 13 kills and eight digs as the Bulldogs swept UC Riverside 25-22, 25-19, 25-21 in their early-morning match.

GU then made quick work of Eastern Washington, beating the winless Eagles 25-21, 25-16, 25-21. Blinn had 15 kills, Kristina Lavrisha had a match-high 13 digs, and Jordan Gasser added 10 kills and eight digs for Gonzaga.

The Eagles (0-7), who lost to South Dakota State earlier in the day, got eight kills and nine digs from Cora Kellerman.

The pair of three-set victories marked the first time since 2008 that Gonzaga has swept consecutive opponents.

• Jaicee Harris had 10 kills and seven digs and Marcelina Glab added nine kills as Washington State (4-2) beat Weber State (2-4) 25-21, 25-14, 25-16 at the Cougar Challenge at Bohler Gym in Pullman.

Camryn Irwin dished out 32 assists for WSU, which went 3-0 at the tournament.

• Whitworth dropped straight-set matches to Wittenberg and Wartburg on the final day of the Wittenberg Invitational in Springfield, Ohio.

The Pirates fell 25-13, 25-17, 25-16 to Wittenberg in their first match. Freshman Nicole Leonard had 12 of Whitworth’s 25 kills.

Jalana White had 11 digs and nine kills in their second match, but the Pirates lost 31-29, 25-15, 25-17 to Wartburg.

• Kelly Bacon had 17 kills and nine digs to lead Northeastern (5-2) to a 22-25, 25-18, 26-24, 26-24 win over Idaho at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Allison Walker had 17 kills and 10 digs and Janelle Chow had a match-high 20 digs for the Vandals (2-3).

• North Idaho beat Western Nebraska and Central Wyoming at the Salt Lake Tournament.

Led by HayleeMae Dennis, the Cardinals beat Western Nebraska 19-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-12. Dennis had 15 kills, 11 digs and six blocks.

Dennis had 10 kills and Brooklynn Bradbury had 19 assists as NIC swept Central Wyoming 25-17, 25-17, 25-12 in its next match.

Men’s soccer

St. George’s School graduate Karl Muelheims scored in the 83rd minute to give Whitworth a 1-0 win over Hamline (0-2) in a nonconference match in St. Paul, Minn.

Matt Bray was credited with the assist for the Pirates (1-0-1), who held an 18-4 advantage in shots.

Whitworth will host the Whitworth Soccer Classic next weekend.

Women’s soccer

No. 16 Cal Lutheran scored three second-half goals and beat Whitworth 4-1 in the Pirates’ season-opener at Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Whitworth’s Tiara Pajimola scored an unassisted goal in the 44th minute to knot the match at 1.

Cal Lutheran’s Bailey Marquez scored twice in the second half and Brittany Eremita scored in the 85th minute to cap the scoring.

Cross country

The Washington State men edged Gonzaga for the team title, while the GU women claimed first place at the Preview Sprint Meet at Mead High School in Spokane.

The first seven finishers were from Washington State, although four were running unattached. Andrew Kimpel, running unattached, won the 6-kilometer race in 18 minutes, 25 seconds. Tate Kelly was the Bulldogs’ top finisher, claiming eighth place in 18:39.10.

The Idaho men finished third, followed by Whitworth and Eastern Washington.

WSU’s Caroline Austin won the women’s 4-kilometer race in 14:09.6. She was followed by four Gonzaga runners – Lindsey Drake (14:11.2), Amelia Evans (14:15.6), Emily Thomas (14:16.6) and Maggie Jones (14:20.5).

The Cougars were second, followed by Idaho, Whitworth and EWU.