Gu Stops Portland, Losing Streak

Gonzaga University swept the University of Portland 15-12, 15-11, 15-12 Saturday night to extend its winning streak over the Pilots to 10 straight.

The win snapped GU’s four-match losing streak and improves the Bulldogs to 9-16 overall and 2-5 in the West Coast Conference. Portland dropped to 9-13, 2-5. The win was the first Division I win for interim coach Eva Windlin-Jansen, who took over the volleyball team after Sean Madden resigned Wednesday.

Gonzaga was led by the trio of Theresa Spink, Jennifer Kubista and Christine Kubista.

Kubista finished with match-highs of 16 kills and 24 digs, her 10th consecutive double-double. Her 24 digs are a career high and ties her for 10th-highest in a match. Spink added 15 kills while Christine tallied 14 kills, 16 digs and a match-high six blocks. She also hit a season-high .500, drilling 14-of-26 attempts with just one error.

On the soccer field

Whitworth College forward Jen Tissue’s 19th goal of the season was the difference as the Pirates defeated visiting Pacific Lutheran 3-1 and clinched second place in the Northwest Conference. By clinching second, Whitworth earned the right to host a first-round playoff match on Wednesday against Whitman or Puget Sound. … In men’s play, Whitworth’s Matt Leonard first goal of the season gave the Pirates a 1-0 win over PLU (3-13-1, 3-9-1). The win, coupled with Linfield’s loss to Pacific, moved Whitworth into second place in the NCIC. Today’s final day of conference play will determine playoff seeding. A win or a tie against Puget Sound today will clinch a spot for the Pirates (8-6-2, 7-4-2).

Paul Johnson scored two goals and keeper Dustin Pilcher earned his first shutout of the season in the Community College of Spokane’s 3-0 win over Shoreline Community College at Seattle. The second-place Sasquatch improved to 16-3-1, 11-3-1 in the NWAACC Northern Division. The seventh-place Dolphins dropped to 5-9-1 in conference matches.

The CCS women also are returning home from Seattle with a 2-1 win over Shoreline (3-9-1 conference). CCS’s Amy Pannell scored at the 41-minute mark and teammate Heidi Simmons made the score 2-0 just 7 minutes later. Second-place CCS improved to 12-1-4, 10-0-3.

On the cross country course

Community Colleges of Spokane captured the men’s race and the Bloomsday Road Runners Club won the women’s division in the Washington State Community College Championships at Spokane Falls CC.

Individually, Greg Kuntz won the men’s title in 25 minutes, 33 seconds. Carrie Ross of Flathead Valley won the women’s race in 19.48 and Washington State’s Kristin Liebach clocked in at 20.00 for second.

, DataTimes