Lions top Gonzaga in WCC volleyball opener

Alyse Hensley led five players in double-figure kills with 15, and Loyola Marymount scored the final eight points of the fourth game to defeat host Gonzaga 3-1 in a West Coast Conference volleyball opener Thursday at Martin Centre.

The Lions (7-6 overall) rallied for a 28-26 win in the first game and jumped to a 7-0 lead in the second game before the Zags (6-6) came back. Senior Laura Day had two kills and two blocks to help GU polish off the 25-21 win.

The Bulldogs lost the third game 25-18 but held leads of 10-5, 20-14 and 24-18 in the fourth game before faltering. GU coach Dave Gantt called two timeouts late in the game, but several attack errors decided the match.

Denise Van de Mortel had 34 assists and 10 digs for the Zags. Kylie Edinger added 12 kills and Kristina Lavrisha had 19 digs.

The Zags will host No. 19 Pepperdine at noon Saturday.

• Kanani Danielson had a season-high 24 kills and became the seventh player in Hawaii history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career as the Rainbows (11-1 overall) opened Western Athletic Conference play with a 3-1 win over host Idaho (5-8) at Memorial Gym.

Alicia Milo and Allison Walker combined for 36 kills and 26 digs for the Vandals, who ended Hawaii’s 50-game winning streak in WAC play with a 25-17 win in the third game.