SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga volleyball team closed its season with a bang as it swept visiting Portland (25-23, 25-13, 25-13) Monday evening inside the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre. Gonzaga ends its season with an 11-19 overall record with a 5-13 mark in West Coast Conference play.
 
"To cap this [season] off with a sweep…it's everything this group is capable of," head volleyball coach Diane Nelson said. "It's just fun to watch them be loose and be great."
 
Gonzaga (11-19, 5-13 WCC) finished the three-set match with 39 kills hitting .275 to go along with 34 assists, nine service aces, 47 digs and 10.0 team blocks. The Bulldogs led Portland (11-18, 3-15) in every single statistical category on the night. Sarah Penner led the Zags with a match-high 12 kills hitting .267 with four blocks, two digs and a service ace while Chapin Gray added eight kills, four block assists and three digs.
 
"They've been capable of that all year, and to see Jenna [Kuehn] and Payton [Mack] do what they've worked hard to do all year, just freely; this might have been [my favorite match of the season]," Nelson said. "It's all the season in one."
 
In her final match as a Zag, Jenna Kuehn added a match-high 22 assists, eight digs and a single kill—a kill that scored the match point. Payton Mack, also in her final match at Gonzaga, finished with six kills off seven attempts to hit .857 to go along with four block assists.
 
"It's pretty surreal," Mack said, "I think it'll take me some time to actually fully realize what's going on. I'm just so happy; we've all worked so hard and I think it just showed tonight. I'm so proud of everyone."
 
In a close first set that featured 17 tied scores and seven lead changes, the Zags took control late capitalizing on a kill from Penner followed by a Portland attacking error to break a 16-all tie and take an 18-16 lead. Portland responded and would tie the set twice more before back-to-back Zag kills (one from Abby Knapp and a final kill from Kennedy Croft) ended the set, 25-23.
 
In both the second and third sets, the Zags took control early and never looked back, cruising to identical set scores of 25-13 in both the second and third sets.
 
"[The team] didn't want this to end, and we just said enjoy every single moment," Nelson said. "They did that. And I think they love their seniors, so they just wanted to lift them up and be what they were supposed to be for each other."
 
With tonight's win, Gonzaga's season ends with an 11-19 overall record and a 5-13 mark in WCC conference play. The Zags will graduate seniors Jenna Kuehn and Payton Mack, while 15 Zags will return for the 2020 season.