Box Score Aug. 30, 2002
Box Score
PULLMAN, Wash. - Gonzaga University almost opened the Kip Yoshimura era in dramatic fashion on Friday afternoon, but No. 23 Brigham Young was able to rebound for a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs during the opening match of the Cougar Volleyball Challenge.
Christina Davis led a solid Bulldogs attack in the opening game as GU posted a 30-7 win over the Cougars. Davis had seven kills and Mary Finnerty added three, including back-to-back kills with the score knotted at 17-17 that sparked Gonzaga to a four-point run they would never concede.
The Bulldogs continued to have upset on the mind in the second game as they built a 26-21 lead over BYU, taking advantage of eight BYU serving errors. Following a time out and server substitution, BYU ran off six straight points behind the serving of Michelle Mahaffey. Two consecutive blocks at the net by Lexi Brown and Carrie Bowers handed the Cougars a 30-27 win.
Brown paced the Cougars attack in game three as BYU raced out to an 11-4 advantage. Brown would finish with five kills and five blocks as BYU coasted to a 30-19 win.
Gonzaga hung tough in the final game closing to 17-15 behind three early kills by Abby Cullen. Several attack errors helped BYU and Brown had two late kills as the Cougars shut the door 30-21 in the final game.
Cullen led all players with 16 kills while Davis added 14. Allison Larson led BYU with 15 kills while Brown finished with 14 kills and 8 blocks. Gonzaga will face tournament host Washington State Saturday at noon followed by a 5 p.m. contest against Nevada.
