Gonzaga University
1-6
UNLV
5-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada-Las Vegas | 30 | 30 | 22 | 28 | 15 | 3 |
| Gonzaga | 19 | 20 | 30 | 30 | 11 | 2 |
Volleyball Drops Classic Opener In Five Games
9/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2003
SPOKANE, Wash. - Three Gonzaga University players reached double digit kills on Friday night but the Bulldogs (1-6) ran out of gas in game five as the UNLV Rebels pulled out a five-game thriller during the opening night of the 2003 Gonzaga Volleyball Classic. The Rebels breezed to victory in games one and two by scores of 30-19 and 30-20 before Gonzaga stormed back to win games three and four 30-22, 30-28. UNLV (5-2) would win the deciding game 15-11 after pulling away by as many as six points during the middle part of the final match.
Abby Cullen led the Bulldogs offensive attack with 16 kills on 33 attacks as Gonzaga finished with 61 kills on the night. Senior Jamie VanMeetren was second on the Bulldogs roster with 15 kills including a pair of big kills in the game four win for Gonzaga. Christina Davis rounded out the double-digit Zags with 11 kills on a team-high 45 attacks.
UNLV was led by the attacking pair of Leiana Oswald and Tarin Keith as both players finished with a match-high 20 kills. Keith was a big part of the Rebels game five win as she hammered home five of the Rebels 15 points in the deciding game. UNLV combined for 71 kills as turned the momentum in game five with the addition of 6-5 Sheilia Ocasio-Clemente who finished the game with four kills after getting one kill in limited duty in game four.
Gonzaga had a better attacking percentage than the Rebels as the edged UNLV with a .191 to .181 margin. The teams also battled at the net with 22 blocks for each team. Nicki King was the Rebels big weapon at the net with nine blocks, eight of them assisted. Abby Cullen and Lauren Armas led the Bulldogs attack with six each, Cullen adding three more solo blocks to her career total to move into sixth place on the Gonzaga solo blocks list.
Gonzaga will return to action on Saturday morning against Boise State at 10:30 a.m. while UNLV will face Idaho State at 12:30 p.m.
Idaho State was a 3-1 winner of BSU in the tournament opener as Ali Gorny had 25 kills to lead the Bengals to the win over their in-state rivals. Idaho State was dominant at the net as well with 36 teams blocks, 12 by Jennie James of Sandpoint, Idaho. Boise State was led by freshman outside hitter Jessica Childress with 26 kills. The Broncos won game one of the contest with a 30-20 score and a .389 attack percentage. Idaho State would rally to win game two 33-31 before easily winning the final two games of the match.
