Box Score Sept. 13, 2003
Idaho State 3, Gonzaga 0
UNLV 3, Boise State 1
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Idaho State University Bengals (9-3) won the 2003 Gonzaga Volleyball Classic with an unblemished mark as they defeated the host Gonzaga Bulldogs in three games to wrap up tournament play on Saturday night. Idaho State won the game 30-28, 32-30 and 30-16 to go 3-0 in the tournament. Gonzaga dropped to 1-8 on the season after going 0-3 in the tournament. UNLV finished second in the Classic after defeating Boise State 3-1 in earlier night session action.
Tournament MVP Ali Gorny hammered down 18 kills and Kylie Gilmore added 18 more as Idaho State accounted for 20 more kills than the Bulldogs in the three game win. Idaho State had 21 kills in the opener and 23 kills in the second game as they barely squeezed by the host Bulldogs. The Bengals would add 14 more kills in the final game as Gonzaga failed to get any offensive production started.
Abby Cullen and Natasha Kozen finished with 10 kills each for the Bulldogs as they were close in games one and two thanks in part to steady play in the defensive back court. For Kozen it was her first action of the season after suffering a hand injury one day prior to the start of the 2003 season. Her ten kills came on 28 attacks with a .250 attack percentage. In the defensive back court senior Heather Signor led the team with 15 digs.
The teams finished with balanced numbers at the net as Idaho State had 15 team blocks compared to 14 for Gonzaga. Cullen led GU with five blocks, two of them solo. Kamie Olsen was the Bengals force at the net with five blocks, four assisted. Gonzaga returns to action next weekend as they travel to Bozeman, Mont., for the MSU Wingate Inn-vitational.
In the other match on Saturday night, UNLV had 23 kills by Leiana Oswald as they rallied to defeat Boise State in four games. The Rebels won the contest 30-23, 28-30, 30-21 and 30-24. UNLV improved to 6-3 while Boise State dropped to 2-7. In addition to Oswald's 23 kills three other Rebel players cracked double-digits as UNLV combined for a .306 attack percentage to win the contest. Boise State was led by Sarah Johnson with 16 kills as three Broncos players reached double-figure kills. UNLV was able to control the pace of play with 26 blocks at the net. Patricia Assuncao led UNLV with seven assisted blocks while Michelle Johnson added six.
The All-Tournament team consisted of tournament MVP Ali Gorny of Idaho State. She was joined on the squad by fellow Bengals Jennie James and Martha Brinton. Abby Cullen was the Bulldogs representative while UNLV placed Patricia Assuncao and Leiana Oswald on the team. Boise State's Cameron Flunder rounded out the all-tournament honorees.
