Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Sept. 6, 2003
Nevada 3, Gonzaga 0
Tennessee 3, Gonzaga 0
RENO, Nev. - Three Gonzaga volleyball players finished with 20 or more kills on Saturday but it was not enough to prevent the Bulldogs (1-5) from dropping a pair of matches to Nevada (3-4) and Tennessee (5-1) on the final day of the 2003 SBC/Sands Regency Invitational. Abby Cullen was the Bulldogs big weapon on the day with 24 kills including a match-high 15 kills during a 3-0 loss to the host Wolf Pack. Christina Davis was Gonzaga's top offensive threat in a 3-0 loss to the Lady Vols. Davis finished with 18 kills and a .452 attack percentage.
In the morning opener, Gonzaga and Nevada both struggled offensively with the Bulldogs finishing with a .123 attack percentage and Nevada chalking up a .160 attack effort. Abby Cullen was the Bulldogs big force on offense with 15 kills on 31 attacks while senior Jamie VanMeetren chipped in with 10 kills for GU. Nevada received double-dig kill performances from Lauren Galler (13) and Carly Sorensen (10) as they held on for a 31-29, 30-25, 30-27 win. The match had 13 total lead changes over the course of the three games but the Gonzaga could not get over the hump finishing with a .000 attack percentage in the final game.
In the nightcap, Gonzaga had its best performance of the tournament despite losing to Tennessee 30-26, 30-24 and 30-21. Christina Davis exploded with 18 kills to lead the Bulldogs offense to a .254 attack percentage and 52 total kills. VanMeetren again contributed 10 kills to rank second on the Bulldogs team. Tennessee used a balanced attack in the contest as only Sarah Blum reached double-dig kills with 13 in the match. Tennessee finished the match with a .376 attack percentage and dominated play at the net with a 20-5 block advantage. Heather Harrington had 8 blocks for the Lady Vols while Abby Cullen finished with 3 of Gonzaga's five blocks.
Gonzaga returns to action next weekend when the Bulldogs host the Gonzaga Volleyball Classic on Friday and Saturday in the Martin Centre. Boise State, Idaho State and UNLV will participate in the tournament which makes its return to the Gonzaga campus after a two-year hiatus. Boise State and Idaho State will start the tournament with a 5 p.m. match on Friday followed by Gonzaga vs. UNLV at 7 p.m. Action continues on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. with Gonzaga taking on Boise State. The Bulldogs wrap up the tournament at 7 p.m. against Idaho State. Additional Saturday matches are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
