Gonzaga University
2-8
Marquette University
2-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette | 26 | 30 | 25 | 28 | 1 |
| Gonzaga | 30 | 25 | 30 | 30 | 3 |
Volleyball Secures Second Win Of The Season
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2003
BOZEMAN, Mont. - Gonzaga University was aided with the return of two starters on Friday night and reaped the benefits as the Bulldogs picked up their second win of the season with a 3-1 decision over Marquette University (2-8) during opening day action of the 2003 Montana State/Wingate Inn-vitational in Bozeman. Gonzaga won the contest 30-26, 25-30, 30-25 and 30-28 to improve to 2-8 on the year.
Junior setter Emilee Gihring made her first start of the season after transferring last year from Denver University. The Idaho Falls, Idaho, native was expected to be the Bulldogs starter at the start of the year but was hampered by a nagging injury that forced her to miss the first nine matches of the season. After shaking off some rust Gihring passed out 33 of Gonzaga's 57 assists on the night as Gonzaga combined for a .270 hitting percentage, their low match clip being a .206 during a game three win over the Golden Eagles. Melissa Schickler, the freshman setter thrown into the starting job earlier this year, netted 10 assists as a back up in one game.
Reaping the benefits of Gihring's setting were Christina Davis, Abby Cullen and Natasha Kozen. All three players finished in double-digits for kills with Davis leading the Bulldogs trio with 18 kills on 48 attacks. Cullen was the most effective of the Bulldogs attackers with 14 kills on 25 attacks for a .440 attack percentage while Kozen collected 17 kills on the night in only her second match of the season. Kozen was the second Bulldogs regular to return to the line-up after seeing limited action against Idaho State last weekend. Kozen missed the first eight matches of the season with a hand injury suffered just prior to the season opening Oregon State Classic.
Marquette was led by Erin Freer with 21 kills as the Golden Eagles offense was held in check with just a .228 attack percentage. Marquette had 74 kills on the evening with 24 coming in their game two win on a .419 attacking clip. Gonzaga was solid at the net with 25 team blocks including a match-high nine by Abby Cullen. Heather Signor led GU with 14 digs while Theresa Coughlin and Jaime Meuller each had 14 digs for Marquette.
Gonzaga also recorded a higher number of service aces than their opponent for the first time this season. Lauren Armas had five service aces to move into a tie with 18 other Gonzaga players for the 10th highest single match total in GU history as the Bulldogs had six aces compared to only three for Marquette. The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday with a morning match against host Montana State and a night match with Wyoming.
