Volleyball Wraps Up Seaside Invite With Split
Three of #7 MU's losses this season have come to ranked teams

Sept 1, 2007

		Jacqui Gatt  (above) was joined by Lubvovj Tihomirova on the Seaside Invitational all-tournament team.

Hope International Box Score | Point Loma Box Score

SAN DIEGO, CALF. –

It was a case of déjà vu for the Madonna volleyball team on Saturday at the Seaside Invitational at Point Loma. The Crusaders took the day’s opening match 3-0 (30-21, 30-26, 30-23) against Hope International but fell in the tournament’s championship match against the host Sea Lions 3-0 (30-20, 30-27, 30-15) to end the tournament at 2-2 and run their season record to 5-4. Following the championship match, Jacqui Gatt and Lubovj Tihomirova were named to the all-tournament team. 

HOPE INTERNATIONAL
Hope jumped to an early 3-0 lead before the Crusaders took the lead using a pair of aces from Tihomirova to take the lead for good at 8-6. Madonna extended the lead and put the opening game of the match away with aces from Gatt and Liz Dempsey to take game one 30-21.

Game two was much like game one until HIU went on a run to take a 13-11 lead and forced head coach Jerry Abraham to call a time out. Coming out of the time out, the Crusaders responded with a kill from Whitney Fuelling and used four more points, including an ace from Amy Szymanski to retake the lead at 15-14.

The two sides took turns holding the lead with neither side holding a lead of more than two points until a trio of Mary McGinnis kills and a combo block from Inta Grinvalds and Stephanie Parslow to take game two 30-26.

Game number three of the match was all Madonna from the outset as the Crusaders raced out to a 9-1 lead behind kills from Fuelling and Tihomirova. Hope crept back into the match taking advantage of a few Madonna miscues, forcing Abraham to call a time out at 18-13. The time out paid off as Hope committed a service error coming out of the break and MU then went on a 7-3 run, capping the streak with a Dempsey kill to hold a 25-16 lead.  A Gatt service ace forced match point, but Hope would not go quietly, reeling off three points to make it 29-23 and forcing Abraham to call his second time out and once again it paid off, as a Tihomirova kill ended the match and gave MU a 3-0 win.

Fuelling and Tihomirova led the way with 11 kills each while Gatt recorded 23 digs and Grinvalds added 32 assists.

POINT LOMA
Much like Friday’s match against Point Loma, the Crusaders could never find a good hitting rhythm and fell in three games to the host Sea Lions in the championship match. Madonna did hit better than Friday (.137 compared to .080) , but it was not enough to overcome a .320 hitting percentage and 54 kills from Point Loma.

Game two was the closest of the match as MU stayed with in two points of PLNU but could not get over the hump and fell 30-27.

Tihomirova once again led the way with 13 kills, with Gatt posting 18 digs. Joining Gatt is double digit digs was sophomore Brynn Kerr with 10 of her own.

The Crusaders open the home schedule on Friday when they host the annual Julie Martin Memorial Tournament at the Madonna Activities Center (MAC). Play gets underway on Friday with MU taking on Davenport at 3pm and Taylor at 7pm.

Contact:
Patrick Moore, Sports Information Director
(734) 432-5834
pimoore@madonna.edu