Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Northern Iowa (Kansas State Invitational)
Fresno State Hangs Tough With Northern Iowa
9/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 8, 2007
MANHATTAN, Kans. - In the second-place match at the Kansas State Invitational, the Fresno State volleyball team fought hard but fell 3-0 to the University of Northern Iowa (5-5) in Manhattan, Kans. (Sept. 8).
The Panthers started off game one hot with a six-point lead most of the way until Kelly Leonardo had a solo block to make it 18-24 and the `Dogs went on a run to get it within 23-25 with Leonardo serving, before UNI took the game 30-24.
Alisha McKee led the Bulldogs (2-7) in game one with four kills on 12 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage. McKee and Angela Wiggins led the team with four digs each.
Fresno State took its first lead of the match on the opening serve and game two went back-and-forth till the end with the Panthers prevailing 30-28.
Kelly Leonardo hit .417 in game two with six kills.
Northern Iowa started game three as they did game one, hot. The Panthers got off to a 10-3 lead and Fresno State fought back to within three at 14-17 and 16-19, but eventually fell 30-24. The Bulldogs hit their highest percentage of the tournament in game three at .189.
The Bulldogs were led by McKee with 10 kills and Wiggins with 14 digs.
Sophomore Lacey Gera, the 2005 WAC freshman of the year, was named to the Kansas State Invitational all-tournament team as she helped the Bulldogs come back in that thrill against Arkansas on day one. Fresno State was down two games to zero and won the last three to take the match. Gera hit a team-best .182 in that match with 14 kills. She also led the team in hitting against No. 22 Kansas State (.222) and added eight kills.
In the opening week American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, Northern Iowa was in the receiving votes category.
Join the State - Fresno State!" - The next Fresno State Volleyball match is Tuesday, September 11 on Proud to be an American Night against Oregon State at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center. All military, fire and police department employees get two free tickets by showing their badge/ID at the box office on the day of the game.
