Meek earns MVP honors in Pittsburgh
Senior middle blocker Sarah Meek was named the Pittsburgh Invitational Tournament’s MVP Tuesday after leading the Vandals to victories over Howard, Portland and the host Panthers.
“Sarah played great all weekend and got into an offensive flow where they couldn’t have stopped her,” head coach Debbie Buchanan said. “She was matched up with the Big East preseason player of the year and she really slowed her down.”
Meek averaged 4.56 kills on .395 hitting percentage in nine games. She also recored 1.67 blocks per game and finished the tournament with 41 kills on the weekend and 15 blocks.
She also added nine digs to her three match total.
“She’s doing some really good things,” Buchanan said. “She’s playing at a high level right now and she’s going to keep getting better. I think it’s going to be really hard for a lot of teams to stop her right now.”
Two other Vandals — setter Mandy Becker and libero Meghan Brown — were named to the All-Tournament team.
Becker averaged 13.67 assists and 2.78 digs per game. She also added five blocks.
Brown led all Vandals with 42 digs on the weekend, an average of 4.67 per game.
“We just wouldn’t be as good without Mandy,” Buchanan said. “She’s a good all-around player; she’s competitive; she’s a great leader, on and off the court, and she’s doing everything well right now. Meghan was digging balls that you were almost surprised that they were coming up. She was all over the place and she’s passing strong right now. She’s learning how to be the libero which is a new role for her but she’s doing a really great job.”
The Vandals travel to the Missouri Tournament Sept. 10-11.
Spokane pre-sale set for Saturday
A Spokane pre-sale for tickets for the men’s basketball showdown between Gonzaga University and the University of Massachusetts will begin Saturday.
Northwest Sports Inc., in association with the Seattle SuperSonics, is bringing the second “Battle in Seattle” to KeyArena Saturday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. Last year the Bulldogs defeated the University of Missouri 87-80 in overtime in the inaugural Seattle showcase event.
Tickets will go on sale through all Spokane-area Ticketmaster outlets at 10 a.m. Saturday and will conclude on Sept. 17 at 10 p.m. Ticket prices will not change from 2003.
Lower bowl seating in KeyArena will be priced at $60 and $45, while the upper bowl pricing is set for $24 and $18. There will be a limited number of courtside seats available for $100.
Also beginning on Saturday, Spokane-area Papa Murphy’s stores will have upper bowl seats available for $2 off ($22 & $16 each). As part of the Papa Murphy’s promotion fans can also enter to win an all-expense paid trip for four to Seattle.
Chiefs’ tickets go on sale today
Individual game tickets for the Spokane Chiefs go on sale today at 9 a.m. at the Chiefs’ office at the southeast corner of the Spokane Arena and at all TicketsWest outlets.
Spokane’s home opener is Oct. 2 against Kootenay.