November 22, 1998
(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – – The Notre Dame women’s volleyball team won its fourth consecutive BIG EAST Championships and earned its seventh-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating the tournament’s and district’s top seed Georgetown 15-11, 15-10, 15-13 at Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field. The Irish (17-12 overall, 12-2 in the BIG EAST) fell behind only three times during the match and received the BIG EAST automatic bid into the NCAA tournamen.
Freshman Marcie Bomhack (Waukesha, Wis.), who earlier this weekend was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team, had 44 kills on 129 attempts with a .225 hitting average. The Volleyball Magazine Fab-50 selection also had 40 digs and nine blocks, and joins senior Lindsay Treadwell (1996), Jaimie Lee (1997) and Angie Harris (1995) as Notre Dame’s fourth-straight BIG EAST Tournamen MVP in as many years.
The Irish opened the game by scoring the first two points on a block by Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) and Bomhack and a Bomhack kill. Georgetown scored two of its own on the next serve on an Irish hitting error and a kill for a point by Kiran Gill. Notre Dame reclaimed the lead on an Emily Schiebout (Blaine, Minn.) ace, but two Georgetown points on consecutive Irish hitting error gave the top seed the lead for the first time in the match at 4-3. After several sideouts, Notre Dame reclaimed the lead on two straight blocks by Leffers and freshman Kristy Kreher (Birmingham, Mich.) on one and Leffers and Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.) on another. Point number six for the Irish also came on a three-person block Schiebout, Treadwell (Austin, Texas) and Girton. After the two teams traded points, the Irish tallied two more on a hitting error and a bad set before a Hoyas’ timeout, making the score 9-5. Following the timeout, Georgetown notched four points of its own on an ace, two hitting error and a blocking error, later taking the lead a play later at 10-9. Following a sideout, the Irish answered back with three points to grab the lead at 12-10. A hitting error by BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Yulia Vyturina of Georgetown got the Irish to 13 before another Georgetown hitting error gave Notre Dame its first game point at 14-11. After a sideout, the Irish converted on its second game point on a block assist by Schiebout and Treadwell to win game one, 15-11.
In game two, Georgetown’s Gill scored the first two points on consecutive jump serve aces and added another a few rotations later on a Vyturina kill. With Michelle Graham (Austin, Texas) serving, the Irish tied the score at three following two hitting errors and a Jo Jameyson (Alvin, Texas) and Treadwell block. A Georgetown net gave the Irish their first lead before a Vyturina kill knotted the score at four. After a tie at five, Jameyson, who came in for Girton at outside hitter in the middle of game one, accounted for four of Notre Dame’s next six points, as the Irish went on a 6-1 run, to make the score 11-6. Two important kills for points by Bomhack and a block by Kreher and Leffers had the Irish at match point, 14-6. The Hoyas failed to give up, though, scoring four points to pull within four at 14-10. On its third game point, a Georgetown blocking error gave the Irish a 15-10 game two win.
The Irish continued their dominance of the match thus far by opening with a 5-0 lead on three Georgetown hitting errors, a Treadwell ace and a block by Schiebout. After a sideout, the Irish took a six point lead following a Bomhack kill. The Hoyas got on the board with a kill by Gill at 6-1, and several rotations later, the Irish retook the six point lead at 7-1 on another Bomhack kill and added one more on a Schiebout kill. A Georgetown ace and a kill by Gill and Melissa Tytko brought the score back to 8-4, before Notre Dame added a point on a Gill hitting error. The Hoyas, however, recovered with an ace and a Tytko kill for a point, before Notre Dame could move into double-digits on a Bomhack kill at 10-6. Schiebout notched the next two Irish point by herself on a kill and a block, but the Hoyas did not give up, scoring five unanswered points to move within one at 12-11. The Hoyas then tied the match and took the lead at 13-12 for only the third time in the match on two Irish hitting errors. Following a long rally for a sideout, Treadwell served an ace to tie the match at 13-13. With Treadwell still serving, a block by Leffers and Bomhack gave the Irish game point and match point at 14-13. On the very next play, Schiebout put the ball away on the right side with a cross court kill to end the game and match at 15-13.
Notre Dame will find out who it will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next Sunday, November 29.