September 19, 1998

EAST LANSING, Mich. – In a game highlighted by long rallies, 24th-ranked Notre Dame (3-5) lost to 18th-ranked Michigan State 15-6, 15-13 and 15-11 in the final match of the Michigan State Invitational.

Lindsay Treadwell (Austin, Texas) lead the Irish with 11 kills, 16 digs and five blocks. Treadwell was also named to the all-tournament squad, her second such honor this season. The Irish team captain was also named to the all-tournament team at the Shamrock Invitational.

Besides being the last match of the tournament, the game also features a coaching duel between Notre Dame Coach Debbie Brown and Michigan State’s Chuck Erbe. Erbe coached Brown at the University of Southern California from 1976-77 when the Trojans won two Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championships and finished with a 72-1 two-year record.

In the first game of the match against Michigan Sate and Notre Dame, the Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Irish scored their first point on a hitting error by Jenna Wrobel, but Michigan State answered with two more points extending its lead to 7-1 before a Notre Dame timeout. After the timeout, the Irish scored two points on kills by freshmen Kristy Kreber (Birmingham, Mich.) and Marcie Bomhack (Waukesha, Wis.). The Spartans then took any momentum that the Irish had gained by scoring three-straight points. Following another Michigan State point on an ace, the Irish scored two points to pull within five at 11-6. That would be as close as Notre Dame would get in the first game, as the Spartans scored their final four points on a Notre Dame net violation, a Spartan dig on a Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.) hitting attempt and two aces to win 15-6.

The Spartans maintained their momentum in the beginning of game two by taking a 2-0 lead. The Irish came back to tie the score at three and four all, before taking their first lead on the serve of Girton. Behind Girton’s serve, the Irish scored two pints on a pair of kills by Emily Schiebout (Blaine, Minn.) and a solo block Bomhack. After Bomhack was blocked on a hitting attempt to give the Spartans their fifth point, Notre Dame increased its lead to 8-5 after two kills by Girton. A kill by Wrobel, a hitting error by Irish sophomore Jo Jameyson (Alvin, Texas) and a ball handling error by Notre Dame’s Adrienne Shimmel (Mission Viejo, Calif.) tied the score at 8-8 before an Irish timeout. Brown’s squad scored three points on the strong serving of Jameyson and another two on a solo block by Treadwell and a Schiebout kill. The Spartans came back to tie the score at 13-13, then took the lead on a kill by Jennifer Stroffe. Michigan State completed its comeback by scoring the game’s final point on an ace, winning 15-13.

The Irish jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in game three. A Spartan ace and two kills by Wrobel tied the game at five. With the game tied at six, Michigan State took back the lead at 8-6. The Irish then scored three points on a ball handling error and two kill by Treadwell to make the score 9-8. Stroffe’s ace and a kill by Wrobel then gave the Spartans’ the lead at 10-9. Three straight points by Michigan State got the Spartans to within two points of the win, but the Irish climbed back to within two at 13-11 before Erbe called a timeout. Erbe’s squad then scored on a kill by Stroffe to put the score at 14-11. An attacking error by Schiebout ended the match at 15-9.

Notre Dame returns home to play its next match and first BIG EAST Conference game of 1998 against Seton Hall, October 2, at 8 p.m.