Sept. 5, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Led by tournament MVP Elsa Stegemann, the sixth-ranked University of the Pacific Tigers (5-0) claimed its third, three-game victory Sunday afternoon over Northwestern (0-4) to win the Shamrock Invitational title with a perfect 3-0 record. Notre Dame (3-1), which beat Louisville (1-2), 16-14, 15-13, 15-4, in the day’s second match, finished in second with a 2-1 record in the tournament held at Notre Dame, September 3-5.
In the Notre Dame-Louisville match, the Irish had a 14-11 advantage in game one before the Cardinals tied the score at 14 points apiece. A kill by senior Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) and Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.), however, gave the Irish a 16-14 win. Game two went much the same with the Irish posting a 12-9 advantage before Louisville came back with five unanswered points to take a 13-12 lead. Kills by Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.), Leffers and outside hitter Jo Jameyson’s, however, restored order to give Notre Dame a 15-13 victory.
In the third and final game, the Irish capitalized on nine Cardinal hitting errors to win, 15-4.
Notre Dame was led by Jameyson’s team-high 10 kills and nine digs, while Boylan had 33 assists and three aces. Sophomore Malinda Goralski (Missouri City, Texas) also was perfect in 11 hitting attempts, recording seven kills to go along with three blocks. Louisville’s Kelly McClain had a double-double (16 kills, 18 digs) and Sonja Percan led her team with 20 kills in the loss.
In the earlier match, Pacific’s Tracy Chambers had seven kills on .462 hitting to go along with a team best four blocks to lead the Tigers to victory over Northwestern. Pacific never fell behind in the match, winning 15-8, 15-6, 15-6, and hitting .344 as a team. Stegemann, who had 32 kills in three matches (seven games), was joined on the Shamrock Invitational all-tournament squad by teammates Chambers (30 kills) and setter Tanja Dimitrijevic (13.38 assists/game). Notre Dame’s Boylan and Leffers and Louisville’s McClain and Percan rounded out the all-tournament selections.
Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament team
Denise Boylan, Notre Dame
Mary Leffers, Notre Dame
Tracy Chambers, Pacific
Tanja Dimitrijevic, Pacific
Kelly McClain, Louisville
Sonja Percan, Louisville
MVP – Elsa Stegemann, Pacific
DAY THREE (Sept. 5) – Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Match One
Pacific 15 15 15
Northwestern 8 6 6
Match Two
Notre Dame 16 13 4
Louisville 14 15 15
DAY TWO (Sept. 4) – Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Match One
Louisville 15 15 15 15
Northwestern 12 11 17 11
Match Two
Pacific 15 15 15
Notre Dame 10 10 9
DAY ONE (Sept.3) – Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Match One
University of the Pacific 15 15 15
Louisville 8 6 1
Match Two
Notre Dame 15 15 15
Northwestern 8 9 8
Final Standings
1. Pacific 3-0
2. Notre Dame 2-1
3. Louisville 1-2
4. Northwestern 0-3