Sept. 4, 1999
Notre Dame, Ind. – Elsa Stegemann’s 22 kills helped lead sixth-ranked University of the Pacific (4-0) past Notre Dame (2-1) 15-10, 15-10, 15-9 in day two action of the Shamrock Invitational Saturday night at the Joyce Center.
The Irish hung close to the powerful Tigers in game one, tying the score five times before Pacific broke a 10-10 tie on a kill by Stegemann and then scored four more unanswered points to win, 15-10.
Game two saw the Tigers pull out to an early lead with the Irish playing catch. Pacific had its largest lead of the game at 9-3, but Notre Dame quickly crept back into the game with three points on a Pacific hitting error and two straight kills by junior Jo Jameyon (Alvin, Texas), making the score 9-6. The Tigers increased their led back to six at 12-6, before finally putting away the game, 15-10.
Pacific never lost its lead in game three, winning 15-9, despite a late run by the Irish.
Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) led the Irish for the third-straight game, tallying a team-high 15 kills on .464 hitting with eight blocks. Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.) also added 43 assists and eight digs, while Malinda Goralski (Missouri City, Texas), making her first collegiate start, had a career-best eight kills.
Stegemann was helped by setter Tanja Dimitrijevic’s 53 assists and Danielle Shinn’s double-double (13 kills, 11 digs) in the three-game win, making Pacific the only undefeated team in the tournament.
In day’s first match, Louisville (1-1) battled its way past Northwestern (0-3) in four tightly contested games, 15-12, 15-11, 15-17, 15-11. Louisville had three players record double-doubles, including Lesley Drury who had 22 kills and 24 digs, Sonja Percan who recorded 23 kills and 14 digs and setter Emily Roberson who posted 66 assists to go along with 18 digs.
Northwestern also had a number of outstanding performances in the loss from Carmen Burbach (17 kills, 22 digs), Jennifer Zagorski (14 kills, 17 digs), Jennifer Armson (21 digs) and Cassie McKnight (17 kills).
Notre Dame and Louisville, both 1-1 in the Shamrock Invitational, face off Sunday at 3 p.m., while Pacific takes on Northwestern two hours earlier at 1 p.m. All matches are at the Joyce Center. A seven-member all-tournament team will be announced following the Notre Dame-Louisville match.
DAY TWO – 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
Shamrock Invitational Schedule (All times EST)
Sun., Sept. 5 – #6 Pacific vs. Northwestern – 1 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Louisville – 3 p.m.