Sept. 5, 2000
The Notre Dame volleyball team (3-0) swept through the 2000 Shamrock Invitational over the weekend and earned a spot in the USA Today/AVCA women’s volleyball poll for the first time since 1998. The Irish are ranked 22nd heading into the adidas Invitational this weekend.
The highlight of the Shamrock Invitational was a come-from-behind victory over then-15th ranked BYU. The Irish lost the first two games (5-15, 10-15) but rallied back behind the play of BIG EAST Player of the Week and tournament MVP Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.) along with Shamrock all-tournament team honorees senior Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.) and junior Kristy Kreher (Birmingham, Mich.) to defeat the Cougars in five games. Notre Dame also scored victories over Fairfield and Clemson, both in three games, during the tournament.
The Irish last appeared in the Top-25 of the USA Today/AVCA poll ranked 16th in the preseason of 1998. The ranking occurs as the Irish prepare to play host to one of the top 2000 volleyball tournaments in the nation this weekend (Sept. 8-10). Third-ranked UCLA (3-1) , #4 Nebraska (3-0) and #16 Michigan State (3-0) will join Notre Dame to make up the adidas Invitational tournament field. UCLA and Michigan State begin the action at 1:30 p.m., Friday, before the Irish take on Nebraska in “The Battle Before the War” (the Notre Dame and Nebraska football teams will meet on Saturday) at 4:00 p.m.
USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll(9-04-00)Rank Team Points1. Stanford 13832. Long Beach State 13513. UCLA* 13334. Nebraska* 12935. Penn State 12876. Hawai'i 12727. Colorado State* 11358. USC* 11269. Pepperdine 103910. Minnesota 95411. Pacific 89412. Florida 84813. UC Santa Barbara 74114. Arizona 70815. Wisconsin 55616. Michigan State* 43617. BYU* 43318. Texas A&M 41119. Baylor 37120. Kansas State 32521. Loyola Marymount* 30222. Notre Dame 29523. Texas 26024. San Diego 19225. Michigan* 127Others: Northern Iowa, Ohio State, North Carolina**- indicates 2000 opponents