Sept. 3, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Host Notre Dame (2-0) and the University of the Pacific (3-0) women’s volleyball teams opened the four-team Shamrock Invitational with three-game wins over their opponents, Northwestern (0-2) and Louisville (0-1), Friday night at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame’s Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) led the Irish to a 15-8, 15-9, 15-8 victory over Northwestern with a team-high 13 kills and six blocks. Junior setter Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.) added a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs, while sophomore Kristy Kreher (Birmingham, Mich.) recorded 12 kills on .435 hitting to go along with four blocks. Sophomore Malinda Goralski (Missouri City, Texas) also had seven blocks for the Irish.
The Irish broke a 7-7 tie in game one with the Wildcats with eight unanswered points on two aces, two net violations, a block, two kills by Kreher and one by sophomore Marcie Bomhack to take the win at 15-8.
In game two, Northwestern opened with a 4-0 run, before the Irish would catch up to them at 4-4 and then take the lead with five unanswered points, moving the score to 9-4. The Wildcats hung tough, coming within two points at 9-7, 10-8 and 11-9, before Notre Dame pulled away on three straight blocks. Leffers then put down the game’s final ball with a kill to move the Irish into a two games to none edge. Game three went much the same as the two squads were knotted at 4-4 before the Irish surged to a 8-4 advantage, ultimately winning 15-8.
Northwestern’s Carmen Burbach led her team with nine kills
In the first game of the night, between sixth-ranked Pacific and Louisville, the Tigers defeated the Cardinals 15-8, 15-6, 15-1 behind Tracy Chambers’ team-high 12 kills on .579 hitting with seven blocks, including two solo efforts. Pacific never fell behind in the three-game match, posting a 3-0 lead in game one and 6-0 advantages in games two through three. Louisville, playing in their 1999 season-opener, was led by Sonja Percan’s 11 kills and Katie Kings 11 digs.
The Shamrock Invitational at Notre Dame continues on Saturday, Sept. 4 with two more matches, featuring Northwestern versus Louisville at 5 p.m. and Pacific vs. Notre Dame at 7 p.m. The Notre Dame-Pacific match is being televised on a tape-delay basis by WHME-TV 46 and will be available to radio listeners in the Stockton, Calif., area with KJAX’s Dave Rosselli and Heather Awalt making the call from the Joyce Center.
DAY ONE – 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)
Sat., Sept. 4 – Northwestern vs. Louisville – 5 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. #6 Pacific – 7 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 5 – #6 Pacific vs. Northwestern – 1 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Louisville