ND Volleyball: Spartans end Irish title run, 26-match home win streak
By MATT LOZAR
Sports Writer
Something had to give.
Notre Dame last advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1995 and came into Sunday's second round match with a 36-match home winning streak.
Michigan State last made it to the round of 16 in 1996 and was looking to knock the Irish out of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
Grabbing control of the match by winning game 1, the Spartans used that momentum to sweep the Irish 30-28, 30-20, 30-23 and prevent the Irish from advancing to the Sweet 16 for the seventh straight postseason.
"It's always disappointing to lose. You never want your season to be over," Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown said. "…Every year that you get there, you think this is the year you are going to take it a little bit farther, and we had every reason to believe that we could do that this year."
As disappointed as the Irish were, the Spartans were equally as happy.
"We are excited, proud, relieved and feel all the emotions in the world," Michigan State coach Chuck Erbe said. "This was one of their goals to get past the second round."
In a tightly-contested game one, the Irish gave the Spartans five points on bad serves and three points on hitting kills into the net. Losing the first game by only two points makes those mistakes even more agonizing.
"I think obviously we lost that first game by two points and it was very competitive back and forth," Brown said. "Often when you are a little bit tight or nervous serving, that is going to show up. Winning game 1 is very important and that sets the tone for the match."
With game 2 tied at six, the Spartans took control of the game by winning 14 of the next 16 points to take a commanding 20-8 lead.
That deficit proved to be too much as the Irish drew no closer than eight in losing game 2 by 10.
Notre Dame kept game 3 close despite hitting .077. Michigan State again made a run, this time the Spartans scored seven consecutive points with the game tied at 18.
Once again, that hole proved to be too deep, as the Irish lost game 3 and saw their season come to an unexpected conclusion.
"I think particularly in games 2 and 3 our passing broke down, and when that happened, our offense just wasn't as productive," Brown said. "I think they also played really good defense. We weren't getting a lot of kills and then we tried to force some shots that weren't there."
Notre Dame came into the weekend tied with Nebraska for first in the country with 3.67 blocks per game. Michigan State gave the Irish some of their own medicine with 15 team blocks, including nine from sophomore Megan Wallin.
The Spartans had four players reach double digits in kills. Outside hitter Jenny Rood led the Spartans with 13 and hit .600.
For the Irish, outside hitter Jessica Kinder recorded a match-high 20 digs. Sophomore Emily Loomis and freshmen Lauren Kelbley and Lauren Brewster led the Irish with 11 kills each. Kelbley hit .435 for the match.
In Saturday's first round match, Notre Dame defeated the College of Charleston 30-23, 30-24, 28-30, 30-27. Loomis led the Irish with 19 kills.
All Sports Stories for Monday, December 9, 2002
