Host team swept at tourney
By RACHAEL PROTZMAN
Sports Writer
Notre Dame volleyball fell to 3-3 following this weekend's adidas Invitational Tournament where it lost to Nebraska, UCLA and Michigan State.
Leading the Irish performance was junior Kristy Kreher, who was named to the adidas all-tournament team.
The Irish kicked off the weekend with No. 4 Nebraska in a three-game Husker victory. Nebraska struck hard in game one to shake up the Irish defense as the Huskers took a 3-15 win. The Irish then recovered to put up a fight in the second game with a 9-15 score. With a 12-10 lead in the third game, the Irish fell apart as Nebraska scored five points in a row to earn the game and the match.
Junior Marcie Bomhack led Notre Dame with seven kills while Jo Jameyson and Malinda Goralski each added six.
Notre Dame came back hard on Saturday to challenge third-ranked UCLA, but were unable to hold on as the Bruins grabbed the three-game win (15-7, 15-7, 17-15). With a win just ahead in game three and a score of 14-8, UCLA regained control from the Irish for the 17-15 win.
Junior Kristy Kreher led Notre Dame with 15 kills and nine digs while Denise Boylan racked up five kills, five digs and 29 assists to aid the Irish.
"We let too many games get away with Nebraska and UCLA where we didn't even compete in the games. I would have liked that to be better, just to push them a little bit more," said head coach Debbie Brown. "I thought that Michigan State would be a battle and it was certainly what I expected, but we're disappointed that we lost."
Notre Dame was unable to edge Michigan State as the Spartans took the five-game win (12-15, 15-7, 12-15, 15-12, 10-15).
"I think to summarize it, the first two games of both Nebraska and UCLA, our performance was not very good and then we did pick it up in the third game of both of those matches. But I thought today [Sunday], it was pretty back and forth. It really came down to who had the best fifth game and Michigan State played very, very well in game five. Statistically, it's not that we played poorly, it's just that they were able to play at a higher level when it mattered most," Brown said.
Down 2-1, the Irish jumped into game four to take the early lead. With a 7-1 mark, the Spartans tied the score at 11-11 and then jumped ahead. The Irish then scored four straight for the 15-12 game four win.
Kreher led Notre Dame with 21 kills while senior Christi Girton added 19 kills, 16 digs and five blocks. Junior Malinda Goralski also added 15 kills for a career high.
"I feel like it was a great learning experience for us. I would want to play the same schedule all over again. I think that those are the types of teams that we have to play to get better and that's how we're going to learn more about our weaknesses and our strengths," Brown said. "We certainly didn't want to come away with three losses, but I think it's going to pay off for us down the road."
Notre Dame will be back in action Tuesday as it heads to Valparaiso to play at 7 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Monday, September 11, 2000
