Oct. 5, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sarah Behnke’s 19 kills led the 23rd-ranked Michigan volleyball team to a 15-11, 8-15, 15-10, 15-10 win over Notre Dame in a non-league match Tuesday night at the Joyce Center. With the loss, the Irish fell to 8-4 on the season, while the Wolverines improved to 9-4.
Notre Dame, despite the loss, received notable efforts from a number of people, including junior setter Denise Boylan (52 assists, 10 digs), sophomore opposite Kristy Kreher (16 kills, 11 digs) and junior outside hitter Christi Girton (17 kills, 12 digs), who all contributed double-doubles in the four-game match. Kreher also recorded a career-high seven blocks, sophomore Marcie Bomhack had 12 digs and senior Mary Leffers added 15 kills and eight blocks.
The Irish had problems passing most of the evening as Michigan tallied seven aces and won the match despite being outhit (.247 to .216) and outblocked (14 to 8) by the Irish.
In game one, Notre Dame was down 7-1, before taking a short-lived 11-10 lead on a Michigan hitting error. Kills by Wolverines Anne Poglits and Nicole Kacor, however, allowed Michigan to retake the lead at 12-11 and never look back, as they won the first game, 15-11.
In game two, it was the Irish who jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. The Irish increased their lead to 13-1 on a kill by Girton, before the Wolverines scored three straight points to pull within nine at 13-4. The Irish finally scored point number 14 and won the game 15-8 on a kill by Bomhack.
The third game was much closer as the Irish erased an early 6-1 Michigan lead before tying the game at 9-9 and 11-11. A kill by Kacor broke the 11-11 tie as the Wolverines scored four unanswered points to take a 2-1 advantage into the fourth game with a 15-11 win.
Game four went much the same as the first and third games with the two teams recording three ties, before the Wolverines finally took control and won the match with a 15-10 game-four victory.
Notre Dame will travel to the East for its first BIG EAST road matches against Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 8 and Seton Hall on Sunday, Oct. 9.