Dec. 4, 1999
LOS ANGELES – Led by Rosie Snow?s 24 kills, the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday night in NCAA Tournament first round action, 13-15, 15-10, 16-14, 15-7, at UCLA?s Pauley Pavilion. The loss was Notre Dame?s first opening round loss since 1992 and the second to Ohio State in NCAA action. The Irish finished their season with a 20-9 record, while the Buckeyes improved to 17-11 overall and will meet the winner of the UCLA-Eastern Washington match Sunday.
Notre Dame was led by sophomore Kristy Kreher?s (Birmingham, Mich.) 24 kills, which tied her previous career high, which she recorded in last year?s NCAA Tournament opening-round win over Eastern Washington. Senior Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) contributed her second double-double of the season with 10 blocks and 12 kills to finish out her Irish career, while junior Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.) contributed 20 kills on .382 hitting. Setter Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.) also had 63 assists, six blocks and eight digs. The Irish both outhit (.321-.296) and outblocked the Buckeyes (16-10), but committed 15 service errors and gave up 12 aces.
?Our hitting and blocking was great, but we struggled with our passing and defense,? Leffers said.
In game one, the two school battled back and forth with seven ties and three lead changes, before the Buckeyes broke a 7-7 tie, scoring three straight points on two aces and a ball handling error to take a 10-7 advantage. The Irish, however, responded with four unanswered points of their own to take an 11-10 lead. Ohio State tied the game at 11-11 and took a one point edge, before an Ohio State hitting error gave Notre Dame point number 12 and tied the score for the 10th time in game one. Another Ohio State hitting error put the Irish ahead for good as a Boylan and Leffers block and a Leffers kill put the first game away for the Irish, 15-12.
Ohio State took the early in game two, racing out to a 5-2 lead before an Irish timeout. The Buckeyes continued to add to their lead, increasing the score to 9-2, before Notre Dame finally ended its scoring drought with its third point of the match on an Ohio State net error. A Buckeye kill and an ace pushed the lead back to eight at 11-3, before a Boylan kill made it 11-4. The two sides traded points, before the Irish pushed four points across the board to draw them within four at 9-13. An Ohio State block of a Boylan hitting attempt finally got the Buckeyes off point 13 to game point at 14-9. The Irish, however, hung tough, fending off six game points, before finally falling on a kill off an overpass, 15-9.
In game three, it was Notre Dame who raced out to an early 6-1 lead. Ohio State, however, went on a run of its own, to tie the score on a Kreher hitting error at 7-7. A Buckeye hitting error, a Marcie Bomhack (Waukesha, Wis.) ace and a Boylan kill pushed the Notre Dame lead to three at 10-7, but Ohio State did not let up, taking a 11-10 lead before an Irish timeout. The two schools were then tied late at 11, 12, and 13 points before the Buckeyes got to its first game point at 14-13 on a kill off an overpass. After enduring three Ohio State game points, the Irish tied the score for the seventh time in game three at 14-14. An ace by Buckeye Shelly Draeger, however, put Ohio State back at game point 15-14 with the game ending on the next play on an Irish net call, 16-14.
Ohio State built on their close game three win by pulling out to a 7-1 advantage in game four. The Irish, however, scored five unanswered points to pull within one a 6-7. The Buckeyes pushed their lead back to three at 6-9 out of a timeout. The Irish got one point on a good serve by Girton, but Ohio State then six straight points to capture the game and the match, 15-7.
?It?s been a great year and we?ve had a great team,? Irish head coach Debbie Brown said. ?My hand is shaking and my voice is cracking right now, because it?s not just a loss but the end to a great season.?