Oct. 1, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The four-time defending BIG EAST champion Notre Dame volleyball team opened its 1999 conference season with a 15-7, 15-6, 15-9 win over West Virginia Friday at the Joyce Center. The Irish, who avenged last year’s loss to the Mountaineers, improved to 7-3 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST, while West Virginia fell to 8-10 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Irish, who hit a season high .390, were led offensively by senior Mary Leffers, who had 18 kills on .567 hitting. Sophomore Kristy Kreher and junior Christy Girton each added 11 kills. Defensively, sophomore Marcie Bomhack had a season-high 16 digs, while Leffers added a team-best seven blocks. Junior setter Denise Boylan contributed 35 assists and classmate Michelle Graham added six assists in her first appearance of 1999.
West Virginia opened the match by taking a 3-0 lead, before the Irish took control of the match with seven unanswered points, moving the score to 7-3. The Mountaineers climbed back to within two at 7-9, but the Irish then rattled off six points in a row to win the first game, 15-7.
In game two, the two schools were knotted at 4-4, before Notre Dame scored 10 unanswered points to get the team’s first game point at 14-4. A kill by West Virginia’s Megan Porter would end Notre Dame’s run, however, the Irish then capitalized on a Mountaineer hitting error to win game two, 15-5.
In the third game, the two teams were tied at five, six and seven before Notre Dame once again went on a run of seven points to put the game out of reach, eventually winning 15-9.
The Irish play host to BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 3 at the Joyce Center at 2 p.m.