Sept. 5, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Led by tournament MVP Elsa Stegemann, the sixth-ranked University of the Pacific Tigers (5-0) claimed its third, three-game victory Sunday afternoon over Northwestern (0-4) to win the Shamrock Invitational title with a perfect 3-0 record. Notre Dame (3-1), which beat Louisville (1-2), 16-14, 15-13, 15-4, in the day's second match, finished in second with a 2-1 record in the tournament held at Notre Dame, September 3-5.

In the Notre Dame-Louisville match, the Irish had a 14-11 advantage in game one before the Cardinals tied the score at 14 points apiece. A kill by senior Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) and Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.), however, gave the Irish a 16-14 win. Game two went much the same with the Irish posting a 12-9 advantage before Louisville came back with five unanswered points to take a 13-12 lead. Kills by Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.), Leffers and outside hitter Jo Jameyson's, however, restored order to give Notre Dame a 15-13 victory.

In the third and final game, the Irish capitalized on nine Cardinal hitting errors to win, 15-4.

Notre Dame was led by Jameyson's team-high 10 kills and nine digs, while Boylan had 33 assists and three aces. Sophomore Malinda Goralski (Missouri City, Texas) also was perfect in 11 hitting attempts, recording seven kills to go along with three blocks. Louisville's Kelly McClain had a double-double (16 kills, 18 digs) and Sonja Percan led her team with 20 kills in the loss.

In the earlier match, Pacific's Tracy Chambers had seven kills on .462 hitting to go along with a team best four blocks to lead the Tigers to victory over Northwestern. Pacific never fell behind in the match, winning 15-8, 15-6, 15-6, and hitting .344 as a team. Stegemann, who had 32 kills in three matches (seven games), was joined on the Shamrock Invitational all-tournament squad by teammates Chambers (30 kills) and setter Tanja Dimitrijevic (13.38 assists/game). Notre Dame's Boylan and Leffers and Louisville's McClain and Percan rounded out the all-tournament selections.

Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament team

Denise Boylan, Notre Dame

Mary Leffers, Notre Dame

Tracy Chambers, Pacific

Tanja Dimitrijevic, Pacific

Kelly McClain, Louisville

Sonja Percan, Louisville

MVP - Elsa Stegemann, Pacific

DAY THREE (Sept. 5) - Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Match One

Pacific 15 15 15

Northwestern 8 6 6

Match Two

Notre Dame 16 13 4

Louisville 14 15 15

DAY TWO (Sept. 4) - Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Match One

Louisville 15 15 15 15

Northwestern 12 11 17 11

Match Two

Pacific 15 15 15

Notre Dame 10 10 9

DAY ONE (Sept.3) - Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Match One

University of the Pacific 15 15 15

Louisville 8 6 1

Match Two

Notre Dame 15 15 15

Northwestern 8 9 8

Final Standings

1. Pacific 3-0

2. Notre Dame 2-1

3. Louisville 1-2

4. Northwestern 0-3