Sept. 5, 1999

N. Illinois Box | V. Tech Box | Kentucky Box

BLACKSBURG, Va. ? In their first tournament appearance of 1999, the Villanova Wildcats faced a difficult field at the Virginia Lottery Hokie Classic, losing three matches to Northern Illinois (3-2), Virginia Tech (3-0) and Kentucky (3-0).

In their first match versus Northern Illinois, the Wildcats looked to be on the right track as they took NIU to five games, losing the tough match, 3-2. This was the first meeting of the two school's since NIU knocked the Wildcats out of their first-ever NCAA Tournament back in 1998. Leading Nova was Breen Eddinger, who tallied 19 kills and 11 digs, while freshman Leah Mathews tallied a career-high 18 digs. Tina Zitterich added 12 kills, as Erin Birunas had 10 kills in the loss.

In the second match, Villanova played the host squad, Virginia Tech. Hokie Kristin Wright led the charge as VTU handed Nova their second loss of the weekend 3-0. Again, Breen Eddinger led all ?Cats with 16 kills, while freshman Erin Birunas tallied a team-high 11 digs.

In their final match, against Kentucky, the Lady ?Cats made quick work of Villanova, sweeping the match in 50 minutes. Megan Weiskircher led all scorers with 11 kills, as for Nova, setter Erin Pfotzer recorded 12 assists.

One bright sport was junior Breen Eddinger being named to the All-Tournament team for her performance. Villanova will travel to Bozemen, Montana to participate in the Montana State Invitational. The Wildcats will play Buffalo on Friday, Sept. 10 at 5:00 p.m., New Orleans on Saturday, Sept. 11 at noon and round out play against Montana State at 5:00 p.m.