Sept. 11, 1999

BOZEMAN, MT. ? In the championship game of the Holiday Inn Classic, the Villanova Wildcats finally ran out of gas as Montana State handed Nova a 3-0 defeat, 15-12, 15-7, 15-10.

Villanova (2-5) gave the Bobcats a scare in the first game behind Tina Zitterich's three kills and four solo blocks, but MSU prevailed, 15-12. In the second game, Montana State's stifling defense keep the Wildcats hitting percentage below zero. Stephanie Laya knocked down six kills in the 15-7 Bobcat victory. In the final game, MSU dominated the net, ending the match 15-10.

Leading the Wildcats was Breen Eddinger who tallied 11 kills, while Stacey Moline handed out 25 assists in the losing effort. Montana State's Mindy Nowak led all Bobcats with 11 kills and eight digs.

The Wildcats will return to the Main Line for their first home game on Tuesday, Sept. 14, versus the Bucknell University at the Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. Following their contest with the Bison, Villanova will hit the road again and travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the TCU Invitational on Sept. 17 and 18. The Wildcats will play four games and the other schools participating in the tournament include Colgate, West Texas, Stephen F. Austin and the host institution, Texas-Christian.

SCORE BY GAME 1 2 3 Final VILLANOVA 12 7 10 0 MONTANA STATE 15 15 15 3

Scoring: Kills-Villanova (29), Eddinger 11, Zitterich 9, Montana State (38), Nowak 11, Laya 9, Digs-Villanova (40), Blankenheim 14, Mathews 10, Montana State (47), Dolan 10, Assists- Villanova (26), Moline 25, Montana State (37), Olsen 30.