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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Stars To Shine In Spikeoff Event

Washington State University second-team All-American Stephanie Papke, former Ferris star Jaime Lee of Notre Dame and teammate Denise Boylan, one of the top recruits in the country, will show off their talents when volleyball comes to the Arena on Sept. 5-6.

Spikeoff Spokane, the annual tournament hosted by Gonzaga University which usually is played at the Martin Centre, will feature Gonzaga, Washington State, Notre Dame and the University of Utah. It will serve as a warmup to the NCAA Final Four volleyball tournament, Dec. 18 and 20 at the Arena.

Lee, the 1996 Big East player of the year, is playing on the USA Volleyball World University team. She will compete in Canada and Sicily this summer.

After playing setter last year at Notre Dame, Lee will return to her natural left-side hitter position. The Irish’s most promising newcomer is 6-foot-1 setter Denise Boylan of Lisle, Ill. Boylan was named Gatorade national high school player of the year and committed to Notre Dame her sophomore year.

The opening match on Sept. 5 will feature WSU against Utah at 6 p.m. Gonzaga vs. Notre Dame will follow.

The Sept. 6 schedule begins with Utah vs. Notre Dame at 11 a.m., followed by GU vs. WSU. The night session matches GU against Utah at 6 p.m., followed by WSU vs. Notre Dame.

Last season, the Cougars began the season ranked No. 7 in the USA Today/American Coaches Volleyball Poll and made it to the final eight in the NCAA Tournament. The Irish were ranked eighth to start the year and lost to Ohio State in the second round of the tournament.

Tickets are $15 for two-day passes and $10 for single days. For groups of 20 or more, $3 will be deducted from the $15 tickets.

Tickets are on sale at all G&B Select-A-Seat locations, the Arena box office (Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.) or charge by phone at 325-SEAT. Call 324-0711 for group orders.

Junior golfer sets mark

When Lani Elston shot a 68 Tuesday at Hidden Lakes Golf Course, she not only broke the course record for women by three shots, but may have recorded the best score for a junior golfer in state history.

The effort by the 14-year-old came in the second round of the 36-hole Washington Junior Golf Association tourney and qualified her for state play July 23-25 in Seattle.

While complete records are not available, a check at the course of previous junior scores did not reveal any mark that low.

Her round included five birdies and two bogeys, with four birdies and no bogeys on the finishing nine.

Silver Hoops July 26

The fourth annual Silver Hoops 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be July 26 at the city park in Kellogg.

Entry costs are lower than last year. For 10th-graders and above, the cost is $40 per team. Below 10th grade, the cost is $25 per team. Every participant receives a T-shirt.

Those early birds who entered before the entry fee was dropped will be refunded during registration on the morning of July 26.

Information: (208) 784-0821.

Spokane Stars honored

Megan Franza of Cascade Leavenworth and Angela Wolvert of Tumwater, who helped guide the Spokane Stars basketball team to a third-place finish at the AUU national tournament, were selected All-Tournament All-Americans by the tournament coaches.

Franza will play at the University of Washington and Wolvert will play at Oregon this season.

USF hires Wade

Former Eastern Washington head basketball coach John Wade has been hired as an assistant by the University of San Francisco.

Wade, 37, will help head coach Philip Mathews guide the Dons’ basketball program.

Wade, who served the past two seasons as an assistant at UC Santa Barbara, replaces Larry Reynolds, who took over the program at Cal State San Bernardino last month.

“I am really excited about this opportunity at San Francsco,” said Wade. “The program is on the rise under Phil and it is my hometown. I am looking forward to getting to work right away.”

Simpson gets Bucknell job

Juliene Simpson, former women’s basketball coach at Bucknell University and Whitworth College, was named women’s coach at Marshall.

“This is a dream come true,” Simpson, 44, said at a news conference at Marshall’s Henderson Center. She said she was drawn to Marshall by “the love and the community and the winning attitude” of the team.

Simpson has a 272-252 record in 19 years of coaching. She spent the past six seasons at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., where she had a 65-98 record.

She also coached three years at Whitworth. She was named coach of the year in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges and was a finalist for NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1990.

, DataTimes