1999 Men’s Volleyball Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/1/1998 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
October 1, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State returns five of six starters from last year’s squad that finished the season with a 25-2 overall record, a perfect 10-0 mark in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, a No. 1 ranking in the final Volleyball Magazine Poll and the highest ever ranking of No. 2 in the USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll in the final weeks of the season. Three players were named all-MIVA and received all-American recognition, while head coach Pete Hanson was named the MIVA Coach of the Year and selected as the Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year. It sounds like a perfect season. But not quite. OSU’s loss in the semifinals of the MIVA Tournament stopped a 22-match winning streak and ended OSU’s hopes of a trip to the NCAA Championship.
But with 10 returning letterwinners and an outstanding freshman class, the Buckeyes should find themselves challenging for the MIVA crown once again and taking aim at a berth in the NCAA Championships at UCLA May 6 & 8.
Kerewich The Only Senior
Phil Kerewich is the only senior on the squad this season. Twice named the MIVA Player of the Week, he was the conference leader in digs with a 2.92 average.
A Strong Junior Class
Class-ranked seniors Jose Rivera, Ross McLain and Colin McMillan are in their junior year of play. The are joined by juniors Jose Pereira, Rene’ Esteves and Anjel Aja.
Rivera got his shot last season when Jose Pereira was injured. He had a career-high 29 kills at Lewis. McLain saw extensive action last season as a backup. McMillan, a second team all-MIVA selection is OSU’s career leader in hitting percentage at .474.
Aja was a AVCA first team all-American and a first team all-MIVA selection. Esteves was a second team AVCA All-American and also was an all-MIVA selection. Pereira was slowed with an ankle injury early last season but came on strong at the end of the season.
Sophomores Are Coming On
Class-ranked juniors Chris Fash, Greg Lehman and Todd Hill are in their sophomore year of play. Fash helped where needed including an 11-kill game three performance to offset a 7-1 Ball State lead. Lehman saw action in 17 matches and had a career-high 17 kills against Stanford. Hill played in nine matches last season.
A “Large” Freshmen Class.
Sophomore Pieter Olree did not see action as a freshman last season. He is joined by newcomers Tom Trantow, Tait Jorgensen and Jon Schultz.
Trantow (6-6) and Jorgensen (6-7) will provide additional height for the Buckeyes. Schultz (6-4) will backup Aja at setter.
Putting It All Together
In his 15th-season, Pete Hanson has put together one of the finest team in the history of the program. He was honored last season as the MIVA coach of the Year (for the fourth time) and received Coach of the Year honors from Volleyball Magazine.
Honors On The Court
Angel Aja received first team and Rene’ Esteves, second team, all-American honors from the AVCA. In additonal, Volleyball Magazine honored Aja on their second team, graduated senior Jeff Koterba on the third team and Esteves as an honorable mention selection. Coach Pete Hanson was named by the magazine as their Coach of the Year. Hanson was also named the MIVA Coach of the Year. Other league honors included Aja, Esteves and Koterba being named to the all-MIVA first team and Colin McMillan selected to the second team.
Honors Off The Court
The Buckeyes had six players honored as academic all-Big Ten selections last season. They include McMillan, Esteves, Aja, Fash, Lehman and Koterba. Additonally, the above players and McLain were recoginzed as Ohio State Scholar-Athletes.
A Midwestern Team – Plus
Eleven of the 14 squad members call the Midwest home. They reside in Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Three student-athletes call Puerto Rico home.
The Schedule
Ohio State will face another tough schedule in that it will play seven teams that finished in the final USA TODAY/AVCA Top 15 Poll and will face five of those team twice. The Buckeyes will face Lewis (#4), Loyola (#9), Indiana-Purdue (#10) and Penn State (#15) in home and home series while hosting Brigham Young (#7) twice. OSU will face Pepperdine (#2) on the road and Rutgers-Newark (#14) at home.
A Bright Future
With only one four-year senior on the squad, the Buckeyes have a mixture of youth and experience. That blend could carry Ohio State to another exciting season, competing for the MIVA championship and taking a swing at a bid to the NCAA Championship next May.
