Volleyball Faces #22 Michigan State and Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/13/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 13, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (9-6 overall, 2-4 Big Ten), ranked 21st in the USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll, will face Michigan State (11-3, 4-2), ranked 22nd, on Friday and Michigan (10-6, 2-4) on Saturday The matches conclude a four-match home stand for the Buckeyes.
OHIO STATE LAST WEEK
The Buckeyes lost to sixth-ranked Wisconsin 0-3 (3-15, 10-15, 10-15) and defeated Iowa 3-0 (15-7, 15-2, 15-5) in OSU’s first home Big Ten weekend.
THE BEST OF THE BUCKEYES
Rosie Snow leads the Buckeyes in kills with 221 for a 4.42 per game average. Two additional players are averaging three or more kills per game. They are Angelee Abbring (3.45) and Dana Stearns (300). Stearns has a team high .347 hitting percentage, Abbring at .266 and Snow at .252. Top servers on the squad are Stearns with 24 ace serves and Flynn with 17. Flynn leads the team in digs with 105 (2.06 per game) with Snow second with 794 (1.88). Stearns has a team high 41 blocks (five solo, 36 assists) for a .82 per game average. Abbring is second in blocks with 29 (two solo and 27 assists) for a .57 average. Flynn (461 assists) and Carey Cavanaugh (203 assists) have shared the setting duties. Flynn has a 9.04 per game average to 4.14 for Cavanaugh.
The Buckeyes are averaging 15.69 kills, 2.19 blocks, 10.84 digs and 1.88 aces per game and is hitting .244 for the season. Ohio State opponents average 13.96 kills, 2.36 blocks, 10.86 digs and 1.33 aces per game. Opponents are hitting .254.
STEARNS CONTINUES TO ACE OPPONENTS
Dana Stearns had six ace serves last weekend, two against Wisconsin and a career tying four against Iowa. She has a team high 24 aces this season. Stearns has 11 aces in Big Ten play and is ranked second in the conference standings. She set her career high against Indiana State in the opening match of the season.
FLYNN BLOCKING AT THE NET
Jen Flynn had two solo blocks against Wisconsin’s Sherisa Livingston to equal her career high for the third time. She also picked up an assist block in the Iowa match to give her 25 for the season, ranking fourth on the squad.
BOTICA EQUALS CAREER HIGH FOR KILLS
Anne Botica tied her career high for kills with seven against Wisconsin. She had previously set her career high at Illinois. Besides the seven kills against the Badgers, Botica added seven digs and an assist block.
SNOWING IN THE HOUSE
Rosie Snow had 19 kills against Wisconsin and 11 vs. Iowa last weekend. That extended her current double-figure streak of kills to five matches. She has scored 10 or more kills in 11 of the 15 matches this season and has 22 double-figure kill matches in her career. The team leader in kills with 221, Snow is ranked fifth in conference statistics with a 4.75 kill per game average.
SPIERS INJURY SAGA CONTINUES
Brianne Spiers was to be a force on the court and provide leadership to a young Buckeye squad this season. Her leadership will prove invaluable, now that her playing status is again on hold. Spiers has suffered a stress fracture that could keep her out of action for the next six to eight weeks. She saw action in the first six matches of the season after missing all of last year with a knee injury. Her on-court presence against No. 6 Florida with 15 kills, 16 digs and three blocks helped OSU to a 3-2 win over the Gators.
OHIO STATE VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Ohio State leads the series with the Spartans 29-14. The Buckeyes, in Columbus, have won 15 of 17 matches against Michigan State. The home losses have come in 1975 and 1995 (a 10-15, 15-5, 10-15, 13-15 defeat). OSU has won the last three meetings. In East Lansing, the Buckeyes have won 12 of 20 matches, while the Spartans have won four of six neutral site matches.
MICHIGAN STATE LAST WEEK
MSU defeated in-state rival Michigan and No. 22 Minnesota last week, both with three-game sweeps. Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Gustin led the Spartans with a career-high 15 kills against Michigan and topped the team with four blocks. She hit .476 for the team’s two matches and averaged 4.0 kills and 1.83 digs per game. Freshman Erin Hartley set a career-high with 16 kills against Minnesota and senior hitter Jenna Wrobel moved into fifth place on the MSU all-time block assists list with 250 after the weekend.
OHIO STATE VS. MICHIGAN
Ohio State leads the series with the Wolverines 34-5. The Buckeyes are 17-0 against Michigan in matches played in Columbus. The Wolverines won the last meeting between the schools, played in Ann Arbor last season, a 15-9, 5-15, 15-12, 15-13 victory to tie OSU for third place in the Big Ten standings. That win and one in 1987 are the only victories for the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Each team has won three matches on neutral courts.
MICHIGAN LAST WEEK
The Wolverines toppled No. 22 Minnesota in the school’s annual “Rock the House” match with a three-game sweep. Senior hitter Karen Chase dominated the match, setting new school and arena hitting percentage records with her .808 average and 22 kills and just one error. Jeanine Szczesniak recorded 18 digs in the match and setter Alija Pittenger totaled a career-best and team season-high 50 assists. Earlier in the week the Wolverines fell to Michigan State at home. Karen Chase collected a team-high 13 kills in the three-game loss.
OSU VS. RANKED TEAMS
Against nationally ranked teams this season, Ohio State has a 2-6 record. The Buckeyes defeated No. 6 Florida and No. 18 UCLA. OSU has lost to No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 14 Hawaii No. 20 Illinois and No. 24 Minnesota.
HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 17th year at Ohio State. He has a 373-161 (.699) record with the Buckeyes and is 211-82 (.720) in Big Ten play. His squads have won Big Ten championships in 1989, 1991 and 1994 and in the last nine years have never finished below third. In the championship years, he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and in 1991 was the Volleyball Monthly Coach of the Year. For the last nine years, OSU has participated in the NCAA Championships, advancing to the national semifinals in 1991 and 1994. Stone’s coach career record includes three years at Wyoming (1979-1981). His 19-year career record is 423-203 (.676).
REGIONAL AND LOCAL TV MATCHES SET
The Buckeyes will have six matches broadcast locally, two regionally and one nationally during the season. Columbus Sports Network will broadcast two matches a month on tape delay with broadcast times to be determined. These matches include Marshall, Pittsburgh, Iowa, Michigan (Oct. 17, replayed Oct. 18 & 20, 7 p.m.), Penn State (Nov. 11, replayed Nov. 12 & 13, 7 p.m.) and Indiana (Nov. 27, replayed Nov. 30 & Dec. 1, 7 p.m.). Fox Sports Chicago will broadcast OSU’s matches at Northwestern (Oct. 23) and vs. Purdue (Oct. 31) on tape delay the following Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern. ESPN2 will carry the Ohio State at Michigan State match, moved to Sunday, Nov. 22, live that afternoon. Broadcast time is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.
BUCKEYES ON THE ROAD NEXT WEEK
Ohio State will travel next week to face Northwestern on Friday and play Indiana on Saturday. The Buckeyes then return home to face Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 29 and Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 31.
