23rd-ranked Volleyball Travels to Northwestern and Indiana – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/20/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
October 20, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (10-7 overall, 3-5 Big Ten), ranked 23rd in the USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll, will travel to Northwestern (12-8, 2-6) for a Friday night match and then on to Indiana (10-7, 3-5) to play Saturday. The match with the Wildcats will be carried, tape delay, on the Fox Sports Chicago network on Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern. Dave Loane and former Penn State star Angie Kammer will call the action.
OHIO STATE LAST WEEK
The Buckeyes split a pair of matches last weekend. OSU lost to #22 Michigan State 9-15, 10-15, 16-14, 9-15 and defeated Michigan 17-15, 15-10, 12-15, 15-10.
THE BEST OF THE BUCKEYES
Rosie Snow leads the Buckeyes in kills with 273 for a 4.71 per game average. Two additional players are averaging three or more kills per game. They are Angelee Abbring (3.51) and Dana Stearns (3.03). Stearns has a team high .304 hitting percentage, Abbring at .213 and Snow at .265. Top servers on the squad are Stearns with 27 ace serves and Flynn with 20. Snow leads the team in digs with 122 (2.10 per game) with Jen Flynn second with 119 (2.02). Stearns has a team high 46 blocks (five solo, 41 assists) for a .79 per game average. Abbring is second in blocks with 38 (eight solo and 30 assists) for a .64 average. Flynn (579 assists) and Carey Cavanaugh (204 assists) have shared the setting duties. Flynn has a 9.81 per game average to 3.58 for Cavanaugh.
The Buckeyes are averaging 15.90 kills, 2.43 blocks, 11.24 digs and 1.90 aces per game and is hitting .232 for the season. Ohio State opponents average 14.27 kills, 2.58 blocks, 11.24 digs and 1.29 aces per game. Opponents are hitting .245.
SNOW HAS CAREER NIGHT
Rosie Snow had a career high 29 kills Saturday night against Michigan. The Colorado Springs, Colo. native had a previous high of 27 against UCLA in Hawaii. Snow had 23 kills on Friday against Michigan State to give her five matches this season of 23 or more kills. She is third in Big Ten Conference matches for kills per game with a 5.25 average. It was her 13th double figure kill match of the season and the 24th of her career. Defensively, she had a season high 15 digs against Michigan State and added 13 against Michigan. She has had double figure digs in five of the last seven matches FLYNN PUTS THE BLOCK ON
Jen Flynn had a career high nine blocks against Michigan Saturday. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native recorded one solo and eight assists with the latter also a career high. She had four blocks (1-3) Friday night against Michigan State. She is second on the squad in total blocks with 38 (8-30) with a .64 block per game average. Flynn is averaging 9.81 assists per game and is second on the team in ace serves with 20. She also is second on the squad in digs with 119 for a 2.02 per game average. In conference action Flynn ranks fifth with a 13.25 assists per game average.
STALLING JOINS BLOCK PARTY
Laura Stalling had a productive weekend at the net for the Buckeyes. Against Michigan State, the Watson, Ill. native set career highs for assist blocks (6) and total blocks (7). The next night she improved on both marks with seven assist blocks and eight total blocks. In each match she picked up a solo block to give her 15 blocks on the weekend. In the 23 games Stalling has played she has recorded 25 total blocks (4-21) for a 1.09 per game average.
SILLS ANOTHER CHIP OFF THE BLOCK
Shellye Sills also contributed to OSU’s 32 blocks on the weekend. Against Michigan State, the Canton, Michigan native had five blocks (1-4) and added four kills. Sills had a season-high eight blocks (2-6) in the Michigan match and her two solos were a career high. She also had five kills and six digs against the Wolverines. Sills has played in 28 games this season has 33 total blocks (3-30) and a team high 1.18 blocks per game average. In 22 conference games she has 28 blocks (3-25) for a 1.27 per game average ranking eighth in the Big Ten.
ABBRING DIGS TO CAREER HIGH
Angelee Abbring had eight digs against Michigan State to establish a new career high for the Wheatfield, Ind. native. Her previous high was four against Cleveland State. Abbring, whose three-match streak of 20-plus kills was stopped by Wisconsin responded with 20 kills against Michigan State. She added 11 kills, four digs and four assist blocks in the Michigan match. She has had double figure kills in 10 matches this season, including five of the last seven. She is second on the team in kills with 207, a 3.51 per game average.
STEARNS DIGS TO SEASON HIGH
Dana Stearns had a season high 14 digs against Michigan. The previous high for the Bexley, Ohio native was 11 at Purdue. She also had 10 digs against Michigan State and with her 16 kills against the Spartans and 10 against the Wolverines had back-to-back double-doubles this past weekend. Stearns, the ace server on the squad had three ace serves against Michigan to give her a team-high 27 on the year. She has 14 in conference play, ranking second in the Big Ten with a .50 per game average.
BOTICA ACES AGAINST MICHIGAN
Anne Botica had a career high three aces against Michigan last weekend. The Windsor, Ont. native previous high was two, twice, the last against Pittsburgh. Botica also had three kills and a dig against the Wolverines. Her kill in game four against Michigan was the match-winner. She has 12 aces on the season, ranking her four on the team.
CAVANAUGH IN THE BACK ROW
Carey Cavanaugh picked up 13 digs last weekend. A native of Munroe Falls, Ohio she had seven against Michigan State and six against Michigan. In the Michigan match, one of her digs traveled over the net to the Michigan court, but went untouched to give her a kill. Cavanaugh has recorded 82 digs this season for a 1.44 per game average. She also set several matches earlier in the season and has 204 assists for a 3.58 average.
CISCO ADDS ACES AND DIGS
Nikki Cisco (Dublin, Ohio), like Cavanaugh plays the back row for the Buckeyes. Cisco, a third generation Ohio State athlete, had four digs against Michigan State and six vs. Michigan. In the Michigan match, she also aced two serves for the Buckeyes. For the season Cisco has 67 digs (1.43 per game) and has 10 aces, ranking fifth on the squad.
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, a native of Boulder, Colo., 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. NORTHWESTERN
Ohio State leads the series with the Wildcats 31-8. The Buckeyes have won the last 18 matches. In Evanston, OSU is 11-4 with wins in the last nine road trips. Northwestern’s last win was in 1988, a 3-0 (15-6, 15-4, 15-9) win in Evanston. In Columbus, the Buckeyes enjoy a 14-2 mark over the Wildcats, winning the last 13 matches. In neutral court matches, OSU has won six of eight.
NORTHWESTERN LAST WEEK
Northwestern split their matches last week with a win over Indiana at home on Wednesday and a loss at Minnesota on Friday. NU’s win over the Hoosiers ended a five-match losing streak for the team. It was also senior Jessica Holloway’s third straight double-double match with 12 kills and 10 digs. Carmen Burbach tallied 15 kills and 10 digs in the win. Against the Gophers Holloway added 15 kills while Burbach totaled 12.
OHIO STATE VS. INDIANA
Ohio State has a 27-15 advantage in the series with Indiana. The teams split matches last year with each team winning on the others court. In Bloomington the Buckeyes have won nine of 17 matches, but have won eight of the last nine played at Indiana. OSU is 14-5 in matches played in Columbus and is 4-2 in neutral court matches. The Buckeyes have won 16 of the last 18 matches played since 1989.
INDIANA LAST WEEK
The Hoosiers dropped two matches last week, to Northwestern on Wednesday and to Minnesota on Saturday. Against the Gophers, Ryann Connors totaled 13 kills to lead the squad while Jen Magelssen added eight kills. The Hoosiers have now lost four matches in a row.
OSU VS. RANKED TEAMS
Against nationally ranked teams this season, Ohio State has a 2-7 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. No. 22 Michigan State and No. 24 Minnesota.
HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 17th year at Ohio State. He has a 374-162 (.698) record with the Buckeyes and is 212-83 (.719) 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 424-204 (.675).
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, 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 RETURN HOME NEXT WEEK
Ohio State returns home next week to face Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 29. OSU then plays Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Purdue match will be carried by Fox Sports Chicago, on tape delay, on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
