Volleyball Opens Fall Practice – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/7/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
August 7, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball team will begin practice Aug. 11 in preparation for its Sept. 1 opening match against Indiana State (7 p.m.) in St. John Arena. Eleven players report Aug. 9 to begin camp. Following pre-camp testing on Aug. 10, the squad will begin practice on Aug. 11.
The Buckeyes finished the 1997 season at 24-11 overall and 13-7 in Big Ten matches. OSU finished third in the conference and was ranked 15th by the final USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. OSU returns four starters, setter Jen Flynn (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.), outside hitter Rosie Snow (Jr., Colorado Spring, Colo.), middle blockers Dana Stearns (So., Bexley, Ohio) and Shellye Sills (Jr., Canton, Mich.) from last season as well as 1996 starter Spiers.
Additional squad members returning are middle blocker Laura Stalling (Jr., Watson, Ill.) and outside hitter Angelee Abbring (So., Wheatfield, Ill.). Rounding out the squad are four incoming freshman. They are Mandi Clark (New Castle, Ind.), middle blockers Erin Baker (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Anne Botica (Windsor, Ont.) and setter Carey Cavanaugh (Munroe Falls, Ohio).
Missing from last season are starting outside hitters Vanessa Wouters (Westmalle, Belgium) and Andrea Pankova (Prague, Czech Republic).
STEARNS RETURNS FROM U.S. NATIONAL CAMP
Dana Stearns has had a jump on the season after spending the month of July with the U.S. 2-A National Team training in Colorado Springs, Colo. Stearns was one of 18 players who advanced from a try-out camp to earn a position on the 2-A squad.
ST. JOHN ARENA, THE “NEW” HOME FOR OHIO STATE VOLLEYBALL
With the Jerome Schottenstein Center opening in October, St. John Arena is showing signs of becoming volleyball friendly. With the annual resurfacing of the arena floor, a new set of lines have been added. A volleyball court has been painted on the floor.
SPIERS READY TO PLAY
Middle blocker Brianne Spiers (Sr., Boulder, Colo.) is ready to play after missing the entire 1997 season. An anterior cruciate ligament team in March of that year was operated on, but required a second operation in September. In her sophomore year, Spiers started in 32 matches averaging 1.77 kills and 1.09 blocks per game.
FLYNN AND STEARNS, PRE-SEASON ALL-BIG TEN PICKS
Setter Jen Flynn (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) and middle blocker Dana Stearns (So., Bexley, Ohio) were selected, by a vote of the coaches, to the pre-season All-Big Ten squad. Flynn, the starting setter for Ohio State last season, was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 1977 in her first season at the setter position, while Stearns was the 1997 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 17th year at Ohio State. He has a 364-155 (.701) record with the Buckeyes and is 209-78 (.728) 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 coaching career record includes three years at Wyoming (1979-81). His 19-year career record is 414-197 (.678).
