Volleyball Hosts Cleveland State Sunday – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/18/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 18, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State, ranked 14th in the USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll, hosts Cleveland State Sunday at 2 p.m. This is the final match of the five-match homestand for the Buckeyes who will play on the road for the next two weeks. Earlier in the week, OSU defeated Marshall 15-1, 15-3, 15-1 and Pittsburgh 15-7, 15-7, 15-8.
%^$No admission will be charged for the Cleveland State match. That Sunday is part of the campus-wide move-in day for the start of fall quarter. Because of the move-in activities, parking for the volleyball match is available around Ohio Stadium and in the Olentangy River Road river lots.
%^$LAURA DAVIS HONORED SUNDAY
%^$Laura Davis, the 1994 National Player of the Year, will be honored before the Cleveland State match with an All-American Banner. Davis, a two-time all-American, is currently playing with the U.S. National Team. She directed the Buckeyes to two Big Ten Championships (1991, 1994) and four NCAA tournament appearances including two trips to the national semifinals (1991, 1994)
%^$OHIO STATE VS. CLEVELAND STATE
%^$Ohio State leads the series 11-10 over the Vikings. The squads last played in 1984, in Columbus, with OSU winning 15-3, 15-10, 15-9. The Buckeyes have won the last eight meetings with Cleveland State’s last win coming in 1978 at the Cleveland State Invitational, a 15-11, 9-15, 15-12 victory. In Columbus, OSU has won five of seven meetings including the last four. On the road, the Buckeyes are 4-3 in Cleveland and 2-5 at neutral sites.
%^$LOOKING AT CLEVELAND STATE
%^$Cleveland State enters the match with a 4-5 overall record having lost its last three matches at the Kent Invitational. Alisha Bable has a team high 4.36 kills per game and is hitting .250. Michele Smith is the top percentage hitting on the squad at .280. She is averaging 3.12 kpg. Smith and Stacy Melaragno lead the team in blocking with .65 per game. Bable has a team high 124 digs for a 3.76 per game average, while Emily Burvis has a team-high 14 ace serves with Kristi Conlon adding 10. Erin Kingman runs the offense and is averaging 12.27 assist per game. The Vikings are hitting .195 as a team to .208 for its opponents. CSU averages 1.62 blocks and 15.74 digs per game. Viking opponents average 2.18 blocks and 16.82 digs per game.
%^$THE BEST OF THE BUCKEYES
%^$Ohio State is on a two-match winning streak. The Buckeyes are receiving outstanding play from Rosie Snow who is averaging 4.04 kills per game. Dana Stearns has a team high hitting percentage of .410 and averages 3.89 kpg. She also has a team high 11 ace serves and 18 total blocks (.67 per game). Former setter Jen Flynn, now an outside hitter has a team high 62 digs for a 2.21 average. She also is fourth in kills with 60 (2.14 per game). Angelee Abbring is third in kills with 76 for a 2.71 per game average. Carey Cavanaugh has set in 26 of the 28 games and has 156 assists for a 6.00 per game average. She has 32 digs and seven total blocks including three solos.
%^$OSU HANDLES MARSHALL 3-0
%^$Hitting a season-high .473, Ohio State easily defeated Marshall 15-1, 15-3, 15-1 last Tuesday. Dana Stearns had a match-high nine kills with Anne Botica adding six. OSU’s .473 hitting percentage ranks as the eighth highest match total for Ohio State.
%^$OSU DEFEATS PITTSBURGH 3-0
%^$Rosie Snow had a match-high 19 kills in leading Ohio State to a 15-7, 15-7, 15-8 win over Pittsburgh Wednesday evening. Dana Stearns and Angelee Abbring added nine kills each, while Abbring collected a career-high five block assists. Shellye Sills, starting for the injured Brianne Spiers, had four assist blocks and five kills.
%^$HEAD COACH JIM STONE
%^$Jim Stone is in his 17th year at Ohio State. He has a 370-157 (.702) record with the Buckeyes and is 210-78 (.728) in Big Ten play. His squads have won Big Ten championships in 1989, 1991 and 1994 and in the last nine years have never finished below third. In the championship years, he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and in 1991 was the Volleyball Monthly Coach of the Year. For the last nine years, OSU has participated in the NCAA Championships, advancing to the national semifinals in 1991 and 1994. Stone’s coach career record includes three years at Wyoming (1979-1981). His 19-year career record is 420-199 (.679).
%^$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 (Sept. 15, replayed Sept. 16, 7 p.m.), Pittsburgh (Sept. 16, replayed Sept. 17 & 18, 7 p.m.), Iowa (Oct. 10, replayed Oct. 11 & 13, 7 p.m.), 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 or 1:30 p.m.
