Women’s Volleyball Host No. 13 Penn State and Indiana – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 17, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (17-1, 7-1 Big Ten) has home matches this weekend against Penn State (16-4, 5-3) Friday and Indiana (12-6, 3-5) Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. The Saturday match will be carried on a delayed basis by ESPN2. The match will be broadcast at 3:30 p.m. eastern Sunday. Jack Edwards and Heather Cox will call the action.
Ohio State split a pair of road matches last weekend. No. 8 Minnesota handed the Buckeyes its first loss of the season with a 3-2 (7-15, 15-7, 4-15, 15-7, 15-9) decision. OSU rebounded Saturday with a 3-0 (15-9, 16-14, 15-10) win at Iowa. The Buckeyes are now in a three-way tie with Minnesota (18-1, 7-1) and Wisconsin (17-2, 7-1) for first place in the Big Ten Conference.
OSU RANKS 11TH AND 8TH
Ohio State is ranked 11th in the USA TODAY/AVCA Top 25 Poll for the third week. The Buckeyes dropped to No. 8 in the Volleyball Magazine Poll this week after holding the No. 7 spot last week.
LOOKING AT THE BUCKEYES
Offensively Ohio State is showing great balance in the offense with five players averaging 3.19 or more kills per game. Dana Stearns (Sr., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) has a team-high 216 kills (3.54 per game) with Anne Botica (Jr., Windsor, Ont./St. Joseph) second with 201 (3.41) and Shelly Draeger (So., Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) third with 200 kills (3.23). Suzie Stiling (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) has 203 (3.22) and Sue Calligaris (So., Palermo, Italy/Liceo Linguistico) 201 kills (3.19). Calligaris is the squad’s top percentage hitter at .375 with Stearns second at .374. Katie Virtue (So., St. Charles, Ill./St. Francis) quarterbacks the team and is averaging 14.24 assists per game (897). Botica is the team leader in ace serves with 28 (.47) with Virtue second with 24 (.38). Defensively Botica leads the team with 170 digs (2.88), one of six players who average two or more digs per game. Stearns is second with 163 (2.67) and Calligaris third with 157 (2.49). Virtue has 155 digs (2.46), Draeger 138 (2.23) and Nikki Cisco (Jr., Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman). At the net, Stearns leads the team with 67 (5 solo, 62 assists) blocks (1.10) and Stiling is second with 64 (5-59, 1.02). As a team, Ohio State is hitting .266 and averages 17.89 kills per game. The Buckeyes are averaging 2.56 blocks, 16.00 digs and 1.76 aces per game. OSU opponents are hitting .152 and average 13.46 kills per game. Opponents average 2.48 blocks, 12.94 digs and 1.16 aces per game.
WINNING STREAK ENDS
OSU’s 16-match winning streak ended with a 3-2 loss at No. 8 Minnesota. The 16 wins to open the 2000 season is Ohio State’s best-ever start.
OSU 3-1 VS. RANKED TEAMS
OSU’s loss to Minnesota was the Buckeyes first defeat to a ranked team this season. Previously Ohio State had beaten No. 17 Michigan State, No. 21 Michigan and No. 10 Wisconsin (in Madison).
THE TRIPLE THREES
Ohio State’s five starters are averaging thee-plus kills per game for the season. These include Dana Stearns (3.54), Anne Botica (3.41), Shelly Draeger (3.23), Suzie Stiling (3.22) and Sue Calligaris (3.19).
THE TERRIFIC TWOS
Not to be outdone by the offense, OSU has six players averaging two-plus digs per game. These include five starters and defensive specialist Nikki Cisco. They include Anne Botica (2.88), Dana Stearns (2.67), Sue Calligaris (2.49), Katie Virtue (2.46), Shelly Draeger (2.23) and Cisco (2.05).
STILING HAS CAREER-HIGHS
With 17 kills against Iowa, Suzie Stiling set a career-high against the Hawkeyes. Her previous best was 16, at Purdue in 1999 and twice this season at Wisconsin and against Purdue. She also had a season-high three assist blocks against the Hawkeyes which tied her career high set last season at Loyola Marymount. Stiling has scored double-figure kills in her last seven matches.
STILING NEARS 19TH IN ASSIST BLOCKS
Ranking 20th with 138 career assist blocks, Suzie Stiling is within four of passing No. 19 Tricia Stragliotto (1992-95) with 141 and tying No. 18 Andrea Pankova (1995-97) with 142. Stiling is second on the squad in blocking with a 1.02 per game average. She has five solo and 59 assists. In seven of the last nine matches she has recorded five or more total blocks.
STEARNS AND CAREER RANKINGS
In several OSU career categories, Dana Stearns is nearing new rankings. With 1,176 kills, she ranks 10th and needs 36 to pass No. 9 Tricia Stragliotto (1993-96) with 1,211. Stearns is 17th in aces with 95. She needs four to pass No. 16 Vicki Wright (1983-86) with 98. In blocking, Stearns ranks third in assists with 336. She needs 25 assists to pass No. 2 Sherri Helman (1993-96) with 360. In total blocks she has 364 and ranks sixth. Stearns needs 22 total blocks to pass the duo of Leisa Wissler (1988-91) and Sherri Rinker (1984-87) with 385 who are tied for fourth.
SEASON-HIGH DIGS FOR CISCO
With 12 digs at Minnesota, Nikki Cisco set a season high defensively. It marked her sixth double-figure dig match in the last 10. She came back at Iowa with an additional eight digs on the weekend.
CALLIGARIS EQUALS CAREER-HIGH
A 15-dig performance at Iowa for Sue Calligaris was a season-high and equaled her career high set at Wisconsin in 1999. On the weekend, she had a team-high 14 kills (.370), 12 digs and two assist blocks at Minnesota and 13 kills (.290), 15 digs, and an ace serve at Iowa.
BOTICA PROVIDES OFFENSE AT IOWA
With 20 kills in the three-game win at Iowa, Ann Botica was OSU’s team leader in kills against the Hawkeyes. She hit .436 (20-3-39) in the match and had seven digs. It was her third-consecutive match with double-figure kills and eighth for the season. She ranks second on the team in kills per game at 3.41 (201) and has a team-high 4.00 kills per game (120) in Big Ten play.
VIRTUE SETS, SERVES AND DIGS
With 53 assists against Minnesota and 61 at Iowa, Katie Virtue has provided Ohio State offense with the touch needed to run the Buckeyes’ quick offense. Virtue is averaging 14.24 assists per game and was ranked sixth nationally last week with a 14.25 mark. The balanced offense has five players averaging 3.19 or more kills per game. Virtue also provides offense with her 24 aces this season, ranking second on the team. Defensively, she is one of six Buckeyes averaging two plus digs per game. She averages 2.46 (155), ranking fourth on the team.
DRAEGER PROVIDING DEFENSE
An 11-dig performance against Minnesota was followed by 13 against Iowa last week for Shelly Draeger. It was her fourth double-figure dig match in the last six. She added three ace serves against the Gophers to tie her season high. Draeger had 13 kills against Iowa, her best offensive showing in eight matches when she posted 13 kills against Michigan State
DIVISION I NATIONAL STATISTICS
In the NCAA national statistics release Oct. 10, Dana Stearns was ranked 13th in hitting percentage at .402 and Katie Virtue was ranked 6th in assists at 14.25. In team statistics, the Buckeyes are fourth in kills per game at 18.07, seventh in assists at 15.96 and 14th in hitting percentage at .278.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
Ten Ohio State matches are scheduled to be telecast this season. The Buckeyes are scheduled for six matches on the Ohio News Network. The matches are part of a 30-plus event package between Ohio State and ONN. The following matches comprise the volleyball package (broadcast times subject to change): at Marshall, Sept. 5 (replay Sept. 6, 11:30 p.m.), Toledo Sept. 9 (live), OSU’s match Sept. 10 (live), Cincinnati Sept. 12 (Sept. 12, 11:30 p.m.), Michigan Sept. 24 (live), Illinois Oct. 7 (Oct. 8, 1 p.m.), and Wisconsin Nov. 5 (Nov. 5, 11 p.m.). Ohio State has one of three Big Ten matches to be aired by ESPN2. OSU will host Indiana Oct. 21 with broadcast Oct. 22 at 3:30 p.m. The Buckeyes will appear in two of the eight Big Ten matches to be carried by Fox Sports Chicago. OSU’s match at Iowa Oct. 14 will be broadcast at 4 p.m. Oct. 15 and the Buckeye contest at Penn State Nov. 18 will be broadcast at 4 p.m. Nov. 19.
LOOKING AT PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions are 16-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten. They are tied for fourth place with Michigan State. Penn State hosts Indiana Wednesday. The Nittany Lions have won five-consecutive matches since dropping its first three conference matches. Last week Penn State won home matches against Purdue 3-0 (15-3, 15-6, 15-4) and Illinois 3-0 (15-9, 15-6, 15-1).
Penn State leads the series 19-9. The Nittany Lions have won the last eight matches dating back to 1996 season. Prior to that, Ohio State had won six straight. The Buckeyes have won five of the 12 matches in Columbus. The Lions have won the last three matches in St. John Arena. Last season Penn State won 3-0 (15-5, 15-5, 15-1) in University Park and 3-1 (15-6, 15-12, 15-17, 15-4) in Columbus.
LOOKING AT INDIANA
The Hoosiers are 12-6 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten. They are tied with Michigan for seventh place in the conference. Indiana plays at Penn State Wednesday. The Hoosiers snapped a five-match losing streak with wins over Illinois 3-1 (15-9, 15-11, 16-18, 15-7) and Purdue 3-0 (15-3, 15-8, 15-10) at home last week.
Ohio State leads the series 29-17. The teams split the two matches last season. Ohio State won in Columbus 3-1 (15-2, 15-9, 6-15, 15-4) and Indiana won in Bloomington 3-0 (15-5, 15-10, 15-10). Ohio State has a 16-6 record against Indiana in Columbus. The Buckeyes have won 10 of the last 11 matches in St. John Arena. The lone loss came in 1997, a 3-1 (10-15, 15-10, 15-6, 15-11) Hoosier victory.
HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 19th year at Ohio State. He has a 415-183 (.695) record with the Buckeyes and is 235-100 (.701) in Big Ten play. His squads have won Big Ten championships in 1989, 1991 and 1994 and in the last 11 years has only finished below third twice. 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 11 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 (1979-1981). His 22-year career record is 465-224 (.675).
THE DEAN OF THE BIG TEN COACHES
Head coach Jim Stone begins his 19th-year in the Big Ten at Ohio State. Closest to Stone is Mike Hebert of Minnesota who is entering his 18th season. He spent 14 years at Illinois and the last four at Minnesota.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State closes out the month of October with matches at Illinois Friday, Oct. 27 and Purdue Saturday, Oct. 28. This marks the beginning of the second round of the Big Ten Conference double round robin schedule.
A LOOK AT THE BUCKEYES
#10 ANGELEE ABBRING
Saw action against Liberty and Minnesota recording one kill.
#4 ERIN BAKER
Played against Liberty.
#8 ANNE BOTICA
Named to the Ameritech and Buckeye Invitational All-Tournament Teams. Career-highs of 27 kills and 28 digs in upset win at Wisconsin. Career-high seven aces (ties OSU match record) against Illinois State. Season-high .452 (17-3-31) against Illinois.
#12 SUE CALLIGARIS
Named to the All-Tournament Team of the Temple Volleyball Classic. Career-high 21 kills against Michigan State. Had a season-high 14 digs against the Spartans. Has six double-doubles (kills-digs) matches this season. Hit a career-high .550 (13-2-20) at Marhsall. Equaled her career-high of six assist blocks in the Temple and Toledo matches. Traveled to London and Germany during the summer.
#11 NIKKI CISCO
Back row defensive specialist. Season-high 12 digs at Minnesota. Had 11 digs against Purdue and 10 digs against Liberty, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. Double-figure digs in five of the last seven matches. Her team finished second out of 192 in a mud volleyball tournament for epilepsy during the summer.
#15 SHELLY DRAEGER
Career-high 20 kills against Toledo. Hit a season-high .400 (11-3-20) at Marshall. Career-high 16-digs at Wisconsin. Six double-double (kills-digs) matches this season. Equaled her career-high of four blocks against Michigan.
#7 DANA STEARNS
Named to the Ameritech Invitational All-Tournament Team. Named the Most Valuable Player of the Buckeye Invitational. Season-high 20 kills against Connecticut. Tied her career-high of 19 digs at Wisconsin. Double-figure kills in 13 of the last 16 matches. Has had double-figure digs in eight of the last 12 matches. Equaled her career-high of nine assist blocks against Temple. Tenth in OSU career kills with 1,176. Needs 36 to pass No. 9 Tricia Stragliotto (1993-95) with 1,211. She ranks 17th in aces with 95 and needs four to pass No. 16 Vicki Wright (1983-86) with 98. Third in OSU career assist blocks with 336. Needs 25 to pass No. 2 Sherri Helman (1993-96) with 360. Sixth in OSU career total blocks with 364. Needs 22 to pass No. 4 Leisa Wissler (1988-91) and Sherri Rinker (1984-87) with 385.
#9 SUZIE STILING
Hit a career-high .615 (10-2-13) against Illinois. Career-high three ace serves against Colgate and at Marshall. Season-high seven digs against Seton Hall. Career-high of 17 kills at Iowa. Double-figure kills in the last seven matches and in 14 of the last 16 matches. Season-high seven blocks (1-6) against Michigan and at Northwestern (0-7). Ranks 20th in career block assists with 138. Needs four blocks to pass No. 19 Tricia Stragliotto (1992-95) with 141 and tie No. 18 Andrea Pankova (1995-97) with 142. Had her first experience with coaching during the summer.
#13 ERIN TREADWAY
Hit a career-high .700 (8-1-10) against Illinois State coming off the bench in the last two games. Did not play against Colgate because of illness. Started against Temple and had a season-high 11 kills in the match. Had six kills off the bench in the win against Wisconsin, keying wins in game four and five. Was an assistant coach for the Fair Valley Country Club’s swim team during the summer. The team placed second overall in the Greater Dayton Swimming Association Championships. Her aunt Janis Browning (Janis Reichert) played volleyball for Ohio State, lettering in 1975-76.
#3 KATIE VIRTUE
Most Valuable Player of the Temple Volleyball Classic and the Ameritech Invitational. Named to the Buckeye Invitational All-Tournament Team. Career-high 83 assists in win at Wisconsin. Equaled her career-high of six kills against Toledo as she hit a season-high .857 (6-0-7). Season-high 16 digs against Michigan. Cut her right knee (four stitches) hitting scoring table at Marshall. Preseason All-Big Ten selection. Had a season-high four assist blocks three times this year. Career-high two solo blocks against Michigan. Double-figure digs in six of the last eight matches including a season-high 16 against Michigan. Ranks sixth in career assists with 2,267. Needs 355 to pass No. 5 Marlene O’Brien (1983-86) with 2,621. Played during the summer for the USA under-20 team in an international tournament in Italy where they beat Yugoslavia for the gold.
#6 HEATHER WHALEN
Saw her first action as backrow specialist at Marshall. Came in at setter for the injured Katie Virtue in the third game collecting 17 assists. Went white-water rafting in California during the summer.
TEAM NOTES
Ohio State’s season-high .455 (48-8-88) hitting percentage against Liberty ranks as the 11th best mark in the history of OSU volleyball. The Buckeyes have reached double-figure aces in three matches this season (Colgate 11, Illinois State 12, at Minnesota 10). Double-figure blocks have been reached in eight matches (Temple 15, Toledo 14.5, Michigan 14, Western Michigan 11, Michigan State 10, Northwestern 12, Purdue 11, at Minnesota 11). OSU had a season-high 108 digs against Wisconsin. Defensively, Ohio State has had five opponents hit under .100 (Colgate .038, Seton Hall .080, Liberty .025, Western Michigan .032, Northwestern -.021). Marshall holds the best opponent hitting percentage at .273.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
(as of Oct. 15) Conf. Pct. All Pct. 1 Minnesota 7-1 .875 18-1 .947 Ohio State 7-1 .875 17-1 .944 Wisconsin 7-1 .875 17-2 .895 4 Penn State 5-3 .625 16-4 .800 Michigan State 5-3 .625 12-5 .706 6 Iowa 4-4 .500 8-8 .500 7 Indiana 3-5 .375 12-6 .667 Michigan 3-5 .375 12-6 .667 9 Illinois 1-7 .125 10-9 .526 Purdue 1-7 .125 9-11 .450 Northwestern 1-7 .125 4-14 .222
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
October 18 Indiana at Penn State 20 Penn State at Ohio State Iowa at Michigan Wisconsin at Purdue Minnesota at Michigan State Northwestern at Illinois 21 Indiana at Ohio State Minnesota at Michigan Wisconsin at Illinois Iowa at Michigan State Northwestern at Purdue
BIG TEN STATISTICS Team (Conference matches) Hitting Pct. 1 MINN .268 4 PSU .243 5 OSU .242 9 IND .181
Kills 1 WIS 18.85 2 OSU 18.00 7 PSU 15.90 9 IND 14.90
Assists 1 WIS 16.70 3 OSU 15.83 6 PSU 14.55 8 IND 14.00
Service Aces 1 WIS 1.67 4 PSU 1.48 5 OSU 1.37 10 IND 1.03
Digs 1 WIS 19.19 2 OSU 17.80 5 IND 16.07 9 PSU 14.16
Blocks 1 WIS 3.56 2 PSU 3.52 7 OSU 2.63 9 IND 2.33
Individual (Conference matches)
Hitting Percentage
1 Stephanie Hagen, MINN .417 3 Sue Calligaris, OSU .352 8 Suzie Stiling, OSU .332 10 Amanda Welter, IND .319
Kills 1 Sherisa Livingston, WIS 6.07 3 Mishka Levy, PSU 4.77 10 Anne Botica, OSU 4.00
Assists 1 Katie Virtue, OSU 14.80 6 Laurie Gardner, IND 12.27 7 Jessica Hayden, PSU 12.22
Service Aces 1 Meggan Kohnen, WIS .48
Digs 1 Nicole Branagh, MINN 3.78 5 Anne Botica, OSU 3.30 10 Katie Virtue, OSU 3.00
Blocks 1 Robyn Guokas, PSU 1.89 7 Suzie Stiling, OSU 1.37 10 Melissa Brewer, IND 1.17
USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll
Oct. 16, 2000 – Poll #7 Rk School Total 2000 Last (First-Place Votes) Points Record Week 1 Nebraska (49) 1,489 17-0 1 2 Hawai’i (11) 1,449 15-0 2 3 Colorado State 1,377 21-1 3 4 So. California 1,230 14-1 4 5 Arizona 1,224 15-2 6 6 Wisconsin 1,201 17-2 7 7 Minnesota 1,149 18-1 8 8 UCLA 1,052 12-5 10 9 Pepperdine 1,011 15-3 5 10 Florida 980 15-3 9 11 Ohio State 888 17-1 11 12 UC Santa Barbara 837 14-4 14 13 Penn State 788 16-4 12 14 Pacific 766 14-3 13 15 Santa Clara 662 17-1 16 16 Brigham Young 550 13-5 17 17 Stanford 513 11-6 21 18 Utah 452 15-3 15 19 Long Beach State 372 12-5 18 20 Michigan State 352 12-5 19 21 Notre Dame 337 14-4 20 22 Utah State 242 14-5 25 23 Loyola Marymount 208 14-5 23 24 Missouri 171 16-2 24 25 Texas A&M 93 11-5 22 Others receiving 30 or more points: None
Volleyball Magazine Top 20 Poll
Oct. 16, 2000/Poll #8 2000 Last Rk School Record Week 1 Hawai’i 15-0 2 2 Nebraska 17-0 3 3 Colorado State 21-1 4 4 Arizona 15-2 5 5 Southern California 14-1 1 6 Wisconsin 17-2 8 7 Minnesota 18-1 9 8 Ohio State 17-1 7 9 Penn State 16-4 10 10 Pacific 14-3 11 11 Florida 15-3 12 12 UCLA 12-5 13 13 UC Santa Barbara 13-4 15 14 Pepperdine 15-3 6 15 Stanford 11-6 19 16 Long Beach State 12-5 14 17 Santa Clara 17-1 17 18 Brigham Young 13-5 18 19 Utah 15-3 16 20 Kansas State 13-4 NR Others: Utah State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Texas Tech, Loyola Marymount, North Carolina, Baylor, Michigan, Arizona State, Cal Poly
