No. 13 Women’s Volleyball Faces Northwestern and No. 5 Wisconsin In Home Matches This Weekend – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (20-2, 10-2 Big Ten) has home matches against Northwestern and Wisconsin this weekend. OSU hosts Northwestern (4-18, 1-11) Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 5 Wisconsin (21-2, 11-1) Sunday at 2 p.m. The Wisconsin match will be delayed cablecast by the Ohio News Network Sunday at 11 p.m. Arica Robbins will call the play-by-play with former OSU All-America setter Audrey (DiPronio) Flaugh handling the color.
Last week Ohio State won at Illinois, 3-0 (15-9, 15-6, 15-12), Friday and defeated Purdue, 3-0 (15-6, 15-5, 15-11), Saturday. The Buckeyes moved into a second -place tie with Minnesota (21-2, 10-2) in the Big Ten Conference.
B97 FRIDAY FAMILY NIGHT
The match Friday against Northwestern is WBNS Radio B97 Friday Family Night. For $20 a family of four receives four admission tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and a box of popcorn.
FRIDAY T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY
The first 500 fans at the Friday Northwestern match will receive a free t-shirt.
BUCKEYE KIDS CLUB DAY SUNDAY
Sunday’s match against Wisconsin will be Buckeye Kids Club Day. Holiday coloring contest drawings will be displayed in the Arena concourse with the winner being announced during the match. A drawing for kids 13-and-under will be held to win a Razor Scooter. Following the match an autograph session will be held with the team.
OSU RANKS 13TH IN BOTH POLLS
Ohio State remained 13th in the USA TODAY/AVCA Top 25 Poll for the second consecutive week. The Buckeyes were also No. 13 in the Volleyball Magazine Poll for the second week.
LOOKING AT THE BUCKEYES
Offensively Ohio State is showing great balance with five players averaging 2.96 or more kills per game. Dana Stearns (Sr., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) averages 3.39 per game (254) with Suzie Stiling (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) second at 3.35 (258) and Anne Botica (Jr., Windsor, Ont./St. Joseph) third with 3.27 (239). Shelly Draeger (So., Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) averages 3.24 (246) and Sue Calligaris (So., Palermo, Italy/Liceo Linguistico) 2.96 (228). Stearns is the squad’s top percentage hitter at .389 with Calligaris second at .360. Katie Virtue (So., St. Charles, Ill./St. Francis) quarterbacks the team and is averaging 13.96 assists per game (1,075). Botica is the team leader in ace serves with 33 (.45) with Virtue second with 26 (.34). Defensively Botica leads the team in digs with a 2.97 average (217 digs), one of six players whom average 1.90 or more digs per game. Stearns is second at 2.67 (200) and Calligaris third with 2.48 (191). Virtue averages 2.44 digs per game (188) with Draeger 2.14 (163) and Nikki Cisco (Jr., Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) 1.90 (146). At the net, Stearns leads the team in blocking with a 1.11 per game average on 83 blocks (7 solo, 76 assists) and Stiling is second at 1.09 (84 blocks, 8-76). As a team, Ohio State is hitting .271 and averages 17.44 kills per game. The Buckeyes are averaging 2.58 blocks, 15.75 digs and 1.78 aces per game. OSU opponents are hitting .151 and average 13.13 kills per game. Opponents average 2.45 blocks, 12.53 digs and 1.19 aces per game.
BUCKEYES REACH 20 WINS
Ohio State’s 3-0 win at Purdue marked the Buckeyes 20th win of the season. It is OSU’s first 20-win season since 1997. For the last two seasons Ohio State finished with 17 wins. Prior to the 1998 season the Buckeyes had won 21 or more matches in nine consecutive years.
OSU 3-2 VS. RANKED TEAMS
OSU has won three of five matches against teams ranked in the USA TODAY/AVCA Top 25 Poll. The Buckeyes have home wins over No. 17 Michigan State, No. 21 Michigan and a road victory at No. 10 Wisconsin. OSU’s losses have come at No. 8 Minnesota and at home to No. 13 Penn State.
A BALANCED ATTACK
Ohio State has four starters averaging three-plus kills per game for the season and the fifth at 2.96. These include Dana Stearns (3.39), Suzie Stiling (3.35), Anne Botica (3.27), Shelly Draeger (3.24) and Sue Calligaris (2.96).
DIGS BALANCED TOO
Not to be outdone by the offense, OSU has five players averaging two-plus digs per game. They include Anne Botica (2.97), Dana Stearns (2.67), Sue Calligaris (2.48), Katie Virtue (2.44), Shelly Draeger (2.14). Defensive specialist Nikki Cisco is close behind at 1.90.
STILING PROVIDES FIREPOWER
With 13 kills against Illinois and Purdue last weekend, Suzie Stiling had the big numbers for Ohio State. She averaged 4.33 kills per game, hit .314 and averaged 2.00 blocks per game. She had seven blocks (1-6) at Illinois to equal her season-high in total blocks for the third time.
CALLIGARIS SERVES UP CAREER-HIGH
A four-ace performance by Sue Calligaris at Purdue set a career-high for the Italian native. Her previous high was two earlier this season against Toledo.
STEARNS AND CALLIAGRIS HOT HITTERS
The hot percentage hitters last weekend were Dana Stearns and Sue Calligaris. Stearns hit .429 (15 kills, 3 errors and 28 attempts) on the weekend while Calligaris hit .500 (16-3-26). While Stearns hit only .167 (5-3-12) at Purdue, she had a match-high .625 (10-0-16) at Illinois. Calligaris hit a match-high .538 (8-1-13) at Purdue and .462 (8-2-13) at Illinois. The duo ranks one-two for the season with Stearns hitting .389 and Calligaris .360.
STILING 17TH IN ASSIST BLOCKS
With her 11 assist blocks on the weekend, Suzie Stiling now has 155 in her career and has moved to 17th on the OSU career list. She passed Brianne Spiers (95-96, 98-99) with 148. Stiling needs 14 assists to pass No. 16 Shellye Sills (97-99) with 168.
STILING RANKS 18TH IN TOTAL BLOCKS
Suzie Stiling’s 12 total blocks (1-11) last weekend gives her 178 (23-155) for her career and moved her into a tied for 18th on the OSU career list with Andrea Pankova (95-97) (36-142). Stiling needs four total blocks to pass No. 17 Shellye Sills (97-99) with 181 (13-168).
STEARNS 9TH IN CAREER KILLS
A 15-kill weekend (10 at Illinois, 5 at Purdue) for Dana Stearns raised her career kill total to 1,214 and moved her past Tricia Stragliotto (93-95) with 1,211 into ninth place on the OSU all-time list. Stearns needs 14 kills to pass No. 8 Rosie Snow (96-99) with 1,227 and 29 kills to pass No. 7 Kristi Neuman (83-86) with 1,242.
STEARNS TIED AT 16TH IN CAREER ACES
Two ace serves against Illinois raised the career total of Dana Stearns to 98 and moved her into a tie for 16th on the OSU career list with Vicki Wright (1983-86). Stearns needs four aces to pass No. 15 Margie Meyers (84-87) with 101, which would tie her for 14th with Jen Flynn (96-99) who has 102.
STEARNS CAREER BLOCK STATUS
Four assist blocks against Illinois and two at Purdue raised Dana Stearns’ career assist block total to 350. Currently ranked third, Stearns needs 11 assist blocks to pass No. 2 Sherri Helman (93-96) with 360. Stearns ranks sixth in OSU career total blocks with 380 (30-350). She needs six total blocks to pass the duo of Leisa Wissler (88-91) and Sherri Rinker (84-87), each with 385, to move into fourth on the OSU all-time list.
DIVISION I NATIONAL STATISTICS
In the NCAA national statistics released Oct. 24, Katie Virtue was ranked eighth in assists at 14.14. In team statistics, the Buckeyes are ninth in kills per game at 17.61, 11th in assists at 15.69 and 18th in hitting percentage at .268.
BUCKEYES 9-1 IN TELEVISED MATCHES
Ohio State has had 10 matches televised on a state, regional or national level this season and has won nine of those. The Buckeyes are 6-0 on the Ohio News Network (ONN) which covers the state of Ohio. OSU split road matches on Midwest Sports Channel (MSC), a regional cable network, defeated Iowa in a match carried by Fox Sports and won its national cable appearance on ESPN2. Ohio State has three more televised matches. They host Wisconsin Sunday in a match carried by ONN at 11 p.m. Next week Ohio State plays at Michigan State Saturday, Oct. 11, in a match carried live by AT&T Cable. The following week OSU plays at Penn State Saturday, Nov. 18 in a match televised by Fox Sports Sunday, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. eastern.
OHIO STATE TELEVISED MATCHES
Date Opponent Score TV 9- 5 at Marshall W, 3-0 ONN 9- 9 Toledo W, 3-1 ONN 9-10 Illinois State W, 3-1 ONN 9-12 Cincinnati W, 3-0 ONN 9-24 Michigan W, 3-1 ONN 9-29 at Wisconsin W, 3-2 MSC 10- 7 Illinois W, 3-0 ONN 10-13 at Minnesota L, 2-3 MSC 10-14 at Iowa W, 3-0 FOX 10-21 Indiana W, 3-0 ESPN2 11- 5 Wisconsin 2 p.m. ONN 11-11 at Michigan State 8 p.m. ATT 11-18 at Penn State 8 p.m. FOX
LOOKING AT NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats are 4-18 overall and 1-11 in the Big Ten. Northwestern has lost its last 10 matches. It faces conference leader Wisconsin at home Wednesday. The Wildcats lost home matches last weekend to Minnesota 3-1 (15-9, 9-15, 6-15, 6-15) and Iowa 3-0 (15-8, 15-2, 16-14).
Ohio State leads the series with Northwestern 35-9. OSU has a four-match winning streak overall and has victories in 22 of its last 23 matches. In Columbus, Ohio State has won 16-of-18 matches including 15 in a row.
LAST TIME VS. NORTHWESTERN
Ohio State allowed Northwestern only four points in the first two games to take a 15-2, 15-2, 15-8 win in Evanston. Suzie Stiling had a match-high 12 kills for OSU with NU’s Molly Kamp scoring a team-high seven kills. In the first two games, 18 of OSU’s 30 points came off Northwestern errors. OSU held 6-0 and 9-2 leads in game three before Northwestern was able to cut the Buckeye lead to 12-8. A block by Shelly Draeger and Stiling and two Wildcat errors closed out the 70-minute match. For the match Ohio State hit .325 to -.021 for Northwestern. The Buckeyes had a 39-29 advantage in kills, a 29-20 margin in digs and outblocked Northwestern 12-5. OSU had a 4-1 advantage in ace serves.
LOOKING AT WISCONSIN
The Badgers are 21-2 overall and 11-1 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin has won eight consecutive matches since its home loss to Ohio State 3-2 (14-16, 10-15, 15-11, 17-15, 15-12). The Badgers play at Northwestern Wednesday. In home matches last week the Badgers defeated Iowa 3-0 (15-5, 15-8, 15-4) and Minnesota 3-1 (15-12, 15-4, 12-15, 15-10). The Minnesota victory gave Wisconsin sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference.
Ohio State leads the series with the Badgers 26-13. The Buckeyes have the edge in matches played in Columbus, 13-5. Wisconsin has won the last three matches played in St. John Arena. In the last three matches played (two in Madison, one in Columbus) the road team has won all three in five-game matches.
LAST TIME VS. WISCONSIN
Down two games to none, Ohio State rallied to upset No. 10 Wisconsin, 3-0 (14-16, 10-15, 15-11, 17-15, 15-12). OSU’s Anne Botica had career-highs of 27 kills and 28 digs with a total of five Buckeyes reaching double-figure kills and six with double-figure digs. UW’s Sherisa Livingston had a match-high 37 kills in the loss. The Buckeyes held a 14-12 lead in game one but lost that game and game two. OSU held a 7-1 lead in game four and served game point at 14-12. Wisconsin served for the match at 15-14 but OSU sided out on a Suzie Stiling kill. The Buckeyes rallied and took the game 17-15 with a kill by Katie Virtue, another by Erin Treadway and a block by Stiling and Treadway. Game five stayed close but OSU held on for the 15-11 win. OSU hit .212 to .208 for Wisconsin. The Buckeyes had a 99-91 edge in kills, an 108-97 margin in digs and outserved UW, six to three. The Badgers outblocked OSU 20-to-9.
HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 19th year at Ohio State. He has a 418-183 (.696) record with the Buckeyes and is 238-101 (.702) 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 468-225 (.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 has road matches next week with Michigan, Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m., and Michigan State, Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m.
A LOOK AT THE BUCKEYES
#10 ANGELEE ABBRING
Has played in five matches. Recorded a kill against Liberty and Minnesota.
#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. Double-figure kills in five of last six matches. 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 15 digs at Iowa. Has six double-doubles (kills-digs) matches this season. Hit a career-high .550 (13-2-20) at Marshall. Equaled her career-high of six assist blocks in the Temple and Toledo matches. Career-high four aces at Purdue. 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. 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. Equaled her career high hitting percentage of .500 against Indiana. Career-high 16-digs at Wisconsin. Seven double-double (kills-digs) matches this season. Equaled her career-high of four blocks against Michigan and Penn State. Double-figure kills in three of the last five matches. Has served three aces in three of the last four matches.
#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 15 matches this season. Has had double-figure digs in nine matches. Equaled her career-high of nine assist blocks against Temple. Ninth in OSU career kills with 1,214. She passed Tricia Stragliotto (1993-95) with 1,211. She ranks in a tie for 16th in aces with 98 and tying Vicki Wright (1983-86). Third in OSU career assist blocks with 350. Needs 11 to pass No. 2 Sherri Helman (1993-96) with 360. Sixth in OSU career total blocks with 380. Needs 6 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 and against Penn State. Double-figure kills in the last 11 matches and in 18 of the last 20 matches. Season-high seven blocks (1-6) against Michigan, at Northwestern (0-7) and at Illinois (1-6). Ranks 17th in career block assists with 155. Needs 14 assist blocks to pass No. 16 Shellye Sills (1997-99) with 168. She is tied for 18th in career total blocks with 178 (23-155) with Andrea Pankova (36-142) (1995-97) She needs four total blocks to pass No. 17 Shellye Sills (1997-99) with 181 (13-168). 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 17 digs against Penn State. 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. Ranks sixth in career assists with 2,445. Needs 177 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 .471 (48-7-87) hitting percentage against Indiana ranks as the ninth 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 10 matches (Temple 15, Toledo 14.5, Michigan 14, Western Michigan 11, Michigan State 10, Northwestern 12, Purdue 11, at Minnesota 11, Penn State 12, at Illinois 11.5). OSU had a season-high 108 digs against Wisconsin. Defensively, Ohio State has had six opponents hit under .100 (Colgate .038, Seton Hall .080, Liberty .025, Western Michigan .032, Northwestern -.021, at Illinois .086). Marshall holds the best opponent hitting percentage at .273.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
(as of Oct. 28) Conf. Pct. All Pct.
1 Wisconsin 11-1 .917 21-2 .913 2 Minnesota 10-2 .833 21-2 .913 Ohio State 10-2 .833 20-2 .909 4 Penn State 9-3 .750 20-4 .833 5 Iowa 7-5 .583 11-9 .550 6 Michigan State 6-6 .500 13-8 .619 7 Indiana 4-8 .333 13-9 .600 8 Michigan 3-9 .250 13-10 .591 Purdue 3-9 .250 11-13 .458 10 Illinois 2-10 .167 11-12 .478 11 Northwestern 1-11 .083 4-18 .182
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
November 1 Wisconsin at Northwestern 3 Illinois at Michigan State Indiana at Minnesota Penn State at Iowa Purdue at Michigan Northwestern at Ohio State, 7 p.m. 4 Illinois at Michigan Indiana at Iowa Purdue at Michigan State Penn State at Minnesota 5 Wisconsin at Ohio State, 2 p.m.
BIG TEN STATISTICS
Team (Conference matches)
Hitting Pct. 1 WIS .278 3 OSU .258 11 NOR .155
Kills 1 WIS 19.05 3 OSU 17.18 11 NOR 12.90
Assists 1 WIS 17.02 3 OSU 15.18 11 NOR 11.54
Service Aces 1 ILL 1.65 3 OSU 1.52 4 WIS 1.50 8 NOR 1.38
Digs 1 WIS 19.25 2 OSU 16.80 11 NOR 11.17
Blocks 1 MINN 3.67 3 WIS 3.49 5 NOR 2.88 7 OSU 2.65
Individual (Conference matches)
Hitting Percentage 1 Stephanie Hagen, MINN .414 4 Dana Stearns, OSU .354 5 Sherisa Livingston, WIS .340 6 Suzie Stiling, OSU .335 7 Sue Calligaris, OSU .333 9 Claudia Rodriguez, WIS .326
Kills 1 Sherisa Livingston, WIS 5.70 3 Jenny Maastricht, WIS 4.93
Assists 1 Lizzy Fitzgerald, WIS 15.00 3 Katie Virtue, OSU 14.14 10 Kelli Meyer, NOR 10.62
Service Aces 1 Amber Lindner, ILL .65 4 Meggan Kohnen, WIS .45 6 Shelly Draeger, OSU .36
Digs 1 Nicole Branagh, MINN 3.71 2 Meggan Kohnen, WIS 3.60 4 Anne Botica, OSU 3.32 6 Erin Byrd, WIS 3.28 9 Lizzy Fitzgerald, WIS 3.11
Blocks 1 Robyn Guokas, PSU 1.80 4 Erika Lange, NOR 1.48 5 Sherisa Livingston, WIS 1.48 6 Suzie Stiling, OSU 1.39 10 Meggan Kohnen, WIS 1.15
USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll
Oct. 30, 2000 – Poll #9 Rk School Total 2000 Last (First-Place Votes) Points Record Week 1 Nebraska (52) 1,492 21-0 1 2 Hawai’i (8) 1,448 20-0 2 3 So. California 1,361 19-1 4 4 Arizona 1,317 19-2 5 5 Wisconsin 1,235 21-2 6 6 Colorado State 1,202 23-2 3 7 Minnesota 1,104 21-2 7 8 UCLA 1,089 16-5 8 9 Pepperdine 1,047 20-3 9 10 Florida 942 19-3 10 11 Penn State 899 20-4 11 12 Pacific 848 18-3 12 13 Ohio State 771 20-2 13 14 Brigham Young 702 17-6 16 15 UC Santa Barbara 690 17-6 14 16 Santa Clara 636 20-2 15 17 Stanford 489 12-9 17 18 Long Beach State 436 15-7 18 19 Utah State 406 19-6 19 20 Utah 341 17-5 20 21 Texas A&M 340 15-5 21 22 Michigan State 207 13-8 23 23 Notre Dame 187 18-5 24 24 Missouri 110 18-4 25 25 Loyola Marymount 67 16-7 22 Others receiving 30 or more points: None
Volleyball Magazine Top 20 Poll
Oct. 30, 2000/Poll #10 2000 Last Rk School Record Week 1 Hawai’i 20-0 1 2 Nebraska 21-0 2 3 Arizona 19-2 4 4 Southern California 19-1 5 5 Wisconsin 21-2 6 6 Colorado State 23-2 3 7 Pacific 18-3 9 8 Minnesota 21-2 7 9 Penn State 20-4 8 10 Florida 19-3 10 11 UCLA 16-5 11 12 Pepperdine 20-3 12 13 Ohio State 20-2 13 14 UC Santa Barbara 17-6 14 15 Brigham Young 17-6 18 16 Santa Clara 20-2 17 17 Stanford 12-9 15 18 Long Beach State 15-7 16 19 Utah 17-5 19 20 Utah State 19-6 NR Others: Kansas State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Texas Tech, Loyola Marymount, North Carolina, Baylor, Michigan, Arizona State, Missouri.
