Women’s Volleyball Hosts Iowa and Minnesota This Weekend – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (22-6 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) closes out the regular season with home matches against Iowa (13-13, 9-9) Friday, Nov. 24 and seventh-ranked Minnesota (27-2, 16-2) Saturday, Nov. 25. Both matches will start at 7 p.m.
The Minnesota match will be shown on Fox Sports-Chicago on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 11:30 a.m. Dave Loane and Terri Zemaitis will call the action.
Last week Ohio State split a pair of road matches. OSU defeated Indiana 3-1 (15-4, 8-15, 16-14, 15-7) and lost to No. 9 Penn State 0-3 (12-15, 4-15, 10-15).
OSU RANKS 17TH IN POLLS
Ohio State was 17th in the USA TODAY/AVCA Top 25 Poll for the second week. The Buckeyes fell to No. 17 in the Volleyball Magazine Poll after being No. 16 last week.
LOOKING AT THE BUCKEYES
Offensively, Ohio State is showing great balance with five players averaging 3.21 or more kills per game. Suzie Stiling (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) (327 kills) and Anne Botica (Jr., Windsor, Ont./St. Joseph) (314) average 3.34 kills per game each. Dana Stearns (Sr., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) is third at 3.30 (317). Sue Calligaris (So., Palermo, Italy/Liceo Linguistico) averages 3.26 (319) with Shelly Draeger (So., Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) 3.21 (311). Stearns is the squad’s top percentage hitter at .388 with Calligaris second at .351. Katie Virtue (So., St. Charles, Ill./St. Francis), the starting setter for the first 25 matches, is averaging 14.06 assists per game (1,223). Heather Whalen (Fr., Kalamazoo, Mich/Parchment) has seen action in 14 matches (31 games) and has three starts at setter. She has a 5.65 assist per game average (175 assists). Botica is the team leader in ace serves with 38 (.40) with Draeger second with 33 (.34). Defensively, Botica leads the team in digs with a 3.19 average (300 digs), one of six players with averages of 1.89 or more digs per game. Stearns is second at 2.68 (257) and Virtue third with 2.52 (219). Calligaris averages 2.43 digs per game (238) with Draeger 2.10 (233) and Nikki Cisco (Jr., Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) 1.89 (185). At the net, Stiling leads the team in blocking with a 1.13 per game average on 111 blocks (13 solo, 98 assists) and Stearns is second at 1.05 (101 blocks, 8-93). As a team, Ohio State is hitting .260 and averages 17.69 kills per game. The Buckeyes are averaging 2.52 blocks, 16.19 digs and 1.72 aces per game. OSU opponents are hitting .175 and average 14.14 kills per game. Opponents average 2.65 blocks, 13.57 digs and 1.14 aces per game.
SENIORS HONORED
Saturday night Ohio State will honor the two senior members of the 2000 squad, Dana Stearns and Angelee Abbring. The players will be honored after the match.
WHALEN DIRECTS WIN AT INDIANA
With career-highs of 54 assists and 14 digs, Heather Whalen directed OSU to a 3-1 win at Indiana last week. Whalen is playing in place of Katie Virtue who is being held out with a stress fracture of her left foot. Whalen had four players with double-figure kills as OSU hit .386 for the match.
VIRTUE GETS NEEDED REST
After playing seven matches with a stress fracture in her left foot, Katie Virtue has been held out of the last three matches. No decision has been made with regards to her returning to action.
CALLIGARIS POWERS BUCKEYES
With team-highs of 19 kills against Indiana and 13 at Penn State, Sue Calligaris averaged 4.57 kills per game and hit .352 last weekend. She has had double-figure kills in her last five matches. Calligaris also added double-figure digs (10 at Indiana, 11 at Penn State) in each match to average 3.00 digs per game. She also had a career-high 15 assists against Indiana.
STEARNS THE HOT HITTER
With a combined .459 hitting percentage for the weekend, Dana Stearns has been OSU’s hot hitter of late. She hit .500 (13 kills, 2 errors and 22 attempts) at Indiana and .400 (7-1-15) at Penn State. The previous week she hit .500 (10-1-18) at Michigan State. In her last three matches she is hitting .473 (30-4-55). For the season Stearns is hitting .388 and is ranked in a tie for tenth in the country and ranks third in Big Ten Conference matches at .364.
BOTICA STREAK AT SEVEN
For the last seven matches, Anne Botica has scored in double-figure kills. This includes five road matches. The streak includes: at Purdue 11, Northwestern 10, Wisconsin 16, at Michigan 11, at Michigan State 11, at Indiana 16 and at Penn State 11. She also has a streak of five matches with double-figure digs. This includes: Wisconsin 16, at Michigan 15, at Michigan State 15, at Indiana 14 and at Penn State 16.
STILING CAREER BLOCKING NUMBERS
With four assist blocks at Indiana and three at Penn State, Suzie Stiling now has 177 career assist blocks and has moved into a tie at 15th on the OSU career list. She is tied with Lisa Vitali (1986-89). Stiling needs 11 blocks to move pass No. 14 Laura Davis (1991-94) with 187. In total blocks Stiling ranks 17th with 205 (28 solo, 177 assist). She needs two blocks to move to No. 15 passing Lisa Vitali (1986-89) and Laura Davis (1991-94) who are currently tied for 15th. Stiling currently ranks fourth in career blocks per game with a 1.01 per game average.
STEARNS CAREER STATS
Dana Stearns currently ranks in eight categories on the OSU career records list. These include:
Value Rank Kills 1,277 7th Kills Per Game 3.06 10th Attack Attempts 2,683 11th Attack Percentage .327 3rd Aces 101 15th-tie Assist Blocks 367 2nd Total Blocks 398 3rd Blocks Per Game .95 5th
OSU 3-5 VS. RANKED TEAMS
OSU has won three of eight 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, at home to No. 13 Penn State, No. 5 Wisconsin, at No. 25 Michigan State and at No. 9 Penn State.
VIRTUE CLOSES ON NO 5
Injured Katie Virtue ranks sixth in OSU career assists with 2,593. She needs 29 assists to pass No. 5 Marlene O’Brien (1983-86) with 2,621.
DIVISION I NATIONAL STATISTICS
In the NCAA national statistics released Nov. 19, Katie Virtue was ranked 13th in assists at 14.07 and Dana Stearns is tied for 10th in hitting percentage at .388. In team statistics, the Buckeyes are 10th in kills per game at 17.69 and 11th in assists at 15.86.
BUCKEYES 9-4 IN TELEVISED MATCHES
Ohio State has had 13 matches televised on a state, regional or national level this season and has won nine of those. The Buckeyes are 6-1 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 and lost to Penn state in matches carried by Fox Sports and won its national cable appearance on ESPN2. The Buckeyes lost to Michigan State in a match carried by AT&T Cable. OSU hosts Minnesota in the Fox Sports Big Ten “wildcard” match Saturday, Nov. 25 That match will be replayed on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 11:30 a.m. Central.
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 L, 1-3 ONN 11-11 at Michigan State L, 1-3 ATT 11-18 at Penn State L, 0-3 FOX 11-25 Minnesota 7 p.m. FOX
LOOKING AT IOWA
The Hawkeyes are 13-13 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten. Last week Iowa split a pair of home matches losing 0-3 (10-15, 16-18, 3-15) to Michigan State and defeating Michigan 3-1 (15-8, 15-12, 2-15, 15-12).
Ohio State has a 35-5 record against Iowa. In Columbus, the Buckeyes have a 18-2 mark against the Hawkeyes. OSU has won the last 25 meetings with Iowa, including 12 consecutive wins in Columbus.
LAST TIME VS. IOWA
Ohio State regained a share of first place in the Big Ten Conference with a 3-0 (15-9, 16-14, 15-10) win at Iowa. Anne Botica scored a match-high 20 kills for the Buckeyes with Suzie Stiling adding a career-high 17. Sue Calligaris and Shelly Draeger added 13 kills each. Iowa’s Katie Panhorst had a team-high 14 kills with Sara Meyermann adding 12 and Renee Hill 11. OSU held a 13-8 lead before Iowa responded to tie the game at 14. The Buckeyes won the game with kills by Calligaris and Draeger. OSU held a 9-1 lead in game three but Iowa closed the lead to 10-9 before falling 15-10. Ohio State hit .240 in the match to Iowa’s .202. The Buckeyes had a 72-60 advantage in kills and outdug the Hawkeyes 75-70. Iowa had the edge in aces, 5-4 and outblocked the Buckeyes 11 to six.
LOOKING AT MINNESOTA
The Gophers are 27-2 overall and 16-2 in the Big Ten. Minnesota has won six matches in a row since its second loss to Wisconsin. Last week the Gophers, in home matches, defeated Michigan 3-0 (16-14, 15-10, 15-13) and Michigan State 3-1 (15-13, 10-15, 16-14, 15-8).
Ohio State has a 24-20 lead in the series with Gophers. In Columbus, the Buckeyes have a 13-5 mark against the Gophers. Minnesota has won the last three meetings with Ohio State including a 3-2 (15-5, 15-10, 11-15, 13-15, 15-9) win last season in Columbus.
LAST TIME VS. MINNESOTA
Ohio State’s 16-match winning streak ended with a 3-2 (7-15, 15-7, 4-15, 15-7, 15-9) loss at Minnesota. OSU’s Anne Botica and Sue Calligaris had 14 kills each with Dana Stearns adding 13 and Suzie Stiling 10. Gopher Nicole Branagh had a match-high 21 kills with Stephanie Hagen adding 11 and Lisa Aschenbrenner 10. Ohio State hit only .132 in the match and had 40 hitting errors. Nineteen of the errors came about from Minnesota blocks. The Buckeyes held a 2-1 lead in the match and were hitting .227 for the first three games. Minnesota hit .151 during the same time. The Gophers had nine blocks in the final two games with the Buckeyes hitting -.016. Minnesota hit .353 in those final two games. For the match Minnesota hit .309 to .132 for OSU. The Gophers had a 63-61 edge in kills and a 19-11 advantage in blocks. OSU had a 10-5 margin in aces and outdug Minnesota 70 to 52.
HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 19th year at Ohio State. He has a 420-187 (.692) record with the Buckeyes and is 240-105 (.696) in Big Ten play. His squads have won Big Ten championships in 1989, 1991 and 1994 and in the last 11 years have 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 470-229 (.672).
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 will await the NCAA announcement Sunday, Nov. 26 to determine its post-season opponent.
LOOKING AT THE BUCKEYES
#10 ANGELEE ABBRING
Has played in five matches. Recorded a kill against Liberty and Minnesota.
#4 ERIN BAKER
Played against Liberty and at Indiana
#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 the last seven matches and double-figure digs in the last five.. 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. Double-figure kills in last five matches. Had a season-high 15 digs at Iowa. Has nine double-doubles (kills-digs) matches this season. Hit a career-high .567 (18-1-30) against Wisconsin. 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 at Indiana and 10 digs against Liberty, Michigan, at Wisconsin, Illinois and Wisconsin. 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. Career high hitting percentage of .556 against Northwestern. Career-high 20-digs at Michigan. Eleven double-double (kills-digs) matches this season. Equaled her career-high of four blocks against Michigan and Penn State. Double-figure kills in eight of the last 11 matches. Career-high six ace serves against Wisconsin.
#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 20 matches this season. Has had double-figure digs in 14 matches. Equaled her career-high of nine assist blocks against Temple. Seventh in OSU career kills with 1,277. She is tied for 15th in career aces with 101. She is tied with Margie Meyers (1984-87) with 101. One aces would tie Stearns with No. 14 Jen Flynn (1996-99) with 102. Ranks second in career assist blocks with 367 and is third in total blocks with 398 (31-367).
#9 SUZIE STILING
Hit a career-high .615 (10-2-13) against Illinois. Had a career-high 26 kills against Wisconsin. Career-high three ace serves against Colgate and at Marshall. Season-high seven digs against Seton Hall. Season-high seven blocks (1-6) against Michigan, at Northwestern (0-7) and at Illinois (1-6). Ranks 16th in career assist block with 170. 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
Held out of the last three matches due to a stress fracture of her left foot. Had played matches for seven matches with the injury. 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 18 digs against Wisconsin. 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 2,593. Needs 29 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
Has started the last three matches. Career-highs of 54 assists and 14 digs in victory at Indiana. 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 four matches this season (Colgate 11, Illinois State 12, at Minnesota 10, Wisconsin 13). Double-figure blocks have been reached in 12 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, Wisconsin 10, at Michgian). OSU had a season-high 108 digs at Wisconsin. Defensively, Ohio State has had seven opponents hit .100 or less (Colgate .038, Seton Hall .080, Liberty .025, Western Michigan .032, at Northwestern -.021, at Illinois .086, Northwestern .100). Michigan State (in East Lansing) holds the best opponent hitting percentage at .351.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
(as of Nov. 20) Conf. Pct. All Pct. 1 Minnesota 16-2 .889 27-2 .931 Wisconsin 16-2 .889 27-3 .900 3 Penn State 14-4 .778 25-5 .833 4 Ohio State 12-6 .667 22-6 .786 5 Michigan State 9-9 .500 16-11 .593 Iowa 9-9 .500 13-13 .500 7 Michigan 7-11 .389 17-12 .586 8 Indiana 6-12 .333 15-13 .536 9 Illinois 4-14 .222 13-16 .448 Purdue 4-14 .222 12-18 .400 11 Northwestern 2-16 .111 5-23 .179
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
November 22 Minnesota at Iowa 24 Penn State at Illinois Indiana at Purdue Iowa at Ohio State Wisconsin at Michigan Northwestern at Michigan State 25 Indiana at Illinois Northwestern at Michigan Wisconsin at Michigan State Minnesota at Ohio State Penn State at Purdue
BIG TEN STATISTICS
Team (Conference matches)
Hitting Pct. 1 WIS .274 3 MINN .249 4 OSU .246 7 IOWA .212
Kills 1 MINN 18.48 3 OSU 17.65 5 IOWA 16.22
Assists 1 MINN 16.83 4 OSU 15.85 6 IOWA 14.85
Service Aces 1 MINN 1.73 2 OSU 1.52 6 IOWA 1.41
Digs 1 MINN 17.75 3 IOWA 17.28 4 OSU 17.12
Blocks 1 MINN 3.70 6 IOWA 2.71 7 OSU 2.53
Individual (Conference matches)
Hitting Percentage 1 Stephanie Hagen, MINN .371 3 Dana Stearns, OSU .364 5 Sue Calligaris, OSU .331 10 Suzie Stiling, OSU .300
Kills 1 Nicole Branagh, MINN 5.98 7 Sara Meyermann, IOWA 4.22
Assists 1 Lindsey Berg, MINN 15.11 3 Katie Virtue, OSU 14.26 6 Laurie Gardner, IND 12.71 7 Jessica Hayden, PSU 12.00
Service Aces 1 Lindsey Berg, MINN .67 3 Shelly Draeger, OSU .38 4 Fabiana de Abreu, IOWA .37
Digs 1 Nicole Branagh, MINN 3.97 3 Anne Botica, OSU 3.52 7 Sara Meyermann, IOWA 3.15
Blocks 1 Robyn Guokas, PSU 1.81 2 Stephanie Hagen, MINN 1.67 3 Charnette Fair, MINN 1.57 8 Suzie Stiling, OSU 1.35 9 Katie Panhorst, IOWA 1.34
USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll Nov. 20, 2000 – Poll #12
Rk School Total 2000 Last (First-Place Votes) Points Record Week 1 Nebraska (50) 1,490 26-0 1 2 Hawai’i (10) 1,450 24-0 2 3 Southern California 1,374 24-2 3 4 Arizona 1,319 24-3 5 5 Wisconsin 1,231 26-3 6 6 Colorado State 1,160 29-3 4 7 Minnesota 1,148 27-2 8 8 Penn State 1,039 25-5 9 9 Florida 973 25-4 10 10 Pacific 949 24-3 11 11 UCLA 946 20-7 7 12 Brigham Young 901 23-6 13 13 UC Santa Barbara 764 23-6 14 14 Santa Clara 741 26-3 15 15 Pepperdine 688 23-6 12 16 Long Beach State 588 20-7 16 17 Ohio State 503 22-6 17 18 Utah 406 20-7 19 19 Notre Dame 396 25-5 20 20 Stanford 309 17-11 21 21 Utah State 255 21-9 18 22 Kansas State 232 20-6 24 23 Loyola Marymount 226 20-8 22 24 Missouri 131 23-5 25 25 Texas A&M 72 17-8 23 Others receiving 30 or more points: Northern Iowa (54), Washington State (32).
Volleyball Magazine Top 20 Poll
Nov. 20, 2000/Poll #13
2000 Last Rk School Record Week 1 Hawai’i 24-0 1 2 Nebraska 26-0 2 3 Pacific 24-3 4 4 Southern California 24-2 5 5 Colorado State 29-3 3 6 Arizona 24-3 6 7 Minnesota 27-2 7 8 Wisconsin 26-3 8 9 Florida 25-4 9 10 Penn State 25-5 11 11 UC Santa Barbara 23-6 12 12 Brigham Young 23-6 13 13 UCLA 20-7 10 14 Santa Clara 26-3 15 15 Pepperdine 23-6 14 16 Long Beach State 20-7 17 17 Ohio State 22-6 16 18 Notre Dame 25-5 19 19 Stanford 17-11 18 20 Kansas State 20-6 NR Others: Utah, Missouri, Michigan, Texas Tech, Loyola Marymount, Washington State, Utah State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Ball State.
