Women’s Volleyball Faces No. 1 Nebraska in NCAA Regional Semifinal – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 5, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – %^$Ohio State (26-6 overall) with wins over Ball State 3-1 (16-14, 15-3, 14-16, 15-10) and Notre Dame 3-2 (15-12, 3-15, 9-15, 15-6, 15-13) has advanced to the NCAA Central Regional Semifinals at Lincoln, Neb. where they will face top-ranked Nebraska (30-0) Friday, Dec. 8 at 8:30 p.m. eastern. The first semifinal match has Brigham Young (26-6) facing Arizona (27-4) at 6 p.m. eastern. The Friday winners return at 8 p.m. eastern Saturday to play for a berth in the NCAA National Championship Semifinals.%^$
%^$OSU RANKS 15TH IN AVCA POLL%^$
%^$Ohio State was 15th in the USA TODAY/AVCA Top 25 Poll moving up from 16th. The Buckeyes were No. 16 in the Volleyball Magazine Poll from last week.%^$
%^$EIGHTH REGIONAL APPEARANCE%^$
%^$Ohio State is making its eighth regional appearance in the last 12 years. The Buckeyes reached the regional semifinals in 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997 and won regional championships in 1991 in Lincoln, Neb. and 1994 in Long Beach, Calif. This is the fourth trip to Lincoln, Neb. for a regional appearance.%^$
%^$VIRTUE PLAYING WITH INJURY%^$
%^$Playing with a stress fracture in her left foot, Katie Virtue has directed the Buckeyes into the Central Regional Semifinals. The condition has existed since mid-October. Virtue played with the fracture for seven matches before being held out for three matches (Michigan State, Indiana and Penn State). She has played in OSU’s last four matches including a 3-2 upset win over No. 7 Minnesota. Virtue has been held out of practice over the last seven weeks.%^$
%^$BOTICA HANDLES BALL STATE%^$
%^$OSU’s Anne Botica tied her career-high of 27 kills in the 3-1 win over Ball State. She previously had 27 kills at Wisconsin earlier this season. Botica had 18 kills last Saturday against Notre Dame and has had double-figure kills in the last 11 matches.%^$
%^$CALLIGARIS HAS CAREER HIGH VS IRISH%^$
%^$Sue Calligaris played an important role in OSU’s 3-2 come-from-behind win over Notre Dame to advance to the regional semifinals. She had a career-high 28 kills against the Irish while hitting .442 for the match. Calligaris added 13 digs, three assist blocks and two ace serves against Notre Dame. Her previous high for kills was 21 this season against Michigan State and Minnesota. Botica has had double-figure kills in eight of the last nine matches.%^$
%^$LOOKING AT THE BUCKEYES%^$
%^$Offensively, Ohio State is showing great balance with five players averaging 3.16 or more kills per game. Anne Botica (Jr., Windsor, Ont./St. Joseph) (396) averages 3.57 kills per game with Sue Calligaris (So., Palermo, Italy/Liceo Linguistico) second at 3.40 (391). Suzie Stiling (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) (387 kills) is averaging 3.37 kills per game for third. Dana Stearns (Sr., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) is at 3.24 (366) and Shelly Draeger (So., Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) 3.24 (360). Stearns is the squad’s top percentage hitter at .389 with Calligaris second at .347. Katie Virtue (So., St. Charles, Ill./St. Francis) is averaging 14.33 assists per game (1,490). Heather Whalen (Fr., Kalamazoo, Mich./Parchment) has seen action in 14 matches (31 games) and has three starts at setter. She has a 5.65 assist per game average (175 assists). Botica is the team leader in ace serves with 41 (.37) with Draeger second with 35 (.31). Defensively, Botica leads the team in digs with a 3.21 average (356 digs), one of five players with averages of 2.43 or more digs per game. Stearns is second at 2.74 (310) and Calligaris third with 2.55 (293) tied with Virtue (265). Draeger averages 2.43 (277). At the net, Stiling leads the team in blocking with a 1.16 per game average on 133 blocks (15 solo, 118 assists) and Stearns is second at 1.02 (115 blocks, 10-105).%^$
%^$As a team, Ohio State is hitting .260 and averages 17.85 kills per game. The Buckeyes are averaging 2.46 blocks, 16.25 digs and 1.62 aces per game. OSU opponents are hitting .180 and average 14.32 kills per game. Opponents average 2.72 blocks, 13.50 digs and 1.14 aces per game.%^$
%^$ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN HONORS%^$
%^$Six volleyball student-athletes were named Academic All-Big Ten by the conference office. Student-athletes are honored with 3.0 or better cumulative grade point averages. The volleyball players honored were Angelee Abbring, Erin Baker, Sue Calligaris, Dana Stearns, Suzie Stiling and Katie Virtue.%^$
%^$VIRTUE NAMED ALL-BIG TEN%^$
%^$Katie Virtue was one of 13 players named to the All-Big Ten team as selected by the league coaches. Named as honorable mention selections were Sue Calligaris and Suzie Stiling.%^$
%^$VIRTUE BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK%^$
%^$The Big Ten Conference named Katie Virtue as the conference Player of the Week for her play against Iowa and No. 7 Minnesota. She had 54 assists and 10 digs in the win over Iowa and 72 assists, 11 digs and seven assist blocks in the upset over Minnesota. She had missed the three previous matches because of a stress fracture in her left foot.%^$
%^$VIRTUE NOW 5TH IN CAREER ASSISTS%^$
%^$With her 54 assists against Iowa, Katie Virtue moved past Marlene O’Brien (1983-86, 2,621 assists) into fifth place on the OSU career assist list. Virtue now has 2,860 career assists.%^$
%^$STILING ADVANCES IN BLOCKS%^$
%^$With a total of eight assists blocks (three against Ball State and five against Notre Dame), Suzie Stiling has moved up in the career ranks in assist blocks. Her 197 career assist blocks has moved her to 12th on the OSU career list passing Audrey DiPronio (1988-90) with 191 and Holly O’Leary (1987-90) with 192. In total blocks, Stiling now ranks 14th with 227 (30 solo, 197 assists) total blocks and need two blocks to pass DiPronio with 228 (37-181) for 13th.%^$
%^$VIRTUE HAS BLOCKING DAY%^$
%^$Against Minnesota, Katie Virtue had a career-high of seven assist blocks. Her previous high for assists and total blocks was six against Penn State in 1999.%^$
%^$CALLIGARIS DIGS TO A CAREER HIGH%^$
%^$With 20 digs against Minnesota, Sue Calligaris set a career-high against the Gophers. Her previous high was 15, twice. She also equalled her career-high of 21 kills in the Minnesota match. Calligaris had 21 kills against Michigan State earlier this season.%^$
%^$DRAEGER EQUALS DIGS CAREER HIGH%^$
%^$With her sixth double-figure dig match in the last seven matches, Shelly Draeger equalled her career high of 20 digs against Minnesota. She previously had 20 digs at Michigan.%^$
%^$STEARNS NOW 14TH IN ACES%^$
%^$With two aces against Notre Dame, Dana Stearns moved to 14th on the OSU career list with 104. Stearns needs two to pass No. 13 Rosie Snow (1996-99) with 105 and that would move her into a tie for 12th with Lisa Vitali (1986-89) who has 106.%^$
%^$STEARNS CAREER STATS%^$
%^$Dana Stearns currently ranks in nine categories on the OSU career records list. These include:%^$
%^$ Value Rank%^$Kills 1,326 7th%^$Kills Per Game 3.05 10th%^$Attack Attempts 2,774 11th%^$Attack Percentage .329 4th%^$Aces 104 14th%^$Solo Blocks 33 15th%^$Assist Blocks 379 2nd%^$Total Blocks 412 3rd%^$Blocks Per Game .95 5th%^$
%^$STEARNS BIG TEN HITTING CHAMP%^$
%^$In the final statistics for conference matches, Dana Stearns captured the hitting percentage crown by .001. Stearns hit .373 for the conference season. Finishing second was Betsy Spicer of Illinois at .372. Also ranked in hitting for OSU were Sue Calligaris, 7th, .321 and Suzie Stiling, 10th, .304. Katie Virtue finished third in assists at 14.45 per game while Shelly Draeger was fourth in service aces at .36. Stiling ranked seventh in blocks at 1.37 and Anne Botica was fourth in digs at 3.53.%^$
%^$OSU 4-5 VS. RANKED TEAMS%^$
%^$OSU has won five of 10 matches against teams ranked in the USA TODAY/AVCA Top 25 Poll.%^$
%^$OSU vs. Ranked Opponents OS OP%^$ 9-22 Michigan State H W 3-2 25 17%^$ 9-24 Michigan H W 3-2 25 21%^$ 9-29 Wisconsin A W 3-2 19 10%^$10-13 Minnesota A L 2-3 11 8%^$10-20 Penn State H L 2-3 11 13%^$11- 5 Wisconsin H L 1-3 13 5%^$11-11 Michigan State A L 1-3 13 25%^$11-18 Penn State A L 0-3 17 9%^$11-25 Minnesota H W 3-2 17 7%^$12- 2 Notre Dame H W 3-2 16 20%^$
%^$DIVISION I NATIONAL STATISTICS%^$
%^$In the NCAA national statistics released Nov. 27, Katie Virtue was ranked 11th in assists at 14.21 and Dana Stearns is 10th in hitting percentage at .393. In team statistics, the Buckeyes are 10th in kills per game at 17.77 and eighth in assists at 15.95.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES 10-4 IN TELEVISED MATCHES%^$
%^$Ohio State has had 14 matches televised on a state, regional or national level this season and has won nine of those. The Buckeyes are 6-1 on the Ohio News Network (ONN) which covers the state of Ohio. OSU split road matches on Midwest Sports Channel (MSC), a regional cable network, defeated Iowa, lost to Penn State and upset Minnesota in matches carried by Fox Sports and won its national cable appearance on ESPN2. The Buckeyes lost to Michigan State in a match carried by AT&T Cable.%^$
%^$OHIO STATE TELEVISED MATCHES%^$
%^$Date Opponent Score TV%^$ 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%^$11-25 Minnesota W, 3-2 FOX%^$
%^$LOOKING AT NEBRASKA%^$
%^$The Cornhuskers are 30-0 overall and ranked No. 1 in the country. They advanced to the regional with home wins over Princeton 3-0 (15-9, 15-2, 15-7) and South Carolina 3-2 (15-11, 9-15, 13-15, 15-12, 15-12).%^$
%^$Nebraska has a 5-3 lead in the series with Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 1-1 in matches played in Lincoln. OSU defeated Nebraska 3-1 in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship in 1991 (played in the Bob Devaney Center) and lost to Nebraska 0-3 in 1997.%^$
%^$The Nebraska-Ohio State Series%^$
%^$AIAW Championship at Alabama%^$12/ 8/78 N W 2-0 15-2, 16-14%^$Cincinnati Inviational%^$10/17/80 N W 2-0 15-10, 15-13%^$11/24/84 A L 0-3 13-15, 10-15, 7-15%^$Wahine Invitational at Honolulu, Hawaii%^$ 9/ 8/90 N L 1-3 9-15, 15-8, 14-16, 9-15%^$NCAA Mideast Regional Championship at Nebraska%^$12/14/91 A W 3-1 9-15, 15-9, 17-16, 15-7%^$Illini Classic at Illinois%^$ 9/12/92 N L 0-3 12-15, 8-15, 2-15%^$Arby’s Invitational at Nebraska%^$ 9/13/97 A L 0-3 5-15, 13-15, 11-15%^$Buckeye Invitational at Ohio State%^$ 9/12/98 H L 0-3 8-15, 3-15, 10-15%^$
%^$LAST TIME VS. NEBRASKA%^$
%^$Ohio State last faced Nebraska in the 1998 Buckeye Invitational championship match. OSU lost 0-3 (8-15, 3-15, 10-15). Current Buckeyes Dana Stearns, Angelee Abbring, Anne Botica and Nikki Cisco saw action in the match. Stearns, a starter, had 15 kills and hit .556 (15-0-27). She added six digs, three assist blocks and an ace.%^$
%^$LOOKING AT ARIZONA%^$
%^$The Wildcats are 27-4 overall and advanced to the regional with home wins over Alabama A&M 3-0 (15-1, 15-3, 15-3) and Michigan 3-0 (15-1, 15-1, 15-8).%^$
%^$Ohio State lost the only meeting between the two schools in 1995 at the Buckeye Classic.%^$
%^$The Arizona-Ohio State Series%^$
%^$Buckeye Classic at Ohio State%^$ 9/16/95 H L 2-3 15-5, 5-15, 15-7, 12-15, 11-15 %^$
%^$LOOKING AT BRIGHAM YOUNG%^$The Cougars are 26-6 overall and advanced to the regional with home wins over Hofstra 3-0 (15-3, 15-10, 15-6) and Utah State 3-0 (15-9, 15-10, 15-10).%^$
%^$Brigham Young has won all five matches with Ohio State. The last meeting came in 1991, a 3-1 (11-15, 2-15, 15-13, 7-15) loss at Texas.%^$
%^$The Brigham Young-Ohio State Series%^$
%^$ 9/10/82 A L 1-3 12-15, 8-15, 15-13, 7-15%^$Brigham Young Tournament%^$ 9/19/85 A L 0-3 8-15, 10-15, 8-15%^$Brigham Young Invitational%^$ 9/17/87 A L 0-3 7-15, 5-15, 9-15%^$Cal State Fullerton Tournament%^$ 9/ 7/89 N L 2-3 16-14, 17-15, 6-15, 13-15, 6-15%^$Trudy’s Volleyfest at Texas%^$ 9/ 6/91 N L 1-3 11-15, 2-15, 15-13, 7-15%^$
%^$HEAD COACH JIM STONE%^$
%^$Jim Stone is in his 19th year at Ohio State. He has a 424-187 (.694) record with the Buckeyes and is 242-105 (.697) in Big Ten play. His squads have won Big Ten championships in 1989, 1991 and 1994 and in the last 11 years have only finished below third twice. In the championship years, he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and in 1991 was the Volleyball Monthly Coach of the Year. For the last 11 years, OSU has participated in the NCAA Championships, advancing to the national semifinals in 1991 and 1994. Stone’s coaching career record includes three years at Wyoming (1979-1981). His 22-year career record is 474-229 (.674).%^$
%^$THE DEAN OF THE BIG TEN COACHES%^$
%^$Head coach Jim Stone begins his 19th-year in the Big Ten at Ohio State. Closest to Stone is Mike Hebert of Minnesota who is entering his 18th season. He spent 14 years at Illinois and the last four at Minnesota.%^$
%^$
%^$BIG TEN STANDINGS%^$
%^$(as of Dec. 3) Conf. Pct. All Pct.%^$ 1 Wisconsin 18-2 .900 30-3 .909%^$ 2 Minnesota 17-3 .850 30-3 .909%^$ 3 Penn State 16-4 .800 29-5 .853%^$ 4 Ohio State 14-6 .700 26-6 .813%^$ 5 Michigan State 10-10 .500 18-13 .581%^$ 6 Iowa 9-11 .450 14-15 .464%^$ 7 Michigan 8-12 .400 19-14 .576%^$ 8 Indiana 7-13 .350 16-14 .533%^$ 9 Purdue 5-15 .250 13-19 .406%^$10 Illinois 4-16 .200 13-18 .419%^$11 Northwestern 2-18 .100 5-25 .167%^$
%^$
%^$USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll%^$
%^$Dec 4, 2000 – Poll #14%^$Rk School Total 2000 Last%^$ (First-Place Votes) Points Record Week%^$ 1 Nebraska (57) 1,496 30-0 1%^$ 2 Southern California (3) 1,428 27-2 2%^$ 3 Hawai’i 1,375 29-1 3%^$ 4 Wisconsin 1,305 30-3 4%^$ 5 Arizona 1,239 27-4 5%^$ 6 Colorado State 1,164 32-4 6%^$ 7 Pacific 1,153 28-3 7%^$ 8 Penn State 1,064 29-5 8%^$ 9 Minnesota 1,040 30-3 9%^$10 Florida 952 29-4 10%^$11 UCLA 896 24-7 11%^$12 Brigham Young 883 26-6 12%^$13 Long Beach State 772 24-7 13%^$14 UC Santa Barbara 751 25-7 14%^$15 Ohio State 659 26-6 16%^$16 Santa Clara 518 27-5 17%^$17 Kansas State 496 22-8 24%^$18 Pepperdine 444 24-7 15%^$19 Stanford 418 19-12 18%^$20 Utah 362 23-8 19%^$21 Notre Dame 339 26-7 20%^$22 Utah State 247 22-10 21%^$23 Texas A&M 165 20-9 23%^$24 Loyola Marymount 116 20-9 22%^$25 Missouri 52 24-7 25%^$Others receiving 30 or more points:%^$Northern Iowa (45), Michigan State (40).%^$
%^$
%^$Volleyball Magazine Top 20 Poll%^$
%^$Nov. 27, 2000/Poll #14%^$ 2000 Last%^$Rk School Record Week%^$ 1 Nebraska 28-0 2%^$ 2 Pacific 26-3 3%^$ 3 Hawai’i 27-1 1%^$ 4 Southern California 25-2 4%^$ 5 Colorado State 30-4 5%^$ 6 Arizona 25-4 6%^$ 7 Wisconsin 28-3 8%^$ 8 Minnesota 28-3 7%^$ 9 Florida 27-4 9%^$10 Penn State 27-5 10%^$11 Brigham Young 24-6 12%^$12 UCLA 22-7 13%^$13 UC Santa Barbara 23-7 11%^$14 Pepperdine 23-6 15%^$15 Long Beach State 22-7 16%^$16 Ohio State 24-6 17%^$17 Stanford 18-11 19%^$18 Santa Clara 26-4 14%^$19 Notre Dame 25-6 18%^$20 Utah 22-7 NR%^$Others: Kansas State, Missouri,%^$Michigan, Texas Tech, Loyola Marymount,%^$Washington State, Utah State,%^$North Carolina, South Carolina,%^$Texas A&M, Arizona State, Ball State.%^$
%^$
%^$BIG TEN NCAA RESULTS/SCHEDULE%^$
%^$December%^$
%^$
%^$CENTRAL REGION%^$
%^$1-2 at Columbus, Ohio%^$Ohio State defeated Ball State 3-1%^$Ohio State defeated Notre Dame 3-2%^$
%^$
%^$1-2 at Tucson, Arizona%^$Michigan defeated Louisville 3-1%^$Arizona def. Michigan 3-0%^$
%^$
%^$8-9 at Lincoln, Nebraska%^$Ohio State (26-6) vs. Nebraska (30-0)%^$Brigham Young (26-6) vs. Arizona (27-4)%^$
%^$
%^$WEST REGION%^$
%^$
%^$1-2 at Minneapolis, Minnesota%^$Minnesota defeated Robert Morris 3-0%^$Minnesota defeated Arizona State 3-1%^$
%^$
%^$7-8 at Honolulu, Hawaii%^$Long Beach State (24-7) vs. Hawaii (29-1)%^$UC Santa Barbara (25-7) vs. Minnesota (30-3)%^$
%^$
%^$PACIFIC REGION%^$
%^$
%^$1-2 at University Park, Pennsylvania%^$Penn State defeated James Madison 3-0%^$Penn State defeated Washington State 3-1%^$
%^$
%^$7-8 at Los Angeles, California%^$Flordia (29-4) vs. Southern California (27-2)%^$Penn State (29-5) vs. Colorado State (32-4)%^$
%^$
%^$MIDEAST REGION%^$
%^$
%^$1-2 at Madison, Wisconsin%^$Wisconsin defeated Bucknell 3-0%^$Wisconsin defeated Northern Iowa 3-1%^$
%^$
%^$2-3 at Los Angeles, California%^$Michigan State defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 3-1%^$UCLA defeated Michigan State 3-2%^$
%^$
%^$8-9 at Madison, Wisconsin%^$Kansas State (22-8) vs. Wisconsin (30-3)%^$Pacific (28-3) vs. UCLA (24-7)%^$
