No. 10 Volleyball Hosts Iowa Friday and No. 20 Minnesota Sunday – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2001
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 10th-ranked Ohio State (13-1 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) women’s volleyball squad hosts Iowa and Minnesota in home matches this week. OSU faces Iowa (2-10, 0-6) at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 12 and then hosts No. 20 Minnesota (10-4, 4-2) at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 14 in St. John Arena. The match with the Golden Gophers will be broadcast by FoxSports-Chicago on tape delay. It is scheduled to be carried by FoxSports-Chicago at 7 p.m. CDT, Monday, Oct. 15. Dave Loane will call the action with OSU All-American setter Audrey DiPronio Flaugh providing color. FoxSports-Ohio will carry the match at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are 13-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten. Anne Botica (Sr., Windsor, Ontario) is the team leader in kills per game at 4.44. Stacy Gordon (Fr., Oshawa, Ontario) is second at 4.30 and Suzie Stiling (Jr., Glenview, Ill.) is third at 3.87. Erin Baker (Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.) is the squad leader in hitting percentage at .429 with Stiling second at .416. The top server on the team is Shelly Draeger (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) with a .80 per game average with 37 aces. Second is Botica at .64 with 25 aces. Katie Virtue (Jr., St. Charles, Ill.) runs the offense and averages 13.61 assists per game. Defensively, Gordon has a team-high 3.11 digs per game average with Botica second at 2.79. At the net, Baker is averaging 1.04 blocks per game with Stiling second at .85. The Buckeyes are hitting .310 as a team and average 16.83 kills per game. OSU is averaging 2.83 aces, 13.91 digs and 2.24 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT IOWA
The Hawkeyes of coach Rita Buck-Crockett are 2-11 overall and 0-6 in the Big Ten. Iowa has lost eight consecutive matches. Sara Meyermann is the team leader in kills with a 5.30 per game average. She has a team-high 10 aces and leads the team in digs with a 2.74 per game average. Renee Hill has the top hitting percentage at .213 and averages 10.23 assists per game. Carolyn Giese (1.06) and Jamie Lansing (.93) are the leading blockers for the Hawkeyes have 37 and 39 total blocks, respectively. The Hawkeyes are hitting .165 as a team and average 13.77 kills per game. Iowa averages 1.17 aces, 13.36 digs and 2.36 blocks per game.
THE OHIO STATE – IOWA SERIES
Ohio State has a 37-4 advantage in the series with the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes have won the last 26 meetings including 13 straight wins in St. John Arena. In Columbus, OSU has a 19-2 record against Iowa. The Buckeyes won both matches last season in 3-0 sweeps. OSU won at Iowa City, 15-9, 16-14, 15-10, and in Columbus, 15-5, 15-5, 16-14.
A LOOK AT MINNESOTA
The Gophers of coach Mike Hebert are 10-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, tied for third place. Minnesota has a balanced attack with four players averaging 3.00 or more kills per game. Cassie Busse has a team-high 3.29 kills per game with Erin Martin at 3.26, Kathy Tilson at 3.25 and Stephanie Hagen at 3.08. Hagen is hitting a team-high .393 percentage. Lindsey Berg runs the offense and averages 12.61 assists per game. She also has team-highs 31 aces (.85) and 106 digs (2.30). Bethany Brafford is the team leader in blocking with a 1.10 per game average on 53 total blocks. Minnesota is hitting .300 as a team and averages 16.18 kills per game. The Gophers average 2.53 aces, 12.39 digs and 2.47 blocks per game
THE OHIO STATE – MINNESOTA SERIES
Ohio State has a 25-20 lead in the series with the Golden Gophers. The Buckeyes are 14-5 in Columbus. Last season, Minnesota won at home in five (7-15, 15-7, 4-15, 15-7, 15-9) while Ohio State won in Columbus, 3-2, (12-15, 14-16, 15-8, 15-13, 18-16) to block Minnesota from securing a share of the Big Ten Championship.
BOTICA HELD OUT OF WEEKEND ACTION
Not seeing action last weekend was outside hitter Anne Botica. Her status is day-to-day.
STILING NOW 19TH IN OSU CAREER KILLS
Suzie Stiling set season highs of 10 digs at Wisconsin and two solo blocks at Northwestern. With 22 kills on the weekend (15 at Northwestern and 7 at Wisconsin) she now has 819 for her career and ranks 19th on the OSU career list passing Erika Schlitz (1988-91) with 816 and Dawn McDougall (1988-91) with 800. Stiling had two solo and three assist blocks at Northwestern and five assists against Wisconsin. She now has 37 career solo blocks and has moved into a tie for 11th on the OSU career list with Audrey DiPronio (1988-90) and Lisa Bettio (1982-85). She passed Andrea Pankova (1995-97) with 36. Her eight assist blocks gives her 231 career assists and moves her into ninth place on the OSU career list passing Sara Daniel (1991-94) with 230.
GORDON HAS CAREER-HIGH FOUR ACES VS. WILDCATS
Stacey Gordon had a career-high four ace serves at Northwestern. Her previous best was three against Penn State. Gordon had 20 kills against the Wildcats and added 14 at Wisconsin. She has had seven consecutive matches with double-figure kills and 13 of 14 on the season
MELSETHER SEES EXTENDED ACTION
Trine Melsether (Aalesund, Norway/Fagerlia) played in both weekend matches (with Botica out), starting against Wisconsin. She had career-highs of seven kills, three digs and two assist blocks at Wisconsin. Melsether had a career-high four aces at Northwestern and added four kills, two digs and a solo and asssist block.
DRAEGER NOW 17TH IN OSU CAREER ACES
Shelly Draeger served one ace against Northwestern and two at Wisconsin to give her 99 career aces. The three aces moves her to 17th on the OSU career list passing Vicki Wright (1983-86) with 98.
BAKER EQUALS HER CAREER HIGH OF 11 KILLS
With 11 kills against Northwestern, Erin Baker equaled her career high set this season against Penn State. She hit .643 against the Wildcats with only two errors in 14 swings.
THE CANADIAN CONNECTION
Take a freshman and senior from Canada and you have a lot of firepower for the Buckeyes. Freshman Stacey Gordon (198 kills, 4.30 per game) and senior Anne Botica (173 kills, 4.44 per game) have combined for forty-eight percent of the kills this season for Ohio State. They have combined for4 371 of OSU’s 671 kills (.479) to date. The duo also has 252 (Gordon 143, Botica 109) of OSU’s 640 digs (.394)
HOME WINNING STREAK AT 11 MATCHES
Ohio State has won its last 11 home matches dating back over last season. OSU is 7-0 at home this season and won its last four matches in the 2000 season.
SEASON OPENING WINNING STREAKS
Ohio State opened the 2001 season with 13 consecutive wins. The Buckeyes have had two other winning streaks that opened a season. OSU went 11-0 to start the season in 1996 and was 16-0 last season.
REGULAR SEASON, NON-CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK
Ohio State, over the last three years, has won 21 consecutive regular season, non-conference matches. The streak includes OSU’s 7-0 mark this season, a 10-0 mark in 2000 and four wins in 1999.
NEWCOMERS JOIN THE BUCKEYES
Two additions were made to the squad this summer. Freshmen Trine Melsether (Aalesund, Norway/Fagerlia) and Tamika Drake (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) joined the squad for preseason practice. Melsether, a 6-1 outside hitter, played for the Aukra Club last season, winning the Junior Championship. Previously she played for Bindheim Club. Drake, a 5-7 defensive specialist, played four years at Euclid High School as a middle hitter. She also played for the Leva Volleyball Club in Riverside-Painesville.
BUCKEYES RANKED 10TH AND NINTH IN NATIONAL POLLS
In the national polls released on Monday, Oct. 8, Ohio State was ranked 10th in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll. OSU is ninth in the Volleyball Magazine Poll. Long Beach State is ranked No. 1 in the both polls with Nebraska second. The Big Ten has four teams ranked in the coaches Top 25. They include Wisconsin at sixth, Ohio State 10th, Penn State 11th and Minnesota 20th. Michigan State comes in at 31st. In the Volleyball Magazine Poll, Wisconsin is sixth, Ohio State ninth, Penn State 12th and Minnesota 19th. Michigan State is listed as others.
TELEVISED MATCHES
Ohio State will appear in three of the 11 matches that are part of the Big Ten television package that will be broadcast by ESPN2 and Fox Sports Chicago. The Buckeyes also will have five Big Ten contests shown by the Ohio News Network on a tape delay OSU will host Michigan State (Fri., Nov. 16) in one of three Big Ten matches on ESPN2 in a delayed broadcast. The match will be shown at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 18. The Buckeyes will host two of the eight matches to be broadcast by Fox Sports Chicago. OSU matches included are Minnesota (Sunday, Oct. 14) and Wisconsin (Friday, Oct. 26). The Minnesota match will be shown at 7 p.m. CT, Monday, Oct. 15 with the Wisconsin match shown at 3 p.m. CT, Sunday, Oct. 28.
This marks the seventh-consecutive season that the conference has had at least three matches on ESPN2 and the fifth-straight year that the Big Ten has allied with the Fox Sports Chicago network. The Fox Sports Chicago Big Ten volleyball broadcasts are annually seen in 18 million Midwest and Eastern homes, while ESPN2 reaches 71 million-plus viewers around the nation.
The Ohio News Network will feature five Big Ten contests as part of its overall Ohio State sports package. ONN will show the Illinois match at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, the Indiana match at 1 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 23, the Purdue match at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, the Northwestern match at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 28 and the Michigan match at 1 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 18.
2001 Big Ten Conference Volleyball Broadcasts on ESPN2 Date Match Time Broadcast Date/Time Oct. 19 Wisconsin at Minnesota 7 p.m. CT Sun., Oct. 21, 4 p.m. ET Oct. 27 Wisconsin at Penn State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Oct. 28, 4 p.m. ET Nov. 16 Michigan State at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Nov. 18, 2 p.m. ET
2001 Big Ten Conference Volleyball Broadcasts on FoxSports Chicago Date Match Time Broadcast Date/Time Sep. 29 Northwestern at Indiana 7 p.m. ET Mon., Oct. 1, 7 p.m. CT Oct. 5 Penn State at Wisconsin 7 p.m. CT Sun., Oct. 7, 3 p.m. CT Oct. 14 Minnesota at Ohio State 2 p.m. ET Mon., Oct. 15, 7 p.m. CT Oct. 19 Illinois at Purdue 7 p.m. CT Sun., Oct. 21, 3 p.m. CT Oct. 26 Wisconsin at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Oct. 28, 3 p.m. CT Nov. 3 Michigan at Iowa 7 p.m. CT Sun., Nov. 4, 3 p.m. CT Nov. 17 Michigan State at Penn State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Nov. 18, 3 p.m. CT Nov. 23/24 TBA-Wildcard TBA Sun., Nov. 25, 3 p.m. CT
2001 Ohio News Network Volleyball Broadcasts Date Match Time Broadcast Date/Time Sep. 21 Illinois at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sat., Sep. 22, 7 p.m. ET Sep. 22 Indiana at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Sep. 23, 1 p.m. ET Sep. 28 Purdue at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sat., Sep. 29, 1 p.m. ET Oct. 27 Northwestern at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Oct. 28, 2 p.m. ET Nov. 17 Michigan at Ohio State 7 p.m. ET Sun., Nov. 18, 1 p.m. ET
LAST WEEK FOR OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes won their 13th consecutive match at Northwestern 3-1 (27-30, 30-21, 30-15, 30-19). OSU lost game one with the Wildcats hitting .310. Ohio State won the next three games with Northwestern hitting a combined -.135 for the rest of the match. Stacey Gordon had a match-high 20 kills with Suzie Stiling adding 15 and Erin Baker 11. OSU hit .317 for the match to .059 for Northwestern. OSU’s winning streak ended with a 3-0 loss at Wisconsin (30-25, 30-28, 30-16). The Buckeyes trailed by one (25-24) in game one and held leads of 25-23, 27-26 and 28-27 in game two but could not pick up the wins. OSU’s Stacey Gordon had 14 kills for the Buckeyes who hit .157 for the match to .262 for the Badgers.
BUCKEYE HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 20th season at Ohio State. He has a 436-188 record with the Buckeyes and is 246-105 in Big Ten play. His squads have won Big Ten Championships in 1989, 1991 and 1994 and in the last 12 years have only finished below third twice. In the championship years, he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and was the 1991 Volleyball Monthly National Coach of the Year. Under Stone, Ohio State has participated in the NCAA Championship the last 12 years, 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 486-230.
VOLLEYBALL RULE CHANGES
Several new playing rules will be in effect for the 2001 season. Match scoring will move from sideout to a rally-scoring format where each play results in a point. The first four games will be scored to 30 points. The fifth game will be played to 15 points. All games must still be won by two points.
The collegiate game will mimic the international game with the let serve. A served ball will remain in play if it hits the net and continues its path to the opposition’s court.
The international pursuit, an experimental rule for 2001-2002, can be implemented in a match by agreement of both coaches. The rule allows for a player to retrieve a ball (on the second contact) that has crossed the plane of the net to the opponent’s free space, provided that player does not touch the opponent’s court and sends the ball back to their court, over or outside the antennas, for an opportunity for the third contact.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State completes the first half of the Big Ten season with road matches at Michigan and Michigan State. The Buckeyes face Michigan at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 19 and will play Michigan State at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20.
