Ninth-ranked Volleyball Hosts Michigan State And Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2001
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The ninth-ranked Ohio State (22-2 overall, 14-2 Big Ten, 2nd place) women’s volleyball team returns home to St. John Arena after playing the last four matches on the road. OSU will host Michigan State (16-7, 9-7) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16 in a match that will be delayed broadcast by ESPN2 on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. Chris Marlowe will handle the play-by-play with Angie Kammer providing the color. The Buckeyes close out the regular season home schedule by hosting Michigan (12-11, 8-8) at 7 p.m, Saturday, Nov. 16. The match will be carried by the Ohio News Network in a delayed broadcast at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 18. Arica Robbins and Audrey DiPronio Flaugh will call the action.
STILING NAMED CO-BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big Ten Conference announced Monday that Suzie Stiling (Jr., Glenview, Ill.) has been named co-Big Ten Player of the Week for her play last week against Indiana and No. 24 Illinois. Stiling had 12 kills, with no errors, hit .667, had five digs and four assist blocks at Indiana. She collected a season-high 17 kills (.462), eight digs, two ace serves, one solo and three assist blocks at Illinois. For the six games last week, Stiling averaged 4.83 kills per game and hit .545. She averaged 2.17 digs and 1.33 blocks per game. Stiling shares this week’s player of the week honors with Stephanie Hagen of Minnesota. This marks the fourth time this season that Ohio State has received player of the week honors. Freshman Stacey Gordon has been so honored three times this season.
SENIORS HONORED SATURDAY
Ohio State’s three seniors, Anne Botica (Sr., Windsor, Ontario, Erin Baker (Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.) and Nikki Cisco (Sr., Dublin, Ohio) will be honored after Saturday’s match with Michigan. The trio, in the last four years, has an 82-35 (.701) overall record and is 47-29 (.618) in the Big Ten.
1991 SQUAD HONORED SATURDAY
Prior to the Michigan match Saturday, members of the 1991 Ohio State women’s volleyball squad will be honored. The team was 30-4 overall and won the Big Ten Championship with a 20-0 mark. OSU advanced to the NCAA National Championship Semifinals before falling to UCLA.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are 22-2 overall and 14-2 in the Big Ten, holding second place. Stacy Gordon (Fr., Oshawa, Ontario) is the team leader in kills per game at 4.61. Anne Botica is second at 4.51 and Suzie Stiling is third at 3.71. Stiling is the squad leader in hitting percentage at .422 with Erin Baker second at .400. The top server on the team is Shelly Draeger (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) with a .60 per game average with 49 aces. Second is Botica at .56 with 42 aces. Katie Virtue (Jr., St. Charles, Ill.) runs the offense and averages 13.90 assists per game. Defensively, Gordon has a team-high 2.90 digs per game average with Botica second at 2.89. At the net, Stiling is averaging .89 blocks per game and is tied with Baker. The Buckeyes are hitting .323 as a team and average 17.24 kills per game. OSU is averaging 2.65 aces, 13.71 digs and 2.15 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans of coach Chuck Erbe are 16-7 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten, tied for fifth place. Erin Hartley is the team leader in kills with 315 (3.84 per game) followed by Kyla Smith with 256 (3.46). Hartley is the top percentage hitter on the squad at .326. Nikki Colson runs the offense and averages 12.82 assists per game. Emily Engel has a team-high 60 aces (.76 per game). Smith has a team-high 200 digs (2.70 per game) with Hartley second with 184 (2.24). The top blocker on the squad is Angela Morley with a 1.42 per game average. She has eight solos and 110 assist blocks. Hartley is second at 1.09 (13-76). The Spartans are hitting .263 as a team and are averaging 15.73 kills per game. Michigan State averages 1.99 aces, 13.00 digs and 2.91 blocks per game.
THE OHIO STATE – MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
Ohio State leads the series with Michigan State, 32-17. OSU has won three of the last four meetings and defeated the Spartans earlier this season 3-1 (30-24, 24-30, 30-18, 30-26), in East Lansing. The Buckeyes have won 17 of 20 matches played in Columbus, winning the last two meetings in St. John Arena and 17 of the last 19.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines of coach Mark Rosen are 12-11 overall and 8-8 in the Big Ten holding seventh place. Erin Moore is the team leader in kills with 294 (3.30 per game) with Jennifer Gandolph second with 279 (3.24). Moore is the top hitter with a .275 percentage and has a team high 22 aces (.25 per game). Shannon Melka runs the Wolverine offense and is averaging 12.17 assists per game. Gandolph is the team leader in digs with 256 (2.98) with Moore second with 204 (2.29). Katrina Lehman leads the team in blocking with a 1.24 per game average on nine solos and 99 assist blocks. Nicole Poquette in second with a 1.01 average on two solo and 78 assists. Michigan is hitting .235 as a team and averages 15.48 kills per game. The Wolverines average 1.29 aces, 13.27 digs and 2.27 blocks per game.
THE OHIO STATE – MICHIGAN SERIES
Ohio State has a 39-7 advantage in the series with Michigan. The Buckeyes have won three of the last four meetings including a 3-0 (30-27, 30-26, 30-23) victory earlier this season in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes have won all 20 matches played in Columbus.
ACE SERVES PROVIDING OSU WITH OFFENSE
Ohio State has produced 217 ace serves in 24 matches this season. The Buckeyes had 187 aces in all of last season (33 matches). OSU ranks first in aces per game (2.65) for all matches and in conference matches (2.53). The Buckeyes were ranked in a tie for eighth in the country last week in aces with a 2.64 per game average.
OHIO STATE, 4-2 AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Ohio State is 4-2 against ranked teams this season. The Buckeyes lost to No. 6 Wisconsin, 3-0, and No. 5 Wisconsin, 3-1, and have defeated No. 6 Penn State, 3-2, No. 20 Minnesota, (3-2), No. 11 Penn State (3-0) and No. 24 Illinois (3-0).
THE CANADIAN CONNECTION
Take a freshman and senior from Canada and you have a lot of firepower for the Buckeyes. Freshman Stacey Gordon (378 kills, 4.61 per game) and senior Anne Botica (338 kills, 4.51 per game) have combined for fifty percent of the kills this season for Ohio State. They have combined for 716 of OSU’s 1,414 kills (.506). The duo also has 455 (Gordon 238, 2.90, Botica 217, 2.89) of OSU’s 1,124 digs (.405).
SEASON OPENING WINNING STREAK
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.
BUCKEYES RANKED 9TH IN BOTH NATIONAL POLLS
In the national polls released on Monday, Nov. 12, Ohio State was ranked ninth in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and in the Volleyball Magazine Poll. Long Beach State is ranked No. 1 in both polls with Nebraska second. The Big Ten has four teams ranked in the coaches Top 25. They include Wisconsin at sixth, Ohio State ninth, Penn State 14th and Illinois 21st. Michigan State and Minnesota are listed as others. In the Volleyball Magazine Poll, Wisconsin is seventh, Ohio State ninth and Penn State 14th. Illinois, Michigan State, and Minnesota are listed as others.
LAST WEEK FOR OHIO STATE
Anne Botica had a match-high 15 kills (.560) for Ohio State in a 3-0 (30-27, 30-12, 30-14) win over Indiana. Stacey Gordon added 14 kills (.290) and Suzie Stiling 12 (.667 with no errors) as OSU hit .404 as a team to .029 for Indiana. After an early OSU five point lead in game one, Indiana closed to 28-27 before an IU error and a Stiling kill ended the game at 30-27. OSU hit .521 in the final two games to -.081 for Indiana. Stacey Gordon had a match-high 21 kills (.378) with Suzie Stiling adding a season-high 17 kills (.462) as Ohio State defeated No. 24 Illinois 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-25). OSU took a 13-12 lead in game one leading to a 30-24 win. Game two saw the teams tied at 20 before OSU opened a 28-22 lead going on to win 30-26. Illinois held the early lead in game three. Illinois had a 24-23 lead when the Buckeyes scored five straight points to go on to a 30-25 win. Gordon had the game winning point in all three games. OSU outhit Illinois, .294 to .275 and had an 11-2 advantage in aces. The Buckeyes outdug Illinois 42 to 31 but were outblocked nine to six.
BUCKEYE HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 20th season at Ohio State. He has a 446-190 record with the Buckeyes and is 256-107 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 496-232.
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.
PLAYER NOTES
#3 Katie Virtue (junior setter): At Indiana: 41 assists, 9 digs, 3 aces, 2 assist blocks. At Illinois: 46 assists, 3 kills, 3 digs, 1 assist block. Virtue’s 46 assists at Illinois raised her OSU career total to 4,033 to become the third OSU player to surpass 4,000 career assists. Ahead of Virtue is No. 2 Audrey DiPronio (1988-90) with 4,184 and career leader Laura Davis (1991-94) with 5,483. Virtue is the OSU career leader in assists per game at 13.81 and ranks 18th in assist blocks with 152. Virtue was ranked fifth in the country last week in the national statistics in assists per game with a 13.86 average.
#4 Erin Baker (senior, middle blocker): At Indiana: 3 kills (.167), 3 assist blocks. At Illinois: 1 kill (-.333), 1 assist block.
#8 Anne Botica (senior, outside hitter): At Indiana: 15 kills (.560), 5 digs, 2 assist blocks, 1 ace. At Illinois: 8 kills (.059), 13 digs, 3 aces, 1 assist block. Botica surpassed 1,000 kills at Illinois to raise her career total to 1,001 and become the 12th OSU player to record 1,000 plus kills. Botica ranks 12th in OSU career kills per game with a 2.97 per game average and is 12th in career aces with 112. Botica has had 20 matches with double-figure kills and 12 with double-figure digs. She not play at Northwestern and Wisconsin because of a knee injury.
#9 Suzie Stiling (junior, middle blocker): At Indiana: 12 kills (.667 with no errors), 5 digs and 4 assist blocks. At Illinois: 17 kills (.462), 8 digs, 2 aces, 1 solo and 3 assist blocks. Stiling was honored as the co-Big Ten Player of the Week for her play at Indiana and Illinois. Her 17 kills at Illinois is a season high. Her previous high was 16, reached 3 times. Stiling ranks sixth in OSU career attack percentage at .301. She is 16th in OSU career kills with 945. Her solo block against Illinois gives her 43 in her career and moves her to 10th on the OSU career list. Stiling has 259 career assist blocks and needs two to pass No. 9 Gabriele Jobst (1991-94) who has 260. She now has 302 total blocks (43-259) and has moved into 7th on the OSU career list. She passed Kristi Neuman (1983-86) with 302 over the weekend. Stiling has had 20 matches with double-figure kills.
#10 Stacey Gordon (freshman, outside hitter): At Indiana: 14 kills (.290), 9 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist block. At Illinois: 21 kills (.378), 4 digs, 2 aces, 1 solo and 2 assist blocks. Gordon won back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors earlier this season. She won her third Big Ten Player of the Week award two weeks ago against Penn State and Purdue. She was then honored as the AVCA/Sports Imports Division I National Player of the Week. Gordon has had 22 double-figure kill matches and 12 double-figure dig matches. A shoulder injury at Wisconsin limited her play the next match to the back-row only, against Iowa, where she recorded 10 digs.
#11 Nikki Cisco (senior, defensive specialist) (back row sub for Erin Baker): At Indiana: 9 digs. At Illinois: 11 digs, 2 aces.
#15 Shelly Draeger (junior outside hitter): At Indiana: 4 kills (.222), 7 digs, 2 assist blocks. At Illinois: 7 kills (.462), 3 digs, 2 aces. Draeger has 811 career kills and ranks 20th on the OSU career list. She is 12th on the OSU career aces list with 111. Draeger has had six matches with double-figure kills and three matches with double-figure digs.
#14 Trine Melsether (freshman, outside hitter): Played in six matches. Replaced Anne Botica (knee injury) at Northwestern (four kills (.000), career-high four ace serves, two digs, a solo and an assist block) and at Wisconsin (career-high seven kills (.286), three digs, and two assist blocks). Replaced Stacey Gordon (shoulder) against Iowa (six kills (.091), two digs and one ace serve).
#1 Ashley Adamczyk (freshman defensive specialist): Played in 18 matches. Usually subs in the back row for Suzie Stiling. Career-high five digs against South Florida.
#6 Heather Whalen (sophomore, setter): Played in five matches. Season-highs of five assists and two digs against Evansville.
#13 Tamika Drake (freshman, defensive specialist): Played in six matches. Two digs against Northwestern and an assist. Had one dig against Purdue.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State closes out the regular season with road matches at Minnesota and Iowa. The Buckeyes face Minnesota at 7 p.m. (CST) Friday, Nov. 23 and play at Iowa at 7 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Nov. 24.
Ohio State will then wait for the 3 p.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 26 announcement by the Division I NCAA Volleyball Committee of the 64-team championship bracket.
