No. 12 Volleyball Faces Road Matches At Minnesota And Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2001
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 12th-ranked Ohio State (23-3 overall, 15-3 Big Ten, 2nd place) women’s volleyball team closes out the regular season with matches at Minnesota (18-10, 10-8, 6th) and Iowa (6-21, 3-15, 10th). The Buckeyes will face the Gophers at 7 p.m. CST, Friday, Nov. 23 at the Minnesota Sports Pavilion and then travel to Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a 7 p.m. CST match Saturday, Nov. 24.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are 23-3 overall and 15-2 in the Big Ten, holding second place. Stacy Gordon (Fr., Oshawa, Ontario) is the team leader in kills per game at 4.78. Anne Botica is second at 4.61 and Suzie Stiling is third at 3.59. Stiling is the squad leader in hitting percentage at .401 with Erin Baker second at .398. The top server on the team is Shelly Draeger (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) with a .58 per game average with 52 aces. Second is Botica at .52 with 43 aces. Katie Virtue (Jr., St. Charles, Ill.) runs the offense and averages 13.97 assists per game. Defensively, Gordon has a team-high 2.94 digs per game average with Botica second at 2.86. At the net, Stiling is averaging .88 blocks per game and is tied with Baker. The Buckeyes are hitting .320 as a team and average 17.38 kills per game. OSU is averaging 2.51 aces, 13.66 digs and 2.10 blocks per game. A LOOK AT MINNESOTA
The Gophers of coach Mike Hebert are 18-10 overall and 10-8 in the Big Ten. Stephanie Hagen is the team leader in kills (3.41 per game) and hitting percentage (.395). Kathy Tilson is second in kills per game at 3.06. Lindsey Berg tops the squad in assists (11.89), aces with 69 (.75) and digs (2.12). Bethany Brafford is the top blocker on the squad at 1.16 per game with 11 solos and 102 assists. Hagen is second in blocking at 1.06 with 17 solos and 89 assists. The Gophers are hitting .279 as a team and average 15.61 kills per game. Minnesota averages 2.07 aces, 12.85 digs and 2.64 blocks per game.
THE OHIO STATE – MINNESOTA SERIES
Ohio State has a 26-20 mark in the series with the Gophers. In matches played in Minneapolis, OSU has won nine and lost 10. Minnesota has won the last five meetings in the Sports Pavilion. Earlier this season, the Buckeyes defeated Minnesota 3-2 (27-30, 30-17, 21-30, 30-26, 15-11) and now have a two-match winning streak over the Gophers.
A LOOK AT IOWA
The Hawkeyes of coach Rita Buck-Crockett are 6-21 overall and 3-15 in the Big Ten. Sara Meyermann is the team leader in kills per game at 5.58. Laura Simpson is second at 1.88. Meyermann is the top percentage hitting on the team at .209 and is the team leader in aces with 31 (.32 per game). She also has a team-high 2.68 digs per game. Pam Kavades is second in digs at 2.01. At setter, Renee Hill averages 8.15 assists per game with Kassie Petty averaging 2.97. Jamie Lansing is the top blocker on the squad at .99 per game on eight solos and 82 assists. Carolyn Giese is second at .90 with four solos and 70 assists. The Hawkeyes are hitting .160 as a team and average 13.72 kills per game. Iowa averages 1.15 aces, 13.43 digs and 2.35 blocks per game.
THE OHIO STATE – IOWA SERIES
Ohio State has a 38-4 lead in the series with the Hawkeyes. OSU has won the last 27 meetings and owns a 13-match winning streak in Iowa City where Ohio State is 15-2. Earlier this season Ohio State defeated Iowa 3-1 (30-22, 28-30, 30-17, 30-11).
ACE SERVES PROVIDING OSU WITH OFFENSE
Ohio State has produced 226 ace serves in 26 matches this season. The Buckeyes had 187 aces in all of last season (33 matches). OSU ranks first in aces per game (2.51) for all matches and in conference matches (2.35). The Buckeyes were ranked seventh in the country last week in aces with a 2.65 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 (430 kills, 4.78 per game) and senior Anne Botica (383 kills, 4.61 per game) have combined for 52 percent of the kills this season for Ohio State. They have combined for 813 of OSU’s 1,564 kills (.519). The duo also has 502 (Gordon 265, 2.95, Botica 237, 2.86) of OSU’s 1,229 digs (.408).
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 12TH/11TH NATIONAL POLLS
In the national polls released on Monday, Nov. 17, Ohio State was ranked 12th in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and was 11th in the Volleyball Magazine Poll. Long Beach State is ranked No. 1 in both polls with Nebraska second. The Big Ten has five teams ranked in the coaches’ Top 25. They include Wisconsin at sixth, Ohio State 12th, Penn State 16th, Illinois 21st and Michigan State 22nd. Minnesota is listed as others. In the Volleyball Magazine Poll, Wisconsin is seventh, Ohio State 11th, Penn State 16th and Michigan State 20th. Illinois and Minnesota are listed as others.
LAST WEEK FOR OHIO STATE
Ohio State suffered a 3-1 (30-25, 24-30, 30-23, 30-24) loss to unranked Michigan State last Friday. Stacey Gordon had a match-high 23 kills and 14 digs with Anne Botica adding 21. The Spartans outhit the Buckeyes, .293 to .235. The Buckeyes responded with a 3-1 (30-13, 30-25, 26-30, 30-19) win over Michigan. Gordon contributed a match-high 29 kills and added 13 digs with Botica adding 24 kills in the match that saw OSU hit .363 to .158 for the Wolverines.
BUCKEYE HEAD COACH JIM STONE
Jim Stone is in his 20th season at Ohio State. He has a 447-191 record with the Buckeyes and is 257-108 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 497-233.
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): Vs. Michigan State: 56 assists, 4 digs, 1 assist block, 1 kill. Vs. Michigan: 61 assists, 9 digs. Virtue has 4,150 career assists and needs 35 to pass No. 2 Audrey DiPronio (1988-90) with 4,184. Virtue is the OSU career leader in assists per game at 13.83 and ranks 18th in assist blocks with 153. Virtue was ranked third in the country last week in the national statistics in assists per game with a 13.90 average.
#4 Erin Baker (senior, middle blocker): Vs. Michigan State: 6 kills (.308), 1 assist block. Vs. Michigan: 3 kills (.500), 5 assist blocks.
#8 Anne Botica (senior, outside hitter): Vs. Michigan State: 21 kills (.213), 11 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist block. Vs. Michigan: 24 kills (.465), 9 digs, 1 solo and 1 assist block. Her 24 kills against Michigan equaled her season high. Botica surpassed 1,000 kills at Illinois and has 1,046 career kills. She needs four kills to pass No. 11 Sherri Helman (1993-96) with 1,049. Botica ranks 12th in OSU career kills per game with a 3.03 per game average and is 12th in career aces with 113. Botica has had 22 matches with double-figure kills and 13 with double-figure digs. She not play at Northwestern and Wisconsin because of a knee injury.
#9 Suzie Stiling (junior, middle blocker): Vs. Michigan State: 11 kills (.192), 4 digs, 2 assist blocks. Vs. Michigan: 8 kills (.136), 13 digs, 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 was a season high. Her previous high was 16, reached 3 times. Stiling ranks sixth in OSU career attack percentage at .298. She is 16th in OSU career kills with 964. Stiling is 10th in OSU career solo blocks and needs two to pass No. 9 Holly O’Leary (1987-90) with 45. She is sixth in career assists blocks with 264 and has 308 total blocks, ranking seventh. Stiling has had 21 matches with double-figure kills.
#10 Stacey Gordon (freshman, outside hitter): Vs. Michigan State: 23 kills (.245), 14 digs, 1 ace. Vs. Michigan: 29 kills (.349), 13 digs, 2 aces, 4 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 against Penn State and Purdue and was honored as the AVCA/Sports Imports Division I National Player of the Week. Gordon has had 24 double-figure kill matches and 14 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): Vs. Michigan State: 6 digs. Vs. Michigan: 7 digs, 2 aces.
#15 Shelly Draeger (junior outside hitter): Vs. Michigan State: 10 kills (.316), 6 digs, 3 aces, 1 assist block. Vs. Michigan: 14 kills (.400), 9 digs, 3 assist blocks. Draeger has 835 career kills and ranks 20th on the OSU career list. She is 11th on the OSU career aces list with 114. Draeger has had eight 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 eight matches. Two digs against Northwestern and an assist. Had one dig against Purdue.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State will wait until 3 p.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 26 to find out its next opponent. That is when the Division I NCAA Volleyball Committee will announce the 64-team championship bracket. The live 30-minute selection show will be shown on the following channels:
DirecTV Dish Network Fox Sports Net South 630 420 Fox Sports Net West 2 653 n/a Fox Sports Net Arizona 649 415 Empire Sports 626 432
