2001 Women’s Volleyball Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
July 26, 2001
Four returning starters
Two returning All-Big Ten selections
One returning AVCA Mideast All-Region selection
Twelve-consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament
Ohio State returns seven of 11 players who produced a 26-7 overall record, finished fourth in the Big Ten at 14-6 and played in its 12th-consecutive NCAA championship, advancing to the regional round for the eighth time. The Buckeyes return five of six starters, which will provide a solid base to build upon during the 2001 season.
Erin Baker, Anne Botica and Nikki Cisco are the senior class for the 2001 squad. Middle blocker Baker saw limited action last season, but is capable of being a solid contributor off the bench. Outside hitter Botica averaged 3.56 kills and 3.18 digs last season as a starter. She had 21 matches with double-figure kills in 2000 with four having 20 or more kills. Defensive specialist Cisco has seen extensive backrow action playing in all 33 matches last season. She averaged 1.81 digs per game and had a season-high 12 digs at Minnesota.
Shelly Draeger, Suzie Stiling and Katie Virtue comprise OSU’s junior class. All three student-athletes were starters last season. Outside hitter Draeger started all 33 matches last season averaging 3.14 kills and 2.46 digs per game. Draeger also scored on 35 ace serves last year. Middle blocker Stiling was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection last season. She averaged 3.36 kill per game and was the team leader in blocking with a 1.14 per game average on 15 solos and 120 assists. Stiling had 25 matches with double-figure kills and 16 matches with five or more blocks. Setter Virtue was an All-Big Ten selection and was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Mideast Region squad. She averaged 2.52 digs and 14.23 assists per game on 1,523 sets. Virtue now ranks fifth in career assists with 2,893. Virtue played seven matches with a stress fracture in her left foot before sitting out three contests. She returned for the final five matches leading the Buckeyes to an upset of Minnesota and two victories in the NCAA tournament.
Heather Whalen is the lone sophomore student-athletes on the squad. Setter Whalen played in 14 matches and started three times in place of injured Katie Virtue. Whalen had a career-high 54 kills in the 3-1 victory at Indiana. She saw action in 31 games and averaged 5.65 assists and 1.23 digs per game. In her three starts, Whalen averaged 12.82 assists per game.
Ashley Adamczyk and Stacey Gordon join the 2001 squad as freshmen. Adamczyk comes in as a defensive specialist who played club ball for Sports Performance in Chicago. Gordon, an outside hitter, has had extensive international experience playing for the Canadian Junior National Team. She has excelled in both her high school and club play.
The Buckeyes have 10 non-conference matches to prepare for the always tough Big Ten Conference. OSU will host two tournaments: The Buckeye Invitational with Ohio University, Tennessee Tech and Illinois-Chicago and the Buckeye Classic with Western Michigan, San Diego State and West Virginia. Ohio State will travel to Chicago for the Loyola Adidas/Clairol Invitational to face Loyola, South Florida and Evansville. The schedule also has road matches at Wright State and Cincinnati. In conference action, Ohio State will face five opponents (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan) that participated in the NCAA Championships last season. This includes, Wisconsin, the NCAA runner-up.
