2002 Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Four returning starters (3 seniors)
Two returning All-Big Ten selections
One returning AVCA Mideast All-Region selection
2001 NCAA Regional Semifinalist
Coming off one of the best seasons in recent history, Ohio State returns four of six starters from the 2001 team that finished 27-4 overall and captured second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark. The Buckeyes capped the year with OSU’s 11th trip to the NCAA Championship, advancing to the regional semifinals. Ohio State ended the successful 2001 season ranked 12th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll.
Ohio State returns an outstanding senior class in Shelly Draeger, Suzie Stiling and Katie Virtue. Outside hitter Draeger, an OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten selection, averaged 2.24 kills per game while hitting .243. She had a team-high 57 aces including tying an OSU match record seven aces, twice. Middle blocker Stiling was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. She hit .378 and averaged 3.49 kills per game. An OSU Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten selection, Stiling ranks in the Top 10 in five career statistical categories for Ohio State including fourth in blocks per game at .99 and sixth in attack percentage at .296. Setter Virtue was an All-Big Ten selection and an Asics/Volleyball Magazine Honorable Mention All-America selection. An Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten selection, Virtue was the NCAA national statistical champion in assists last season with a 14.23 per game average. Her 13.93 career assist per game average is the all-time OSU record and she is second in career assists with 4,430.
Heather Whalen and Tamika Drake comprise the junior class. Whalen played in five matches last season. As a freshman, she was called on to start three matches in place of injured Katie Virtue. Whalen ranks 16th in career assists with 183. Libero Drake saw action in 11 matches last season as a defensive specialist in her first year of play. With the designated back-row libero position now being used in women’s volleyball, Drake will have an opportunity to play a larger role this season.
The sophomore class consists of Stacey Gordon. Outside hitter Gordon, an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, collected numerous honors in her rookie season. An All-Big Ten selection, Gordon was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, ranking third in the conference in kills per game at 4.94. She was named an AVCA second team All-American and was honored as the AVCA National Freshman of the Year. Gordon, a three-time Big Ten Player of the Week, received additional recognition as the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week following matches at Penn State and Purdue. She averaged 4.76 kills per game and hit .301 for her freshman season. Gordon produced double-figure kills in 29 matches with a career-high 30 kills at Purdue.
The Buckeyes have a solid freshmen class with Anna Andersson, Katherine Grant, Brie Hagerty, Stephanie Higgins, Rebecca Kastein, Amanda Miller, Maria Pongonis and Jackie Schardt. Andersson, an outside hitter, brings international experience to the squad with 48 matches with the Swedish Junior (25) and Senior (23) National Team. Grant, a middle blocker, was an all-district selection in Tennessee. Hagerty, a middle blocker, was the 2001 Player of the Year in District 8 and for the Western Buckeye League. She helped her squad to the 2001 district championship and it was a regional finalist. Hagerty set a state record with 577 kills in the 2001 season. Higgins, an outside hitter/middle blocker, was a three-time all-conference selection that helped her team to a three-year record of 80-19. An all-area selection, she was her team’s most valuable player twice. Kastein, a libero, helped her high school to the 2001 Pennsylvania state championship and was runner-up in 1999 and 2000. Miller, an outside hitter, was the 2001 Rocky Mountain News 5A Player of the Year. She was the 2001 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year and a Volleyball Magazine “Fab 50”. Pongonis, an outside hitter, was a three-time first team selection in the Girl’s Greater Cincinnati League. A second team all-state selection in 2001, Pongonis had a four-year record of 59-28. Schardt, a setter, was the 2001 Rocky Mountain News 3A Player of the Year and selected her team’s most valuable player three times. The conference player of the year in 2001, Schardt also was a 2000 club All-American.
Ohio State will start the 2002 season with three teams that were ranked nationally last season and participated in the NCAA Championship. The Buckeyes will face No. 13 Hawaii, No. 23 Colorado and No. 9 UCLA in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu. The Buckeyes will then host tournaments on back-to-back weekends. The Buckeye Classic will feature Kent State, Eastern Kentucky and Cleveland State. In the Ohio State Invitational, Texas, Akron and Loyola-Chicago make up the field. Between the tournaments, Ohio State will play at Illinois-Chicago and following the Ohio State Invitational will complete the non-conference schedule with Miami (Ohio) University at home. The always-tough Big Ten schedule will have the Buckeyes playing a team each week that made the NCAA Championships in 2001 and was nationally ranked last season. These include Illinois (20), Michigan State (19), Minnesota (28), Penn State (17) and Wisconsin (7).
With a solid senior class, an outstanding sophomore and a talented freshman group, Ohio State hopes to continue the outstanding play from last season.
