Volleyball At Penn State And Wisconsin – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State (8-8 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) women’s volleyball faces two tough road trips this week. The Buckeyes play at 15th-ranked Penn State (17-3, 6-2) at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22. OSU then travels to play 23rd-ranked Wisconsin (14-5, 6-2) at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25. The Wisconsin match will be delayed telecast by Fox Sports Chicago. It will be shown at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 26 by Fox Sports Chicago. Dave Loane will handle the play-by-play with former Ohio State All-American setter Audrey (DiPronio) Flaugh, the color. Last week the Buckeyes lost to Minnesota, 3-2 (20-30, 30-17, 29-31, 30-24, 15-9) and defeated Iowa, 3-0 (30-28, 30-23, 31-29).
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Jim Stone coaches the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 8-8 overall and has a 2-6 record in the Big Ten. Last week the Buckeyes split home matches, losing 3-2 to Minnesota and defeating Iowa, 3-0. Ohio State’s top student-athlete is 2002 first team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American Stacey Gordon (Jr., Oshawa, Ontario). Gordon has team highs of 6.35 kills, .40 aces and 3.38 digs per game. Amanda Miller (So., Littleton, Colo.) ranks second in kills at 2.97 with Heather Whalen (Sr., Kalamazoo, Mich.), third at 2.38. Starting at setter is Briana McCarthy (Fr., Beaver Dam, Wis.). She has a 10.87 assist per game average. At the net, D’wan Shackleford (5th-year senior, Newark, Ohio) has a team-high 1.37 blocks per game with seven solos and 63 assists. McCarthy ranks second at .97 (3-58) with Katherine Grant (So., Nashville, Tenn.) third at .88 (2-51). Defensively Whalen ranks second in digs at 2.48 with 156. Anna Tengnas (Fr., Torsaberga, Sweden) ranks third at 2.42 (150). As a team, Ohio State is hitting .219 and averaging 15.92 kills per game. The Buckeyes average 1.27 aces, 13.44 digs and 2.88 blocks per game. OSU opponents are hitting .194 and average 13.13 kills per game. Opponents average 1.05 aces, 12.30 digs and 3.13 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT PENN STATE
Russ Rose coaches the Nittany Lions. Penn State, ranked 15th, has an overall record of 17-3 and 6-2 in the Big Ten. Last week the Nittany Lions defeated Iowa, 3-0 (30-14, 30-23, 30-19) and lost to Minnesota, 0-3 (26-30, 18-30, 21-30). Cara Smith is the team leader in kills per game at 4.04 with Ashley Pederson second at 4.01. Setter Sam Tortorello has a 13.51 assist per game average. Erin Iceman has a team-high 19 ace serves, averaging .28 per game. Defensively, Kaleena Walters leads the team in digs per game with a 3.96 average. Tortorello is second at 2.70. At the net, Cassy Salyer has a team-high 1.48 blocks per game average with 15 solos and 83 assists. Smith ranks second at 1.00 with eight solos and 63 assists. Penn State is hitting .285 and average 16.45 kills per game. The Nittany Lions average 1.41 aces, 15.34 digs and 3.05 blocks per game. PSU opponents are hitting .173 and average 14.65 kills per game. Opponents average 1.15 aces, 15.62 digs and 2.10 blocks per game.
OSU SERIES WITH PENN STATE
Penn State has a 22-12 lead in the series with Ohio State. The Nittany Lions are 11-4 at Penn State. PSU is 9-7 in Columbus and 2-1 at Neutral Sites. Ohio State has won three of the four meetings with Penn State. Prior to that, the Nittany Lions had won 10 straight matches. OSU last won in University Park in 2001, 3-0 (30-19, 30-23, 30-19). The Buckeyes split matches last season, losing at Penn State, 2-3 (30-23, 30-22, 26-30, 20-30, 9-15) and winning in Columbus, 3-0 30-28, 32-30, 30-25.
A LOOK AT WISCONSIN
Pete Waite is the coach of the Badgers. Wisconsin, ranked 23rd, have a 14-5 overall record and are 6-2 in the Big Ten. Jill Odenthal leads the Badgers in kills per game with a 3.71 average. Aubrey Meierotto ranks second at 3.57. Setter Morgan Shields has a 13.41 assist per game average. Sheila Shaw has a team-high 36 ace serves for a .51 per game average. Defensively, Jill Maier has a team-high 3.30 digs per game average. Lisa Zukowski ranks second at 3.04. At the net, Amy Bladow has a team-high.79 blocks per game average with 10 solos and 35 assists. Shaw ranks second at .73 with six solos and 46 assists. Wisconsin is hitting .269 and averages 16.35 kills per game. The Badgers average 2.01 aces, 14.15 digs and 2.05 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .199 and average 13.70 kills per game Badger opponents average 1.11 aces, 13.65 digs and 2.23 blocks per game.
OSU SERIES WITH WISCONSIN
Ohio State has a 25-21 lead in the series with Wisconsin. In Madison, each team has won 11 matches. The Buckeyes are 12-8 in Columbus and each team has won two matches on neutral courts. Wisconsin has won the last 12 matches, which includes two Ohio State forfeits in 1999 and 2000. Both forfeits were 3-2 OSU on-court wins in Madison. OSU’s last win against Wisconsin was a 3-0 (15-3, 15-8, 15-7) win in Columbus. The Buckeyes last won in Madison, in 1995, a 3-1 (8-15, 15-5, 15-7, 15-3) victory. Last season, Ohio State lost 3-1 decisions in Columbus (26-30, 27-30, 30-28, 26-30) and in Madison (18-30, 30-22, 23-30, 30-32.
GORDON PRODUCES 55 KILLS AGAINST MINNESOTA AND IOWA
Stacey Gordon had another strong weekend producing 55 kills and 22 kills last weekend. She had 28 kills (.195) against Minnesota, adding 12 digs, two assist blocks and two ace serves. Against Iowa, Gordon had 27 kills (.435), adding 10 digs, one assist block and one ace serve. For the two matches, she averaged 6.88 kills and 2.75 digs per game.
GORDON: 64 CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL MATCHES AND COUNTING
With 28 kills against Minnesota and 27 against Iowa, Stacey Gordon now has recorded double-figure kills in her last 64 matches. The streak began against Minnesota in 2001 and could have been longer but for the previous match against Iowa where she did not play in the front row due to an injury. She only played in the back row against the Hawkeyes, collecting 10 digs. She had double-figure kills in the previous seven matches. Gordon’s only match without double-figure kills was against Evansville in 2001 when she recorded eight kills. Overall, she has had double-figure kills in 77 of 79 matches in her career and has 57 matches with double-figure digs. Gordon has had 44 matches with 20 or more kills and nine of those had 30 or more.
GORDON ADDS TWO MORE DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL GAMES
Stacey Gordon produced two double-digit kill games last week. She now has 10 on the season. In game three against Minnesota, Gordon had 10 kills, hitting .364 on 22 attempts with two errors. In game one against Iowa, she had 11 kills while hitting .714 on 14 attempts with one error. Previously she has had 10-kill games against Purdue, Indiana, Temple, Rice and at Miami. Gordon recorded 11 kills at Illinois and against Cleveland State. Her best one-game performance was 12 at Michigan State.
GORDON’S BIG NUMBERS CONTINUE
OSU’s Stacey Gordon continues to lead the Buckeyes in three categories. She leads the team in kills per game at 6.35 with 400 kills. Gordon has a .40 per game average in aces with a team-high 25 ace serves. She tops the team in digs at 3.38 per game on 213 digs.
GORDON SECOND IN OSU CAREER KILLS, CLOSING IN ON LEADER
With 55 kills (28 against Minnesota, 27 against Iowa) last week, Stacey Gordon now has 1,648 career kills for the Buckeyes. She ranks second overall on the OSU career kills list. She now needs 155 kills to move past all-time career leader Holly O’Leary (1987-90) with 1,802.
GORDON TIED FOR 15TH IN CAREER ACES
With three ace serves last weekend, Stacey Gordon has moved into a tie for 15th in career aces for the Buckeyes with 105. Gordon passed No. 15 Jen Flynn (1996-99) with 102 and No. 16 Dana Stearns (1997-00) with 104. Gordon is now tied with No. 15 Rosie Snow (1996-99) with 105. She needs to aces to pass No. 14 Lisa Vitali (1986-89) with 106. Next on the list is No. 13 Vanessa Wouters (1996-97) with 109.
GORDON NOW 12TH IN CAREER DIGS
Stacey Gordon recorded 22 digs (12 vs. Minnesota, 10 vs. Iowa) last week to move to 12th on the OSU career digs list with 955. She passed No. 14 Tricia Stragliotto (1993-95) with 940, No. 13 Marlene O’Brien (1983-86) with 942 and No. 12 Rose Snow (1996-99) with 945. Gordon needs 69 digs to move past No. 11 Vicki Wright (1983-86) with 1,023.
McCARTHY NOW NINTH IN OSU CAREER ASSISTS
Briana McCarthy, with 45 assists against Minnesota and 50 against Iowa has 685 in her short career and now ranks ninth on the OSU career assist list. She passed No. 10 Erin Hosie (1985-86) with 605 and No. 9 Tracy Endecavageh (1989-92). She need 31 assists to pass No. 8 Kelly Kessler (1983) with 713. McCarthy’s 10.87 assist per game average ranks fifth on the OSU career list. Last week she had six assist blocks, five digs and two kills against the Gophers and added five digs, four kills, an ace serve and an assist block against the Hawkeyes.
MILLER RECORDS CAREER-HIGH FOUR BLOCKS AT NORTHWESTERN
A four-assist block performance by Amanda Miller at Northwestern, was a career high for assist blocks. Her previous best was three last season at Northwestern. The four blocks tied her career high for total blocks also set last season at Northwestern (1-3). Miller added eight kills at Northwestern and picked up 11 kills, a solo and an assist block at Illinois. In conference only statistics, she ranks 15th in hitting percentage at .288.
SHACKLEFORD RETURNS AGAINST IOWA
D’wan Shackleford returned to the starting lineup against Iowa after missing the last two-plus matches. She was injured at Northwestern and did not play against Illinois or Minnesota. Shackleford had three assist blocks, two kills and one dig against the Hawkeyes. She ranks eighth in blocks in conference matches with a 1.21 per game average. For all matches, she has 1.37 blocks per game average, ranking fourth in the conference.
SCHARDT FILLS IN AT MIDDLE BLOCKER
Jackie Schardt had her second straight start at middle blocker against Minnesota in place of D’wan Shackleford. Schardt had a team-high seven assist blocks in the match adding an ace serve and one dig. She saw addition action off the bench in the middle against Iowa picking up four assist blocks and a dig.
WHALEN CONTINUES TO IMPROVE WITH POSITION SWITCH
After starting the first two matches at setter, Heather Whalen switched to outside hitter and ranks third for OSU in kills per game at 2.38. Against Minnesota, she had 10 kills, 11 digs and five total blocks with one solo and four assists. Against Iowa, Whalen recorded nine kills, four assist blocks, two digs and a season-high two ace serves.
CRAM SERVING UP ACES
OSU’s Holly Cram (So., La Mirada, Calif.), playing as a back row server, collected a career-high two ace serves against Indiana. She also picked up a dig against Purdue and added another at Northwestern. In 2001, Cram started 13 of 16 matches for the Ohio State women’s soccer team as a midfielder.
TENGNAS SWITCHES TO DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Anna Tangnas after playing the libero position for the first 12 matches, has switched to the role of a defensive specialist. In action against Minnesota, she had a team-high 16 digs for the Buckeyes. Tengnas added five digs and an ace serve in the Iowa match. She ranks third on the squad in digs per game at 2.42 with 150 digs.
KASTEIN DIGS SEASON-HIGH AGAINST IOWA
Rebecca Kastein (So., Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) has started at the libero position for the last four matches. Previously, she had been playing as a backrow defensive specialist. Kastein collected 13 digs against Minnesota and recorded a season-high 15 digs against the Hawkeyes.
GORDON LEADS BIG TEN OVERALL STATISTICS IN KILLS PER GAME
In the overall statistics released by the Big Ten Conference this week, Stacey Gordon leads the conference in kills per game at 6.35, is fourth in aces at .40 and fourth in digs at 3.38. D’wan Shackleford ranks fourth in blocking with a 1.37 per game average. Briana McCarthy is 10th in assists at 10.87 per game.
GORDON TOPS THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE STATISTICS IN KILLS
After four weeks of Big Ten Conference play, the conference-only statistics have Stacey Gordon leading the Big Ten in kills per game at 6.45. She is also eighth in digs at 3.03 per game. Setter Briana McCarthy ranks ninth in assists per game at 12.35 and 14th in service aces at .26. D’wan Shackleford stands eighth in blocking at 1.21 with Jackie Schardt 11th at 1.13. Heather Whalen is 11th in digs per game at 2.84.
GORDON SECOND IN KILLS IN NCAA RANKINGS
In the NCAA Division I volleyball statistics released last week, Stacey Gordon ranks second in the country in kills per game with a 6.27 average. Kim Willoughby of Hawaii leads the country with a 6.76 average. Gordon’s current average is 6.35 with Willoughby at 6.65.
OHIO STATE RANKED 23RD IN NCAA BLOCKING STATISTICS
Ohio State, as a team, was ranked 23rd in the country in blocking with a 2.87 per game average in the NCAA statistics released last week. The Buckeye block is led by D’wan Shackleford with a 1.37 average. Briana McCarthy averages .97 and Katherine Grant, .88.
OHIO STATE EQUALS SEASON-HIGH BLOCK MARK AGAINST MINNESOTA
The Buckeye, with 16 team blocks against Minnesota, equaled their season-high set at Northwestern. In both matches, OSU recorded three solos and 26 assists. The 26 blocks assists also is a team high that was set at Michigan State.
OSU HAS SEASON-HIGH 71 DIGS AGAINST THE WILDCATS
With 71 digs against at Northwestern, Ohio State established a new season high for 2003. OSU’s previous best was 67 against Cleveland State. In that match, three players had double-figure digs (Stacey Gordon-18, Heather Whalen-15 and Anna Tengnas-11). The Buckeyes have outdug its opponents in 11 of 14 matches.
BUCKEYES RECORD SEASON-HIGH HITTING PERCENTAGE AGAINST INDIANA
Ohio State hit a season-high .443 against Indiana last weekend. The Buckeyes recorded 64 kills with 13 errors in 115 attempts. Previously, the best mark for Ohio State was .309 (71-24-152) against Ball State.
OSU HAS THREE BIG TEN CONFERENCE TV APPEARANCES
The Big Ten announced its television schedule for women’s volleyball on both ESPN2 and FOX Sports Chicago. Ohio State will play in three of the scheduled 10 matches. OSU will face defending Big Ten champion Minnesota in one of three matches carried by ESPN2. The Saturday, Nov. 29 match in Minneapolis will be shown at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 30. The Buckeyes also will face the Gophers in St. John Arena Friday, Oct. 17 in a FOX Sports Chicago match that will be carried live by FSN Chicago and North and will be shown at 4 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 19. Ohio State’s third match is at Wisconsin, Saturday, Oct. 25. FOX Sports Chicago will carry it at 4 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 26.
NEXT FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State returns to St. John Arena for a pair of Big Ten matches. The Buckeyes host Illinois at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 31 and face Northwestern at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1.
