Volleyball Hosts Illinois And Northwestern – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State (8-10 overall, 2-8 Big Ten) women’s volleyball returns home to face No. 25 Illinois (17-3, 8-2) and Northwestern (13-9, 4-6) this weekend. The Buckeye will host the Illini at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 31 and face the Wildcats at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1. Both matches will be played in St. John Arena. Last week on the road, Ohio State lost 0-3 (18-30, 20-30, 25-30) at No. 15 Penn State and fell 1-3 (15-30, 30-26, 20-30, 22-30) at No. 23 Wisconsin.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Jim Stone coaches the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 8-10 overall and has a 2-8 record in the Big Ten. Last week the Buckeyes lost road matches at Penn State (0-3) and at Wisconsin (1-3). 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 6.33 kills, .37 aces and 3.39 digs per game. Amanda Miller (So., Littleton, Colo.) ranks second in kills at 2.87 with Heather Whalen (Sr., Kalamazoo, Mich.), third at 2.34. Starting at setter is Briana McCarthy (Fr., Beaver Dam, Wis.). She has a 10.80 assist per game average. At the net, D’wan Shackleford (5th-year senior, Newark, Ohio) has a team-high 1.34 blocks per game with seven solos and 71 assists. McCarthy ranks second at .99 (4-65) with Katherine Grant (So., Nashville, Tenn.) third at .90 (2-58). Defensively Whalen ranks second in digs at 2.47 with 173. Anna Tengnas (Fr., Torsaberga, Sweden) ranks third at 2.29 (158). As a team, Ohio State is hitting .214 and averaging 15.67 kills per game. The Buckeyes average 1.19 aces, 13.44 digs and 2.82 blocks per game. OSU opponents are hitting .208 and average 13.40 kills per game. Opponents average 1.19 aces, 12.51 digs and 3.11 blocks per game. A LOOK AT ILLINOIS
Don Hardin coaches the 25th-ranked Illini. Illinois has an overall record of 17-3 and is 8-2 in the Big Ten. The Illini has won its last six matches. Last week Illinois won home matches over Purdue, 3-2 (22-30, 30-23, 30-14, 34-36, 15-11) and Indiana, 3-1 (30-13, 27-30, 30-21, 30-16). Lisa Argabright leads the team in kills per game at 3.89. Melissa Vandrey ranks second at 3.39 with Rachel VanMeter third at 3.33. Setter Erin Virtue has a 13.23 assists per game average. Virtue has a team-high 28 aces (.37) with Argabright second with 20 (.27). Defensively Lauren Harks is the team leader in digs per game at 3.11. Virtue ranks second at 2.67. At the net, Argabright is the top blocker on the squad with a 1.35 per game average with 25 solos and 76 assists. Shelly O’Bryan is second at .99 (12-61). Illinois is hitting .260 and averages 15.80 kills per game. The Illini averages 1.31 aces, 15.79 digs and 2.99 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .163 and average 14.45 kills per game. Illinois opponents average 1.19 aces, 14.69 digs and 2.34 blocks per game.
OSU SERIES WITH ILLINOIS
Ohio State leads the series, 28-26, with the Illini. In Columbus, the Buckeyes have won 11 of 21 contests. The Illini hold a 13-12 advantage in matches played in Champaign while OSU has a 5-3 margin in neutral site matches. Earlier this season Ohio State lost 1-3 (17-30, 26-30, 30-27, 20-30) at Illinois. The Buckeyes had won the four previous matches.
A LOOK AT NORTHWESTERN
Keylor Chan is the coach of the Wildcats. Northwestern has an overall record of 13-9 and is 4-6 in the Big Ten. Last week Northwestern won home matches over Indiana, 3-0 (30-24, 30-20, 30-26) and Purdue, 3-0 (30-17, 32-30, 30-26). Leading the Wildcat offense is Erika Lange with a 4.08 kills per game. Jill Buschur ranks second at 3.16. Setter Drew Robertson averages 12.99 assist per game. Iwona Lodzik has a team-high 31 aces (.41) with Buschur second with 24 (.32). Lodzik leads the team in digs with a 3.01 per game average. Christie Gardner ranks second at 2.72. At the net, Lange is the team’s top blocker with a 1.24 blocks per game average with 27 solos and 66 assists. Leah Delcourt ranks second at .83 (4-49). At a team, Northwestern is hitting .243 and averages 16.49 kills per game. The Wildcats average 1.72 aces, 14.83 digs and 2.20 blocks per game. Northwestern opponents are hitting .207 and average 13.49 kills per game. Wildcat opponents average 1.32 aces, 12.97 digs and 2.34 blocks per game.
OSU SERIES WITH NORTHWESTERN
Ohio State leads the series with Northwestern, 36-14. In Columbus, OSU has a 17-4 record over the Wildcats and 13-7 in Evanston. OSU is 6-2 in neutral site matches. The Buckeyes lost 3-2 (24-30, 30-19, 27-30, 35-33, 12-15) earlier this season in Evanston. OSU had won the four previous matches.
GORDON: 66 CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL MATCHES AND COUNTING
With 24 kills at Penn State and 19 at Wisconsin, Stacey Gordon now has recorded double-figure kills in her last 66 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 79 of 81 matches in her career and has 59 matches with double-figure digs. Gordon has had 45 matches with 20 or more kills and nine of those had 30 or more.
GORDON ADDS ANOTHER DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL GAME
Stacey Gordon produced another double-digit kill game last week. She now has 11 on the season. In game three at Penn State, Gordon had 10 kills in game three, hitting .500 with three errors in 14 attempts. Previously she has had 10-kill games against Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, Temple, and Rice and at Miami. Gordon recorded 11 kills against Iowa, 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 443 kills. Gordon has a .37 per game average in aces with a team-high 26 ace serves. She tops the team in digs at 3.39 per game on 237 digs.
GORDON SECOND IN OSU CAREER KILLS, CLOSING IN ON LEADER
With 43 kills (24 at Penn State and 19 at Wisconsin) last week, Stacey Gordon now has 1,691 career kills for the Buckeyes. She ranks second overall on the OSU career kills list. She now needs 112 kills to move past all-time career leader Holly O’Leary (1987-90) with 1,802.
GORDON TIED FOR 14TH IN CAREER ACES
With an ace serve at Wisconsin last weekend, Stacey Gordon has moved into a tie for 14th in career aces for the Buckeyes with 106. Gordon previously tied with No. 15 Rosie Snow (1996-99) with 105 aces is not tied with Lisa Vitali (1986-89) with 106. Next on the list is No. 13 Vanessa Wouters (1996-97) with 109.
GORDON NEARS 1,000 CAREER DIGS
Stacey Gordon recorded 24 digs (12 at Penn State and 12 at Wisconsin) last week and now has 979 career digs for 12th on the OSU list. She needs 21 digs to reach the 1,000 mark. Gordon needs 45 digs to move past No. 11 Vicki Wright (1983-86) with 1,023. She will become only the fifth Buckeye to reach 1,000 kills and digs in a career. The others include: Kristi Neuman (1983-86), 1,242 kills, 1,045 digs; Holly O’Leary (1987-90), 1,802 kills, 1,281 digs; Leisa Wissler (1988-91), 1,428 kills, 1,341 digs and Gabrielle Jobst (1992-94), 1,434 kills, 1.052 digs.
McCARTHY NOW EIGHTH IN OSU CAREER ASSISTS
Briana McCarthy, with 39 assists at Penn State and 32 at Wisconsin has moved to eighth on the OSU career assist list with 756. She passed No. 8 Kelly Kessler (1983) with 713. McCarthy’s 10.80 assist per game average ranks fifth on the OSU career assist list. She added two kills, three total blocks (one solo, two assists) and eight digs against Penn State and had six kills, five assists blocks, six digs and an ace serve at Wisconsin.
MILLER SECOND IN KILLS PER GAME ON THE SQUAD
Amanda Miller ranks second on the squad in kills per game at 2.87 with a total of 201 kills. She also ranks second in hitting percentage (.224) on the squad among the hitters. Miller had six kills, one dig and an assist at Penn State and contributed eight kills, one dig and one assist block at Wisconsin. She has had 10 double-figure matches this season with a career-high of 20 kills against Ball State.
GRANT PROVIDING BLOCKS
Katherine Grant ranks third on the squad in blocking with a .90 per game average. She has two solos and 58 assists. Last week Grant had three kills, three assist blocks and two digs at Penn State. She contributed four assist blocks, three kills and one dig at Wisconsin.
SHACKLEFORD BUILDING BLOCK NUMBERS
D’wan Shackleford had a match-high seven blocks at Wisconsin last week. It was her eighth match with five or more blocks this season. She 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 added five kills and seven digs against the Badgers. At Penn State, she had four kills, four digs and one block assist. She is OSU’s top blocker with a 1.34 per game average with seven solos and 71 assists. She is averaging 1.19 per game in the conference on 31 assists.
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 2.34 with 164 kills. Defensively, she ranks second in digs per game at 2.47 with 173 digs. At Penn State, Whalen had nine digs, eight kills, two assist blocks and four assists. She contributed eight digs, six kills, two assist blocks and seven assists at Wisconsin.
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.
KASTEIN HAS DOUBLE-DIGIT DIGS AT PENN STATE
Rebecca Kastein (So., Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) has started at the libero position for the last six matches. Previously, she had been playing as a backrow defensive specialist. Kastein recorded 11 digs at Penn State from the libero position. She started at libero at Wisconsin and then switched to defensive specialist for the final three games of the match. She had three digs, an ace serve and an assist against the Badgers. Kastein has produced double-figure digs in nine matches this season.
TENGNAS SWITCHES TO DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Anna Tengnas, after playing the libero position for the first 12 matches, switched to the role of a defensive specialist. In that position against Penn State, she had three digs and an assist in the back row. At Wisconsin, she produced five digs against the Badgers, switching to the libero position for the final three games of the match.
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 6.33, is seventh in aces at .37 and fourth in digs at 3.39. D’wan Shackleford ranks sixth in blocking with a 1.34 per game average. Briana McCarthy is 10th in assists at 10.80 per game.
GORDON TOPS THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE STATISTICS IN KILLS
After five weeks of Big Ten Conference play, the conference-only statistics have Stacey Gordon leading the Big Ten in kills per game at 6.39. She is eighth in digs at 3.11 per game. Setter Briana McCarthy ranks 10th in assists per game at 12.95 and 15th in service aces at .24. D’wan Shackleford stands eighth in blocking at 1.19 with Jackie Schardt 13th at 1.04. Heather Whalen is 15th in digs per game at 2.76.
GORDON RANKS 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 6.33 with Willoughby at 6.62.
OHIO STATE RANKED 22ND IN NCAA BLOCKING STATISTICS
Ohio State, as a team, was ranked 22nd in the country in blocking with a 2.88 per game average in the NCAA statistics released last week. OSU’s current average is 2.82. D’wan Shackleford leads the Buckeye block with a 1.34 average. Briana McCarthy averages .99 and Katherine Grant, .90.
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.
BUCKEYES OFF TO POOR BIG TEN START
Ohio State, with a 2-8 conference mark, is off to the worst start in Big Ten play for the Buckeyes since the league went to a 20-match round robin schedule in 1991. OSU was 3-7 at the midpoint of the 1998 season. The Buckeyes finished 9-11 that year in the league. In the 18-match format (beginning in 1985), Ohio State started 3-7 in 1987 and finished at 7-11.
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 goes on the road next week with an 8:30 p.m. ET match at Purdue Friday, Nov. 7 and an 8 p.m. ET match at Indiana Saturday, Nov. 8.
