No. 8 Women’s Volleyball Travels to Michigan and Michigan State To Close Out The Regular Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The eighth-ranked Ohio State (25-3 overall, 15-3 Big Ten) women’s volleyball team closes out the regular season this week with road matches at Michigan (19-10, 9-9) and Michigan State (12-14, 7-11). The Buckeyes will play the Wolverines Friday, Nov. 26 and the Spartans, Saturday, Nov. 27. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Ohio State enters the week tied with Minnesota for second place, one match behind conference leader Penn State.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are coached by Jim Stone. Ohio State is 25-3 on the season and 15-3 in the Big Ten. OSU is tied for second place in the Big Ten Conference with Minnesota. The Buckeyes are ranked eighth in the latest USA TODAY/CSTV Coaches Poll.
OHIO STATE BY THE NUMBERS
For the season, Stacey Gordon (Sr., Oshawa, Ontario) leads the Buckeyes in kills with 687 for a 7.08 per game average. She is also the team leader in aces with 33 (.34 per game), in digs with 347 (3.58) and is hitting a team-high .366. Setter Marisa Main (So., Louisville, Ky.) leads the team in assists 1,447 (14.77 per game) and is second in hitting percentage at .364. Rebecca Kastein (Jr., Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) ranks second in digs with 281 (3.05) with Ami Stevens (Fr., Centerburg, Ohio) third with 279 (2.85). At the net, Danielle Meyer (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) has a team-high 105 blocks with five solos and 100 assists for a 1.08 per game average. Meyer is second in kills with 287 for a 2.96 per game average. Briana McCarthy (So., Beaver Dam, Wis.) ranks second in blocks with 85 (11-74) averaging .87. Maya Mapp (Sr., Washington, D.C.) is third in blocks with 76 (11-65) for a .84 average. Ohio State is hitting .311 on the season and is averaging 18.29 kills per game. The Buckeyes average 1.52 aces, 15.61 digs and 2.45 blocks per game. OSU opponents are hitting .200 and average 13.52 kills per game. Opponents are averaging .87 aces, 12.61 digs and 2.12 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are coached by Mark Rosen. Michigan is 18-10 overall and is 9-9 in the Big Ten Conference. On the road last week, the Wolverines lost 3-0 (30-24, 31-29, 30-25) to Wisconsin and defeated Northwestern 3-0 (30-21, 30-26, 30-20).
MICHIGAN BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan’s Katie Bruzdzinski leads the team in kills with 300 for a 3.03 per game average. Jennifer Gandolph ranks second with 278 (2.93). Lisa Gamalski has 1,254 assists on the season averaging 12.06 per game. Bruzdzinski has a team-high 37 aces (.37) with Erin Cobler second with 20 (.19). Defensively, Sarah Allen has a team-high 333 digs for a 3.83 per game average. Stesha Selsky ranks second with 313 (3.01). At the net, Lyndsay Miller has a team leading 131 blocks with 22 solos and 109 assists for a 1.27 per game average. Megan Bowman ranks second with 123 blocks (14-109) for a 1.21 per game average. Michigan is hitting .254 and averages 16.32 kills per game. The Wolverines average 1.12 aces, 16.86 digs and 2.78 blocks per game. UM opponents are hitting .185 and average 15.03 kills per game. Michigan opponents average .94 aces, 16.82 digs and 2.12 blocks per game.
OHIO STATE – MICHIGAN SERIES
Ohio State has a 40-12 lead in the series with Michigan. In matches played in An Arbor, Ohio State is 16-5. Earlier this season, Ohio State won 3-1 (30-22, 28-30, 30-24, 30-23) in Columbus.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans are coached by Chuck Erbe. Michigan State is 12-14 overall and 7-11 in the Big Ten Conference. Last week on the road they defeated Northwestern 3-0 (30-22, 30-24, 30-28) and lost to Wisconsin 3-1 (20-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-22).
MICHIGAN STATE BY THE NUMBERS
Kim Schram has a team-high 442 kills for a 4.86 per game average. Katie Johnson ranks second with 215 (2.76). Maggie Griffin has 1,244 assists on the season for a 12.96 per game average. Schram has a team-high 32 ace serves (.35) with Griffin second with 22 (.23). Defensively, Marley Bellwood leads the team with 357 digs (4.15) with Schram second with 218 (2.40). At the net, Meghan Schoen has a team-high 84 blocks with eight solos and 76 assists for a 1.01 per game average. Brooke Langston ranks second with 62 blocks (8-54) for a .74 per game average. Michigan State is hitting .223 and averages 15.60 kills per game. The Spartans average 1.33 aces, 14.65 digs and 2.40 blocks per game. MSU opponents are hitting .250 and average 15.46 kills per game. They average 1.35 aces, 14.39 digs and 2.26 blocks per game.
OHIO STATE – MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
Ohio State holds a 32-24 lead in the series with Michigan State. In East Lansing, both squads have won 13 matches. Earlier this season, Ohio State won 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 30-26) in Columbus.
REVIEWING THE PEN STATE MATCH
Despite 21 kills and 22 digs from Stacey Gordon, Ohio State dropped a 3-1 (30-28, 22-30, 30-19, 30-28) decision to Penn State to drop OSU out of first place in the Big Ten. Ami Stevens added 15 kills and 17 digs while Danielle Meyer had 14 kills and seven assist blocks in the match. PSU’s Kate Price had a team-high 20 kills for the Nittany Lions. Each squad hit .224 in the match with Ohio State having a 70-66 advantage in kills. Each team had three ace serves with the Buckeyes giving up seven service error to five for Penn State. Defensively, OSU had an 85-62 margin in digs and out blocked Penn State, 14 to eight.
REVIEWING THE ILLINOIS MATCH
Ohio State won a 3-2 (30-24, 29-31, 30-28, 27-30, 15-8) decision over Illinois behind a 32 kill and 27 dig performance by Stacey Gordon. Ami Stevens added 14 kills and 10 digs with Maya Mapp contributing 13 kills. Rachel VanMeter had a team-high 22 kills for Illinois with Jessica Belter adding 18. Ohio State out hit Illinois, .192 to .126 in the match and had a 78-57 advantage in kills. Illinois had a six to five margin in ace serves while each team gave up 10 service errors. Defensively, Ohio State had a 70 to 49 advantage in digs and edged Illinois in team blocks, 16.5 to 16.
MEYER HAS CAREER-HIGH NINE BLOCKS AGAINST ILLINOIS
Danielle Meyer recorded a career-high nine assist blocks against Illinois last week. Her previous best was eight at Northwestern. Meyer added 11 kills, an ace serve and four digs in the Illinois match. She posted seven assist blocks against Penn State adding 14 kill and four digs. Meyer is averaging 1.08 blocks per game on the season with five solos and 100 assists. She ranks fifth in the conference statistics for the Big Ten with a 1.19 per game average with four solos and 72 assists. Meyer is second on the squad in kills with 287 for a 2.96 kills per game average.
STEVENS EQUALS HER CAREER HIGH FOR DIGS AGAINST PENN STATE
Ami Stevens equaled her career-high of 17 digs last week in the Penn State match. She set the high at Minnesota this season. Stevens had 15 kills, an ace serve and an assist block against the Nittany Lions. Against Illinois she had 14 kills, 10 digs, two ace serves and two assist blocks. Stevens is third on the team in kills with 272, averaging 2.78 per game. She is third in digs with 279 (2.85) and second in aces serves with 29 (.30). In the Big Ten conference statistics, Stevens ranks seventh in aces per game at .23 with 15 aces.
KASTEIN SET CAREER HIGH IN DIGS AGAINST PENN STATE
Rebecca Kastein had a career-high 20 digs against Penn State last week. Her previous high was 19 set at Penn State and tied at Minnesota. Kastein added 11 digs in Friday’s match against Illinois. She has been the starting libero in 17 matches this season and has six starts at defensive specialist. On the season, she ranks second on the team in digs with 281, averaging 3.05 per game. She has had double-figure digs in 15 matches this season
MCCARTHY EQUALS CAREER HIGH BLOCKS AGAINST ILLINOIS
Briana McCarthy had a season-high seven assist blocks and one solo block in the Illinois match to equal her career-high of eight total blocks set against Bowling Green (0-8) in 2003. She added five kills, three digs and two ace serves against the Illini. In the Penn State match, McCarthy had six assist blocks, six kill, two ace serves and a dig. She ranks second on the team in blocks with 85 collecting 11 solos and 74 assists and is averaging .87 per game.
MAIN IMPROVES HER CAREER ASSIST MARK
Marisa Main had 68 assists in the Illinois match to set a new career high last week. Her previous best was 67 against Northwestern two weeks ago. Main also had a season-high 15 digs against Penn State. She twice had 13 earlier this season against Northeastern and at Indiana. Earlier this week, Main had 60 assists against Penn State and added three kills. She contributed three kills, nine digs, a solo block and one assist block against Illinois. For the season, Main has 1,447 assists for a 14.77 per game average. She ranks first in Big Ten Conference statistics with a 14.68 per game average on 954 assists.
GORDON EQUALS CAREER-HIGH DIGS (27) AGAINST ILLINOIS
Stacey Gordon equaled her career high of 27 digs last week in the Illinois match. She had set her career-high the week before against Northwestern. Against the Illini, Gordon added a match-high 32 kills and a season-high six blocks (1-5). Earlier in the week, she had 21 kills, 22 digs and four blocks (1-3) against Penn State.
GORDON MOVES UP IN CAREER BLOCK NUMBERS
Stacey Gordon recorded 10 total blocks last week with two solos and eight assist blocks against Penn State (1-3) and Illinois (1-5). Her two solo blocks give her 35 for her career and moved her to 15th on the OSU career list passing Kelly Kessler (1982-83) with 34. Gordon’s eight assist blocks gives her 188 in her career and moved her to 17th on the OSU career list passing Laura Davis (1991-94) with 187. She now has 223 total blocks (35-188) and has moved to 16th on the OSU career list passing Shelly Draeger (1999-02) with 220 and Jenny Collins (1982-85) with 214.
GORDON LEADS THE COUNTRY IN KILLS PER GAME
The NCAA national statistics released this week had Stacey Gordon ranked first in the country in kills per game with a 7.08 average. Setter Marisa Main was ranked third in assists per game nationally with a 14.77 per game average. In team statistics, the Buckeyes were ranked second in kills per game at 18.29 and assists at 16.84 and fourth in hitting percentage, .311.
GORDON HOLDS OSU CAREER DIGS MARK WITH 1,475
With seven digs at Illinois, Stacey Gordon became the Ohio State career leader in digs with 1,342. She passed the previous leader, Leisa Wissler (1988-91) with 1,341. Currently, Gordon has 1,475 career digs and is the Ohio Sate career leader in digs per game at 3.39.
GORDON THE ALL-TIME BIG TEN CAREER KILLS LEADER WITH 2,643
With 31 kills against Michigan, Stacey Gordon became the all-time Big Ten leader in career kills and currently has 2,643. She set the record with her 27th kill against Michigan in the fourth game of the match. Gordon moved past previous leader, Nicole Branagh (1997-2000) of Minnesota who finished her career with 2,379.
GORDON STANDS AT SIXTH IN NCAA CAREER KILLS
Stacey Gordon ranks sixth on the Division I career kills list with 2,643. She needs 33 kills to pass No. 5 Priscilla Pacheco of Georgia (1991-94) who has 2,675. Next on the list is No. 4 Michelle Collier (1998-2002) of South Florida who has 2,729. Gordon would need 87 kills to pass Collier. Gordon’s career kills per game average of 6.08 ranks third on the Division I list behind current leader Sara McFarland of Loyola Marymount (1997-2000) at 6.43 (2,020 kills, 314 games) and No. 2 Svetlana Vtyurina of George Washington (1992-95) at 6.24 (3,043-488).
GORDON EXTENDS DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL STREAK TO 104 MATCHES
Stacey Gordon, with 21 kills against Penn State and 32 against Illinois, has extended her streak of double-figure kill matches to 104. She has had 20 or more kills in 18 of her last 19 matches and 75 in her career. Gordon has had double-figure kills in 117 of her 119 matches in her career.
GORDON NAMED TO CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT SECOND TEAM
Stacey Gordon was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District second team by a vote of members of the College Sports Information Directors of American within the district. The district team is made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve, and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher.
GORDON’S CAREER RANKINGS AT OHIO STATE
1. Kills, 2,643 1. Digs, 1,475 1. Kills Per Game, 6.08 1. Digs Per Game, 3.39 1. Attack Attempts, 5,714 15. Solo Blocks, 35 5. Attack Percentage, .299 17. Assist Blocks, 188 4.+ Ace Serves, 157 16. Total Blocks, 223 7. Aces Per Game, .36 1. Points, 2,929.0 1. Points Per Game, 6.73
OHIO STATE IN THE CONFERENCE ONLY STATISTICS
Statistically in Big Ten Conference matches, Stacey Gordon leads the league in kills per game (7.12 per game), is eighth in aces per game (.22), eighth in digs (4.06) and sixth in hitting percentage (.334). Setter Marisa Main has a conference-high 14.68 assists per game average. Danielle Meyer ranks fifth in blocks per game (1.19) with Ami Stevens seventh in aces per game (.23). As a team, the Buckeyes are ranked first in kills (18.34), assists (16.83) and hitting percentage (.294). Ohio State is second in aces (1.23), fifth in blocking (2.68) and fifth in digs (16.63).
OHIO STATE IN THE OVERALL CONFERENCE STATISTICS
In Big Ten Conference statistics for all matches, Stacey Gordon leads the league in kills (7.08 per game). She is third in hitting percentage at .366, fourth in aces per game (.34) and 10th in digs (3.58). Marisa Main tops the conference in assists per game (14.77). Maya Mapp (Sr., Washington, D.C.) ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.326) and Ami Stevens ranks eighth in aces (.30). In overall team statistics, Ohio State ranks first in hitting percentage (.311), kills (18.29) and assists (16.84). The Buckeyes are second in aces (1.52), sixth in blocking (2.45) and seventh in digs (15.61).
BUCKEYES EIGHTH IN THE USA TODAY/CSTV TOP 20 COACHES POLL
The USA TODAY/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll released this week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association has Ohio State ranked eighth. The Buckeyes began the season unranked and entered the poll at 25th the second week of the season. OSU is one of three Big Ten squads ranked in the top-25. Penn State is ranked fourth and Minnesota fifth. Wisconsin and Illinois are listed as receiving points. Ohio State was last ranked in the top-10 during the second week of the 2002 season when it was ninth in the poll. The Buckeyes have not been as high as seventh since late November of the 1995 season.
COACH STONE PASSES 500 CAREER VICTORIES AND COUNTING
Ohio State’s win on Sept. 18 against Northeastern marked the 500th career victory for head coach Jim Stone. His career record stands at 516-302. At Ohio State, Stone’s record is 466-260 and he is 261-151 in the Big Ten.
MAIN NAMED PLAYER OF THE MONTH BY VOLLEYBALL MAGAZINE
In the December, 2004 issue of Volleyball Magazine, Marisa Main is featured as the Player of the Month.
GORDON HONORED AS BIG TEN AND NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 14)
Stacey Gordon has been named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I National Player of the Week and the Big Ten Player of the week for leading the Buckeyes to victories over Xavier (Sept. 11) and Georgia Tech (Sept. 12). Gordon averaged 9.8 kills, 2.3 digs, 0.8 blocks and 10.4 points per game while hitting .480 on 98 attacks. She totaled 26 kills on a .561 attack percentage with four blocks and five digs versus Xavier. Gordon hit .421 with 33 kills, nine digs and a block versus then 21st-ranked Georgia Tech. She was named the most valuable player of the Georgia Tech Invitational as Ohio State stopped the host school’s 26-match home win streak. Gordon, who ended the weekend with 2,100 career kills, charted 11 or more kills in three of the six games played last week. This was the second time Gordon has been named the national player and was the 12th time in her career that she has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week.
GORDON HONORED AS THE BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 4)
Stacey Gordon earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after leading the Buckeyes to conference wins over No. 1 Minnesota and Iowa. This is the 13th career Player of the Week honor for Gordon and the second this season. Gordon had a season-high 36 kills in a 3-1 (30-24, 30-23, 18-30, 30-24) upset of No. 1 Minnesota Friday night in St. John Arena. She averaged nine kills per game in the match while hitting .368. It was her 16th match with 30 or more kills in her career. Gordon produced double-figure kills in three of the four games against the Gophers. She had 10 kills in game one and 11 in games two and four. Gordon opened the match with her first three kills of the night and ended the match by scoring Ohio State’s final four points with kills. In Saturday’s 3-0 (30-24, 30-27, victory over Iowa, Gordon recorded 14 kills to extend her streak of consecutive matches with double-figure kills to 90. For her career, she has had double-figure kills in 103 of 105 matches. Her 12 digs against Minnesota and 16 versus Iowa gives her four consecutive matches with double-figure digs and now has seven double-figure dig matches this season. Gordon has recorded double-figure digs in 74 career matches with 72 matches with double-figure kills and digs in her career.
GORDON HONORED AS THE BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 18)
Stacey Gordon earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after leading the Buckeyes to conference wins over Michigan State and Michigan. This is the 14th career Player of the Week honor for Gordon and the third this season. Gordon averaged 8.0 kills per game in two matches this past weekend and recorded her 2,380th career kill, which set the all-time Big Ten mark. The Buckeye senior had 25 kills in three games against Michigan State and 31 in a four-game match versus Michigan. Her record-breaking kill came on her 27th kill against the Wolverines, which gave OSU a 13-12 lead in game four. Gordon, who passed the mark of 2,379 set by Minnesota’s Nicole Branagh (1997-2000), ended the weekend with 2,384 career kills. Her current total moves her to seventh on the NCAA Division I career kills list. She stands 56 kills behind No. 6 Jill McCreary (1987, 89-91) of Akron who has 2,439. Gordon has a 5.99 career kills per game average which ranks third in the NCAA Division I career kills per game list. With double-figure kills in both matches, she also extended her streak of consecutive double-figure kill streak to 94 matches. Gordon averaged 9.0 points per game collecting 56 kills, four ace serves, two solo blocks and two assist blocks. She now has 2,652.5 career points (2,384 kills, 151 aces, 32 solo blocks, 171 assist blocks), has a 6.66 career points-per-game average and is now OSU’s career points-per-game leader. Her total passed Vanessa Wouters’ mark of 6.62 ppg set from 1996-97.
GORDON HONORED AS THE CO-BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Nov. 1)
Stacey Gordon earned Co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors after leading the Buckeyes to 3-0 conference home wins over Purdue and Indiana. This is the 15th career Player of the Week honor for Gordon and the fourth this season. She shares the honor with Wisconsin middle blocker Sheila Shaw. Gordon averaged 8.17 kills per game and hit .391 for the weekend as No. 7 Ohio State earned its first back-to-back sweeps in Conference play this season with 3-0 wins over Purdue (36-34, 30-23, 30-28) and Indiana (30-20, 30-20, 30-20). Gordon’s 8.17 mark is her best two-match weekend set in the Big Ten with her previous best being 8.00 (56 kills, 7 games) against Michigan State and Michigan. The senior outside hitter tallied an impressive 9.67 kills per game (29 kills, 3 games) against Purdue. Gordon also moved up the ranks in the OSU history books as well this weekend. Her solo block against Indiana moved her into a tie for 16th in Buckeye career solos with 33 and her three total blocks gave her 209 for her career and moved her to 18th on the OSU career blocks list. Gordon, who has registered double-figure kills in her last 98 matches, earns her fourth Player of the Week honor of the season and the 15th of her career.
GORDON HONORED AS THE BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Nov. 15)
Stacey Gordon (Sr., Oshawa, Ontario) earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after helping No. 8 Ohio State to a pair of home wins over the weekend. The Buckeye senior registered a career-high 27 digs as well as 30 kills and a .414 hitting percentage against Northwestern on Friday. Her previous high was 23 digs, recorded at Purdue in 2003. In game two, she hit .636 with 7 kills in 11 attempts and did not tally one error. In game three, she posted double-figure digs (10) and then responded in game four with a .688 clip and an errorless 11 kills on 16 attempts. Gordon nearly posted a double-double against Wisconsin as she finished with 19 kills and 9 digs, while hitting .375 against the Badgers. With 30 kills against Northwestern and 19 versus Wisconsin, Gordon extended her consecutive double-figure kill streak to 102 matches. On the weekend, she averaged 7.0 kills and 5.14 digs per game in the two matches while hitting .398. This is Gordon’s fifth Player of the Week honor of the season and the 16th of her career.
19-0 RECORD IS BEST-EVER START FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State’s 19-0 start this season ranks as the best-ever start in the history of the program. The previous best start was in 2001 when the Buckeyes began the season with a 13-0 overall record. The 19-match winning streak stands as the third longest in the history of Ohio State volleyball. The Buckeyes two longest streaks came in 1991 with 27 wins and 1994 with 21 wins. Those streaks resulted in Big Ten championships and ended in losses at the NCAA National Semifinal.
OSU VICTORY OVER NO. 1 MINNESOTA, A FIRST FOR THE BUCKEYES
The Ohio State victory over No. 1 Minnesota on Oct. 1 was the first time that the Buckeyes had defeated a top-ranked team. OSU had lost to the No. 1 team eight times prior to the win over the Gophers. Those losses included UCLA in 1990, Stanford in 1993, Florida in 1996, Penn State in 1997 and 1998 and twice in 1999 and Nebraska in 2000.
GORDON APPEARS IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ‘FACES IN THE CROWD’
Ohio State’s Stacey Gordon was featured in the ‘Faces In The Crowd’ page in Sports Illustrated at the beginning of October.
GORDON MONITORS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ON CAMPUS POP QUIZ
Stacey Gordon made her second appearance in a Sports Illustrated publication when SI took a photo of her for a feature pop quiz in their On Campus magazine for Oct. 21.
BUCKEYES OPEN SEASON WITH THREE FRESHMEN IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Ohio State opened up the 2004 season with a starting lineup of three freshmen (Nicole Britenriker (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio), Danielle Meyer, Ami Stevens), two sophomores (Briana McCarthy and Marisa Main) and a senior (Stacey Gordon). This marks the second time in six years that the Buckeyes had three freshmen in the starting lineup. In 1992, Suzie Stiling, Sue Calligaris and Shelly Dreager started in the opening match of the season. The 2004 lineup is the second youngest lineup for OSU. The youngest lineup came in 1992 when four sophomores (Laura Davis, Sara Daniel, Carrie Leonard and Gabriele Jobst) and two freshmen (Ashley Mullis, Kristine Jensen) started the season.
STEVENS IS GOLDEN FROM USA JUNIOR NATIONAL PLAY
Outside hitter Ami Stevens, prior to preseason practice, was a member of the USA Junior National Team that won gold at the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Junior Continental Championships played recently in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A two-time all-state selection, her high school squad won the 2003 state championship, finished runner-up in 2000 and 2001 and reached the state semifinals in 2002.
OSU SETS MATCH RECORD BY HITTING .595 AGAINST YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Ohio State, with a .595 hitting percentage against Youngstown State, broke the previous Ohio State match record. The previous mark was .531 set against Northern Illinois in 1994. OSU had 62 kills in 98 attempts with 10 errors. Against Youngstown State, the Buckeyes had 59 kills in 84 attempts with nine errors. OSU started the match against YSU by hitting .909 in game one on 20 kills in 22 attempts with no errors.
GORDON HITS .857 AGAINST YOUNGSTOWN STATE, RANKS SECOND ALL-TIME
After being named the Big Ten and American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week, Stacey Gordon continued to impress as she hit .857 against Youngstown State for the second best match hitting percentage in Ohio State history. She had 13 kills in 14 attempts with one error. That mark ranks behind Jenny Jackson’s (1992-95) .900 (9-0-10) set at Cincinnati in 1992.
GORDON SETS OHIO STATE MATCH RECORD FOR ACES
With eight ace serves in OSU’s 3-0 win at Temple, Stacey Gordon set an Ohio State match record. Gordon and six others previously held the record at seven aces. They include Gordon (at Minnesota, 2001); Shelly Draeger (Purdue, 2001); Shelly Draeger (Tennessee Tech, 2001); Anne Botica (Illinois State, 2000); Jenny Jackson (Indiana, 1992); Erika Schlitz (vs. Colorado State at Texas A&M, 1988 and Lisa Bettio (Bowling Green, 1983).
GORDON SELECTED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
By a vote of the conference coaches, Stacey Gordon was a unanimous selection to the 2004 Preseason All-Big Ten Team for the third consecutive season. Gordon, a three-time Big Ten all-conference selection was on of three student-athletes that were a unanimous choice by the conference coaches. The others were Kim Schram of Michigan State and Sam Tortorello of Penn State.
BUCKEYES PICKED SIXTH IN THE BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
In the 2004 coach’s preseason poll, Ohio State was picked to finish in a tie for sixth with Michigan by the Big Ten coaches. Minnesota was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Penn State was picked for second with Wisconsin third.
VANESSA WOUTERS IS INDUCTED INTO OSU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
Outside hitter Vanessa Wouters was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall Of Fame, Friday, Sept. 10. Wouters played two years (1996-97) for the Buckeyes. A first-team All-American as a junior, Wouters also was the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year. For her career at Ohio State, she averaged 5.75 kills and 2.45 digs per game. She holds the Ohio State match record for kills (45) and points (50) and the Buckeye season record for kills (765) and points (867.5). Previous women’s volleyball players in the Hall of Fame include Karen Alsbrook (1977-79), Lisa Bettio (1982-85), Laura Davis (1991-94), Holly O’Leary (1987-90), Mary Ormsby (1977-80) and Leisa Wissler (1988-91).
UP NEXT FOR OHIO STATE
Sunday, the NCAA will announce the pairings and sites of the first and second round matches in the NCAA Tournament. The announcement will be carried by ESPNews at 6:45 p.m.
