No. 7 Women’s Volleyball Travels To Iowa Friday and No. 5 Minnesota Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 3, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The seventh-ranked Ohio State (21-1 overall, 11-1 Big Ten) women’s volleyball team takes to the road this week to face Iowa (9-15, 1-10) and No. 5 Minnesota (21-3, 10-2). The Buckeyes will face the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 5 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Ohio State will battle against the Golden Gophers at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5 in the Sports Pavilion.
GORDON NAMED CO-BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big Ten Conference office announced Monday that Ohio State’s Stacey Gordon (Sr., Oshawa, Ontario) 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.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are coached by Jim Stone. Ohio State is 21-1 on the season and 11-1 in the Big Ten, in first place ahead of Minnesota (10-2) and Penn State (10-2). The Buckeyes are ranked seventh in the latest USA TODAY/CSTV Coaches Poll.
OHIO STATE BY THE NUMBERS
For the season, Stacey Gordon leads the Buckeyes in kills with 537 for a 7.26 per game average. She is also the team leader in aces with 32 (.43 per game), in digs with 234 (3.16) and is hitting a team-high .386. Setter Marisa Main (So., Louisville, Ky.) leads the team in assists 1,114 (14.85 per game). Rebecca Kastein (Jr., Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) ranks second in digs with 204 (2.96) with Ami Stevens (Fr., Centerburg, Ohio) third with 201 (2.68). At the net, Danielle Meyer (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) has a team-high 75 blocks with two solos and 73 assists for a 1.01 per game average. Meyer is second in kills with 229 for a 3.09 per game average. Ohio State is hitting .324 on the season and is averaging 18.36 kills per game. The Buckeyes average 1.65 aces, 14.89 digs and 2.28 blocks per game. OSU opponents are hitting .206 and average 13.41 kills per game. Opponents are averaging .84 aces, 12.05 digs and 2.06 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT IOWA
The Hawkeyes are coached by Cindy Fredrick. Iowa is 9-15 overall and 1-11 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes have lost their last 11 matches including 3-0 losses at Wisconsin (30-18, 30-17, 30-20) and at Northwestern (30-23, 30-28, 30-16) last week.
IOWA BY THE NUMBERS
Carolyn Giese leads the team in kills with 273 (3.46) with Stacey Vitali second with 203 (3.38). Setter Justeen Patton has 470 assists for a 7.83 per game average. Leading the team in aces is Pam Kavadas with 24 (.28). Defensively, Kavadas has a team-high 413 digs (5.04) with Tiana Costanzo second with 236 (2.88). At the net, Giese has a team-high 64 blocks with six solos and 58 assists for a .81 per game average. Laura Simpson is second with 60 (5-55) and averages .83 blocks per game. As a team, Iowa is hitting .157 and averages 13.05 kills per game. The Hawkeyes average 1.24 aces, 16.07 digs and 1.181 blocks per game. Iowa opponents are hitting .228 and average 16.20 kills per game. Hawkeye opponents average 1.22 aces, 18.24 digs and 2.12 blocks per game.
OHIO STATE – IOWA SERIES
Ohio State leads the series with Iowa, 40-8. In Iowa City, the Buckeyes are 16-4. OSU has won the last seven meetings with the Hawkeyes. Earlier this season, in Columbus, Ohio State defeated the Hawkeyes, 3-0 (30-24, 30-27, 30-27).
A LOOK AT MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers are coached by Dr. Mike Hebert. Minnesota has an overall record of 21-3 and is 10-2 in the Big Ten. Last week the Gophers won at Northwestern 3-0 (30-17, 30-17, 30-24) and lost at Wisconsin 3-2 (30-27, 20-30, 28-30, 30-27, 17-15). The Badger loss stopped an eight-match winning streak by the Gophers.
MINNESOTA BY THE NUMBERS
Erin Martin leads Minnesota in kills with 441 (5.01 kills per game) with Trisha Bratford second with 316 (3.63). The Gophers use a two-setter offense that has Lindsey Taatjes with 766 assists (8.70 per game) and Kelly Bowman with 572 (6.50). Libero Paula Gentil has a team-high 31 ace serves (.35 per game) with Marci Peniata second with 19 (.22). Defensively, Gentil leads the team in digs with 568 (6.45 per game) with Taatjes second with 299 (3.40). At the net, Meredith Nelson has a team-high 85 blocks with 16 solos and 69 assists for a .99 per game average. Taatjes is second with 59 blocks (2-57), averaging .67 per game and Martin is third with 58 (28-30), averaging .66 per game. Minnesota is hitting .258 as a team and averages 17.41 kills per game. The Gophers average 1.16 aces, 19.50 digs and 2.62 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .152 and average 13.65 kills per game. Minnesota opponents average .61 aces, 16.23 digs and 2.21 blocks per game.
OHIO STATE – MINNESOTA SERIES
Ohio State holds a 28-24 lead in the series with Minnesota. The Gophers have a 12-10 advantage in matches played in Minneapolis. After losing both matches to Minnesota last season, the Buckeyes defeated the Gophers, 3-1 (30-24, 30-23, 18-30, 30-24) in Columbus.
REVIEWING THE PURDUE MATCH
With 29 kills from Stacey Gordon and 13 from Danielle Meyer and Ami Stevens, Ohio State defeated Purdue 3-0 (36-34, 30-23, 30-28). Purdue’s Leah Wischmeier had a team-high 13 kills with Kim McConaha adding 12 and Samantha Mader 10 for the Boilermakers. Purdue had three game points in game one but the Buckeyes held on to win the game on their fourth game point. Ohio State had a 70-53 margin in kills and outhit Purdue, .375 to .244. Purdue had a 3-2 advantage in ace serves with each squad giving up five service errors. Defensively, the Buckeyes had a 54-42 margin in digs with OSU’s Brittany Dahms recording a match-high 15. At the net, Ohio State had a seven to four margin in team blocks. Buckeye Marisa Main had 58 assists in the match with Renata Dargan recording 41.
REVIEWING THE INDIANA MATCH
Ohio State defeated Indiana 3-0 (30-20, 30-20, 30-20) behind 20 kills from Stacey Gordon and 11 from Danielle Meyer. Indiana’s Katie Pollom had a team-high 10 kills for the Hoosiers with Christina Archibald adding six. Ohio State hit .287 while holding Indiana to .077. The Buckeyes had a 52-30 advantage in kills and an eight to four margin in ace serves. Libero Brittany Dahams had a career-high three ace serves in the match. Defensively, Ohio State had a 44-35 margin in digs with Indiana’s Juli Pierce recording a match-high 12. At the net, the Buckeyes edged the Hoosiers in team blocks, nine to eight. OSU’s Meyer had a match-high seven assist blocks with Briana McCarthy adding five. OSU setter Marisa Main collected 41 assists in the match to 22 for Indiana’s Tasha Arsenych.
GORDON LEADS THE COUNTRY IN KILLS PER GAME
The NCAA national statistics released this week has Stacey Gordon ranked first in the country in kills per game with a 7.26 average. She also is ranked 23rd in the country in hitting percentage at .386. Setter Marisa Main is ranked third in assists per game nationally with a 14.85 per game average. In team statistics, the Buckeyes are ranked first in kills per game (18.36) and assists (16.96) and second in hitting percentage (.324).
GORDON SETS OSU CAREER DIGS MARK
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 1,362 career digs and is the Ohio Sate career leader in digs per game at 3.31.
GORDON’S CAREER RANKINGS AT OHIO STATE
1. Kills, 2,493
1. Kills Per Game, 6.05
1. Attack Attempts, 5,364
5. Attack Percentage, .298
5. Ace Serves, 156
4. Aces Per Game, .38
1. Digs, 1362
1. Digs Per Game, 3.31
17. Solo Blocks, 33
19. Assist Blocks, 176
20. Total Blocks, 209
1. Points, 2,770
1. Points Per Game, 6.72
GORDON THE ALL-TIME BIG TEN CAREER KILLS LEADER WITH 2,493
With 31 kills against Michigan, Stacey Gordon became the all-time Big Ten leader in career kills and currently has 2,493. She set the record with her 27th kill against Michigan in the fourth game of the match. Gordon 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 2,493. She needs 183 kills to pass No. 5 Priscilla Pacheco of Georgia (1991-94) who has 2,675. Gordon’s career kills per game average of 6.05 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 KILLS STREAK TO 98 MATCHES
Stacey Gordon, with 29 kills against Purdue and 20 against Indiana, has extended her streak of double-figure kill matches to 98. She has had 20 or more kills in 13 of her last 14 matches and 71 in her career. Gordon has had double-figure kills in 111 of her 113 matches in her career.
MEYER HITS .684 AGAINST PURDUE
Danielle Meyer played an outstanding match against Purdue as she hit .684 with 13 kills in 19 attempts with no errors and had a career-high six digs in the match. She added an ace serve and an assist block against the Boilermakers. Meyer posted 11 kills (.308) in the Indiana match adding a match-high seven assist blocks and two digs against the Hoosiers. For the two matches, she averaged 4 kills per game while hitting .467 and averaging 1.33 digs and 1.33 blocks per game. Meyer is second on the team in kills with 229 (3.09) and is hitting .328. She leads the team in blocking with 75 (2-73) and averages 1.01 per game. She ranks seventh in blocking in the Big Ten conference only statistics with a 1.12 per game average.
STEVENS HITS .378 LAST WEEK WHILE AVERAGING 3.50 KILLS PER GAME
Ami Stevens hit .378 last week while she averaged 3.50 kills per game against Purdue and Indiana. She had 13 kills (.391) and added five digs and three total blocks (1-2) in the Purdue match. Stevens posted eight kills (.357), 11 digs, one assist block, one ace serve and one assist against Indiana. She has 195 kills on the season to rank third on the team for a 2.60 per game average. Stevens is third on the squad in digs with 201 with a 2.68 per game average. She is second on the team in ace serve with 23 (.31) and ranks eighth in the Big Ten overall statistics.
DAHMS RECORDS A CAREER-HIGH THREE ACES AGAINST INDIANA
Brittany Dahms has contributed to the OSU defense, both as a defensive specialist and in the libero position. She has played in all 22 matches and has started six matches as the libero. Dahms had a career-high three aces against Indiana adding 10 digs and an assist against the Hoosiers. She had a match-high 15 digs in the Purdue match. Dahms has 176 digs on the season for a 2.48 per game average.
OHIO STATE IN THE CONFERENCE ONLY STATISTICS
Statistically in Big Ten Conference matches, Stacey Gordon leads the league in kills per game (7.45 per game) and aces per game (.33) and is 10th in digs (3.60) and sixth in hitting percentage (.347). Setter Marisa Main has a conference-high 14.79 assists per game average and Danielle Meyer ranks seventh in blocks per game (1.12). As a team, the Buckeyes are ranked first in kills (18.50), assists (17.05), hitting percentage (.306) and aces (1.31). Ohio State is fifth in blocking (2.50) and seventh in digs (15.90).
OHIO STATE IN THE OVERALL CONFERENCE STATISTICS
In Big Ten Conference statistics for all matches, Stacey Gordon leads the league in kills (7.26 per game) and aces per game (.43). She is second in hitting percentage at .386 and 10th in digs (3.16). Marisa Main tops the conference in assists per game (14.85). OSU has Maya Mapp sixth in hitting percentage (.333) and Danielle Meyer seventh (.328). In aces per game, Ami Stevens ranks eighth in aces (.31). In overall team statistics, Ohio State ranks first in hitting percentage (.324), kills (18.36) and assists (16.96). The Buckeyes are second in aces (1.65), eighth in blocking, seventh in blocks (2.28) and eighth in digs (14.89).
BUCKEYES REMAIN SEVENTH 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 remained at seventh in the poll. The Buckeyes began the season unranked and entered the poll at 25th the second week of the season. The Buckeyes have moved up in the poll each week for six week and have been seventh for the last three weeks. OSU is one of four Big Ten squads ranked in the top-25. Minnesota is ranked fifth, Penn State sixth and Illinois 25th. Wisconsin is 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 512-300. At Ohio State, Stone’s record is 462-258 and he is 257-149 in the Big Ten.
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.
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
The Buckeyes begin a four-match home stand by hosting Northwestern and Wisconsin. OSU will face the Wildcats at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 12 and the Badgers at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13 in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes continue the home stand with matches against Penn State Wednesday, Nov. 17 and Illinois, Friday, Nov. 19.
