Women’s Volleyball: Buckeyes Host No. 19 Illinois Friday and No. 18 Purdue Sunday – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State (10-6 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) women’s volleyball team returns to St. John Arena this week for matches against No. 19 Illinois (11-4, 2-2) and No. 18 Purdue (13-3, 2-2) Sunday. The Buckeyes host the Illini at 7 p.m. Friday and face the Boilermakers at 2 p.m. Sunday. Last week in road matches, Ohio State won 3-2 (26-24, 26-24, 21-25, 12-25, 15-10) at Northwestern and lost at No. 20 Wisconsin, 3-0 (28-26, 25-16, 25-17).
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Head coach Geoff Carlston is in his first season with the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 10-6 overall on the season and 1-3 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes won 3-2 at Northwestern and lost 0-3 at No. 20 Wisconsin last week.
Leading the Buckeyes in points per set is Anna Szerszen at 4.27. Katie Dull ranks second at 4.02 with Kristen Dozier third at 3.71. Szerszen is the team leader in kills per set at 3.54. Dull ranks second at 3.34 with Dozier third at 3.05. OSU’s top percentage hitter is Dull at .280. Dozier is second at .268 with Kelli Barhorst third at .248. At setter, Ashley Hughes is averaging 7.80 assists per set with Betsy Hone having a 7.39 average. Chelsea Noble has a team-high .32 aces per set average with a team-high 18 aces. Hone ranks second at .24 with nine aces. Hughes (nine aces) and Susan Halverson (10 aces) are tied for third at .22. Barhorstleads the team in blocks per set at 1.32 with six solos and 35 assists. Szerszen ranks second at 1.00 with five solos and 19 assists with Dozier third at .95 with 12 solos and 41 assists. Leading the team in digs per set at 3.08 is Kaila Calhoun. Noble ranks second at 2.75 with Halverson third at 2.47. Calhoun has a team-leading .971 serve reception percentage with 213 attempts. Halverson ranks second at .955 with 178 attempts. Noble has a team-high 424 attempts with a .953 percentage to rank third.
Ohio State is averaging 17.06 points, 13.00 kills and 12.14 assists per set. The Buckeyes average 1.27 aces, 12.71 digs and 2.79 blocks per set. OSU opponents are averaging 14.34 points, 11.41 kills and 10.43 assists per set. They are averaging 1.16 aces, 11.43 digs and 1.77 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT ILLINOIS
Head coach Don Hardin is in his 13th season with the 19th-ranked Illini. Illinois is 11-4 overall and has a 2-2 record in the Big Ten. Last week the Illinois lost 3-2 (25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-8) to No. 13 Minnesota and defeated Iowa, 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 25-15) in home matches.
Leading the Illini in points per set is Laura DeBruler at 4.93. Kylie McCulley ranks second at 3.14 with Michelle Bartsch third at 2.53. DeBruler has a team-high 4.41 kills per set average with McCulley second at 2.80 and Bartsch third at 2.02. Abby Nelson is the top attacker on the squad with a .279 attack percentage. DeBruler ranks second at .233 with Johannah Bangert third at .232. At setter, Hillary Haen has a team-high 5.91 assists per set average. Lizzie Bazzetta ranks second at 5.10. In aces per set, Abby Nelson leads the team with a .28 per set average with 16 aces. DeBruler is second at .24 with 14 and Bazzetta is third at .19 with 11. Defensively, Ashley Edinger has a team-high 4.65 digs per set average. DeBruler ranks second at 3.33 with McCulley third at 2.42. Edinger, with a .963 serve reception percentage, is the team leader. She has 321 attempts. DeBruler ranks second at .952 with 461 attempts with McCulley third at .932 with 237 attempts. At the net, Bangert leads the team with a 1.48 blocks per set average. She has two solos and 84 assists. Ranking second is Nelson at 1.14 with three solos and 64 assists. Bartsch, at .97, ranks third with two solos and 54 assists.
Illinois is averaging 16.71 points, 12.95 kills and 12.21 assists per set. The Illini average 1.05 aces, 15.91 digs and 2.71 blocks per set. Opponents average 14.68 points, 11.67 kills and 11.03 assists per set. Illinois opponents average 1.00 aces, 15.98 digs and 2.01 blocks per set.
OHIO STATE – ILLINOIS SERIES
Ohio State leads the series with Illinois, 34-29. The Buckeyes have a 15-11 record in matches played in Columbus. The Illini have a 15-14 edge in matches played in Champaign with Ohio State owning a 5-3 record in neutral site matches. Ohio State has won the last three matches including a 3-2 (30-26, 30-24, 29-31, 22-30, 17-15) win at Illinois and a 3-1 (30-27, 30-26, 23-30, 30-27) victory in Columbus.
A LOOK AT PURDUE
Head coach Dave Shondell is in his sixth season with the 18th-ranked Boilermakers. Purdue is 13-3 overall and has a 2-2 record in the Big Ten. Last week, in home matches, Purdue defeated Iowa, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) and lost to No. 13 Minnesota, 0-3 (14-25, 16-25, 19-25).
Stephanie Lynch leads the team in points per set with a 4.41 average. Danita Merlau ranks second at 3.70 with Kristen Arthurs third at 2.56. Lynch has a team-high 3.57 kills per set average with Merlau second at 3.38 and Arthurs third at 1.97. Leading the team in attack percentage at .419 is Lynch. Arthurs ranks second at .257 with Merlau third at .189. At setter, Jaclyn Hart is averaging 9.53 assists per set. Sam Ainsworth leads the team in aces per set at .24 with 12. Kelli Miller and Jessica Ullrich are tied for second at .22 with 13 aces each. Defensively, Miller has a team-high 4.31 digs per set average. Merlau ranks second at 2.16 with Hart third at 2.00. Miller leads the team in serve reception percentage at .971 and has 312 attempts. Ullrich ranks second at .950 with 239 attempts. Mandy Nichols is third at .931 with 276 attempts. At the net, Lynch has a team-high 1.29 blocks per set average with nine solos and 66 assists. Arthurs ranks second at 1.05 with eight solos and 53 assists with Hart third at .86 with six solos and 45 assists.
Purdue is averaging 16.00 points, 12.41 kills and 10.95 assists per set. The Boilermakers average 1.00 aces, 13.75 digs and 2.59 blocks per set. Opponents average 14.93 points, 11.86 kills and 10.93 assists per set. Purdue opponents average 1.03 aces, 13.24 digs and 2.03 blocks per set.
OHIO STATE – PURDUE SERIES
Ohio State has a 38-32 series record against Purdue. The Buckeyes are 18-10 in Columbus, 13-16 in West Lafayette and 7-6 in neutral site matches. The Boilermakers won both matches last season, winning 3-0 (30-26, 30-26, 30-23) at Purdue and 3-1 (30-24, 30-25, 23-30, 30-28) at Ohio State.
OHIO STATE HAS THREE MATCHES ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
Ohio State will have three Big Ten matches telecast live on the Big Ten Network this season. Both Michigan matches and OSU’s home match with Northwestern will be broadcast. The Buckeyes opened the Big Ten Conference season by hosting Michigan Sept. 24, losing 0-3. OSU will face the Wolverines in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. Nov. 12. The Buckeyes will host Northwestern at 8 p.m. Nov. 8 in St. John Arena as part of a Big Ten Network doubleheader.
HEAD COACH GEOFF CARLSTON
Geoff Carlston is in his first season at Ohio State. He came to Ohio State after spending five years as head coach of Ohio University where he built an outstanding program. His squads played in five NCAA tournaments, reaching regional play in 2005. At Ohio, Carlston guided the Bobcats to five-consecutive Mid American Conference championships with an overall record of 144-22. He had a MAC conference record of 78-2 and was 14-1 in the conference tournament, winning four of five.
Carlston was named the MAC Coach of the Year four times and was twice named the Mideast Region Coach of the Year.
He began collegiate coaching with three years at Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) where he posted a 49-42 record. His career record is 203-70.
SZERSZEN HITS A SEASON-HIGH .379 AT WISCONSIN
Anna Szerszen hit a season-high .379 at Wisconsin with 11 kills in 29 attempts with no errors. She added five digs and an assist block against the Badgers for her seventh match of the season with double-figure points. Szerszen had 13 kills, seven digs, four assist blocks and an ace serve at Northwestern in the five-set victory. She has started and played in seven of the last eight matches this season and is averaging 3.71 points, 3.05 kills and .95 blocks per set.
DULL BACK IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Katie Dull returned to the starting lineup in both matches last week. She did see action in two sets the previous week. At Northwestern, Dull had a match-high 16 kills, adding two digs, a solo block and five assists. She had four kills, one dig and two assist blocks Sunday at Wisconsin. She has played in nine matches with six starts. She is averaging 4.02 points, 3.34 kills and .90 blocks per set.
DOZIER HAS 11 KILLS AT NORTHWESTERN
Kristen Dozier posted 11 kills in the 3-2 victory at Northwestern. She added two digs, a solo block and two assist blocks, collecting 13 points in the contest. At Wisconsin, Dozier had six kills, a solo block and two assist blocks for eight points. A starter in all 16 matches, she is averaging 3.71 points, 3.05 kills and .95 blocks per set.
BARHORST HAS CAREER-HIGH 10 ASSIST BLOCKS AT NORTHWESTERN
Kelli Barhorst posted a career-high 10 assist blocks at Northwestern last week. Her previous high was six against Duquesne. Barhorst added five kills and three digs in the match. At Wisconsin, she had seven kills while hitting a career-high .583 (7-0-12). She added an ace serve and three assist blocks against the Badgers. Barhorst has started the last nine matches after missing the first seven this season. She is averaging 2.66 points, 1.87 kills and 1.32 blocks per set.
HONE POSTS HER FIRST CAREER SOLO BLOCK AT NORTHWESTERN
Betsy Hone recorded her first career solo block at Northwestern last week. She added 36 assists, a kill, five digs and two assist blocks in the five-set victory. Hone played the first two sets at Wisconsin, collecting 23 assists, an ace serve, one dig and an assist block. She has played in 13 matches this season with seven starts including the last three matches. Hone is averaging 7.39 assists, 1.39 digs and .24 aces per set.
HUGHES SETS FIFTH-SET VICTORY AT NORTHWESTERN
Ashley Hughes started the fifth set at Northwestern and helped the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten victory. In the set, she had seven assists, a kill and two digs. For the match, Hughes totaled 10 assists, a kill, two digs and a solo block. She started the third set at Wisconsin, recording five assists and a kill. Hughes has played in 15 matches this season with 11 starts. She is averaging 7.80 assists, .90 kills, .22 aces, 1.15 digs and .55 blocks per set.
NOBLE COLLECTS AN OSU CAREER-HIGH 20 DIGS AT NORTHWESTERN
At Northwestern,Chelsea Noble recorded an Ohio State career-high of 20 digs against the Wildcats. Her overall career high of 22 was against Duke in 2006 when she played at Tennessee. Noble added an assist and one ace serve vs. Northwestern. Against Wisconsin, she posted eight digs, one assist and two ace serves against the Badgers. Noble has played in all 16 matches this season with 11 starts at outside hitter and five at libero. She is averaging 1.75 points, 1.25 kills, .32 aces, 2.75 digs and .32 blocks per set. Noble has a .953 serve reception percentage with a team-high 424 attempts with 20 errors.
CALHOUN RETURNS TO THE OUTSIDE
Kaila Calhoun, after playing libero at Michigan State, returned to the outside hitting position last week against Northwestern and Wisconsin. She had seven digs and a kill against the Wildcats and four kills, five digs, a solo block and one assist block against the Badgers. Calhoun has played in 15 matches this season with 14 starts at outside hitter and one at libero. She is averaging 2.50 points, 2.09 kills, 3.08 digs and .49 blocks per set. For the season, Calhoun has a .971 serve reception percentage handling 277 attempts with eight errors.
HALVERSON HELPING IN THE BACK ROW
Susan Halverson saw action in six of the eight sets last week. She played in three sets at Northwestern recording seven digs and two ace serves. She handled 16 serve reception attempts without an error against the Wildcats. At Wisconsin, Halverson had eight digs and an ace serve. She handled 15 serve receptions with two errors. She has played in all 16 matches this season with two starts at defensive specialist. Halverson is averaging 2.47 digs and .22 aces per set and has a .955 serve reception percentage with eight errors in 178 attempts.
HOYING JOINS SQUAD
Betsy Hoying, a 5-11 outside hitter from Celina, Ohio has joined the team. A sophomore, she played for the Ohio State women’s volleyball club team as a freshman. Hoying was an all-Ohio selection as a senior at St. Henry High School. Her team won the 2004 Division IV State Championship. Hoying was an all-tournament selection at the 2004 Junior Olympics.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ohio State returns to the road for Big Ten matches at Indiana (9-7, 1-3) and top-ranked Penn State (16-0, 4-0). The Buckeyes will face the Hoosiers at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 in a match that will be played in Assembly Hall. OSU then faces the Nittany Lions at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 in Rec Hall.
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