Women’s Volleyball: Buckeyes Host Toledo, Xavier and Youngstown State in the Sports Imports Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball team begins the 2008 season hosting the Sports Imports Classic in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes open first round play by hosting Toledo at 11 a.m. Friday. Xavier faces Youngstown State at 1:30 p.m. to complete the round. No admission will be charged for these two matches. Second round play begins at 5 p.m. with Toledo playing Youngstown State. The Buckeyes close out the first day of action by hosting Xavier at 7:30 p.m. General admission for the second round is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Saturday’s third round matches begin at 6 p.m. Saturday with Youngstown State facing Ohio State. The final match, at 8 p.m., has Xavier facing Toledo. Admission for the third session is $2 for everyone.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Head coach Geoff Carlston begins his first season with the Buckeyes. Last season Ohio State was 13-16 overall and finished ninth in the Big Ten Conference with a 7-13 record. “We are all extremely excited for the future of Ohio State volleyball,” Carlston said. “One of our goals is to create an event at our volleyball matches that fans will connect to and fall in love with. We know that once a person comes to an Ohio State volleyball match, they will be hooked.”
The Buckeyes have four starters returning from last season. Middle blocker Kristen Dozier and outside hitters Anna Szerszen, Katie Dull and Kaila Calhoun anchor a young squad. Dozier had a 1.03 blocks and 1.38 kills per game average last season. Szerszen missed part of the season but averaged 2.57 kills per game. Dull, who started every match last season, averaged 3.04 kills and 1.26 digs per game. Calhoun played several positions and posted a 2.70 digs per game average.
Additional letterwinners returning include setters Ashley Hughes and Betsy Hone, outside hitter Allie Schwarzwalder and libero/defensive specialists Laura Kastein and Susan Halverson. Hughes started five matches last season and averaged 8.38 assists and 1.12 digs per game. Hone averaged 7.80 assists and 1.78 digs per game and had 11 starts last season. Schwarzwalder saw limited action last season while Kastein played in 25 matches averaging 1.38 digs per game and Halverson averaged 1.23 digs per game in 14 matches.
Tennessee transfer Chelsea Noble, a libero/defensive specialist, is eligible to play this season after sitting out last year. She was the starting setter for the Volunteers in 2006, averaging 11.77 assists and 2.95 digs per game. She joins newcomers Kelli Barhorst, a middle blocker, and libero/defensive specialists Sarah Mignin, Lisa Prang and Maria Ralston on the roster. Barhorst was a two-time first-team All-Ohio selection, winning the state championship in 2006. Mignin was an all-conference selection as a senior. Prang was named her high school’s 2008 Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year while Ralston was named the conference player of the year.
“This team has grown a great deal and they are ready to battle this season,” Carlston said. “We have solid leadership and a strong team dynamic. They have worked hard, set some amazing goals and met the challenges we have put in front of them with passion. That is a solid foundation to do great things.”
A LOOK AT TOLEDO
Head coach Kent Miller is in his 12th season for the Rockets. Toledo had a 4-24 overall record in 2007 and was 1-15 in the Mid-American Conference. The Rockets have five starters and the libero returning from last season
OHIO STATE – TOLEDO SERIES
Ohio State has a 7-1 record against Toledo. The lone loss a forfeit. The last meeting against the Rockets was Aug. 27, 2005, in Columbus, with the Buckeyes winning, 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-21).
A LOOK AT XAVIER
Head coach Floyd Denton is in his 19th season with the Musketeers. Xavier had a 24-11 overall record in 2007 and was 11-2 in the Atlantic-10 Conference finishing second in the West. The Musketeers have four starters returning from last season.
OHIO STATE – XAVIER SERIES
Ohio State has a 5-0 lead in the series with Xavier. The squads last played in 2004 at the Georgia Tech Invitational with the Buckeyes winning, 3-0 (30-22, 30-18, 30-22).
A LOOK AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Head coach Joe Bonner is in his fourth season for the Penguins. Youngstown State had a 12-18 overall record in 2007 and was 5-11 in the Horizon League. The Penguins return five starters and the libero from the 2007 squad.
OHIO STATE – YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Ohio State leads the series with Youngstown State, 4-0. The teams last played in Columbus last season with the Buckeyes winning, 3-0 (30-19, 30-21, 30-25).
OSU TO HOST SCARLET AND GRAY MATCH WEDNESDAY
The Ohio State women’s volleyball team will have an intrasquad match at 7 p.m. Wednesday in St. John Arena in preparation for the season-opening matches at the Sports Imports Classic Friday. The Scarlet and Gray match Wednesday is free to the public.
“It essentially is a mock game and will serve mainly as a dry run for us,” Geoff Carlston head coach said. “We will go through all of our pre-game rituals from the team meal, the warm-ups and the locker room chats. We want to make it as real as possible so the team gets an idea of how the entire season will go.”
The Buckeyes are in their final week of practice leading up to the Sports Imports Classic this weekend.
“Things are coming along well,” Carlston said. “They have grown a lot as a team and things are looking good. We have come a long way since August 9, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. The team is working very hard, playing together nicely and building great team dynamics.”
Ohio State will open the 2008 season hosting the Sports Imports Classic Friday and Saturday. The Buckeyes open the Classic at 11 a.m. Friday vs. Toledo and close out the first day of play against Xavier at 7:30 p.m. Ohio State will play Youngstown State Saturday at 6 p.m. following the Ohio State Youngstown State football game at noon.”This will be a good first tournament for us, especially since it’s at home,” Carlston said. “The team is tired of playing each other so we are all excited to see an actual opponent. We have three very different teams coming in and this will be a great learning experience for the team on how to shift gears and be competitive against different opponents. It will be good preparation and will lay down foundations for us for the upcoming Big Ten season.”
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 will open the Big Ten Conference season hosting Michigan at 7 p.m. Sept. 24 and 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 193-64.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ohio State begins a six-match, 12-day road trip that has the Buckeyes playing at the Best Western Shocker Volleyball Classic in Wichita, Kan. where they will play Coastal Carolina and Idaho State Thursday, Sept. 4 and Cal State Bakersfield and Wichita State Saturday, Sept. 6. OSU continues on the road to Los Angles, Calif. where they will face Loyola Marymount Wednesday, Sept. 10 and Southern California Friday, Sept. 12.
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