Women’s Volleyball: Buckeyes Begin OSU-USC Weekend at No. 6 Southern California Friday – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State (6-2) women’s volleyball team concludes its six-match, 12-day road trip by facing sixth-ranked Southern California (3-2) Friday at 10 p.m. EDT in the Galen Center. The Ohio State-Southern California action continues Satuday when the No. 1 Trojan football team hosts the fifth-ranked Buckeyes at 8 p.m. EDT.
Ohio State is 4-1 on the road trip after a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18) victory at Loyola Marymount Wednesday.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Head coach Geoff Carlston is in his first season with the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 6-2 on the season after a 3-1 win at Loyola Marymount Wednesday.
Leading the Buckeyes in points per set is Katie Dull at 4.61. Kristen Dozier ranks second at 4.17 with Kaila Calhoun third at 3.74. Dull is the team leader in kills per set at 3.84. Dozier ranks second at 3.55 with Calhoun third at 3.10. OSU’s top percentage hitter is Dull at .365. Calhoun ranks second at .333 with Dozier third at .286. At setter, Betsy Hone is averaging 8.47 assists per set with Ashley Hughes having a 7.17 average. Hone has a team-high .41 aces per set average with seven aces. Chelsea Noble ranks second at .31 with a team-high nine aces. Calhoun is third at .24 with seven aces. Allie Schwarzwalder leads the team in blocks per set at .97 with two solos and 26 assists. Dozier ranks second at .93 with five solos and 22 assists with Dull third at .89 with four solos and 13 assist blocks. Leading the team in digs per set at 3.38 is Calhoun. Susan Halverson ranks second at 2.73 with Noble third at 2.62. Laura Kastein has a .981 reception percentage handling 53 attempts with one error. Calhoun is at .978 with two errors in 90 attempts. Susan Halverson ranks third at .968 with 3 errors in 94 attempts. Noble has a team-high 245 attempts with 10 errors and a .968 percentage.
Ohio State is averaging 18.36 points, 14.34 kills and 13.48 assists per set. The Buckeyes average 1.34 aces, 13.72 digs and 2.67 blocks per set. OSU opponents are averaging 13.38 points, 10.93 kills and 9.97 assists per set. They are averaging .90 aces, 11.41 digs and 1.55 blocks per game.
A LOOK AT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Head coach Mick Haley is in his eighth season with the Trojans. Sixth-ranked Southern California is 3-2 on the season, winning three matches last weekend at the Holiday Inn LA City Center Trojan Invitational. The Trojans defeated Oklahoma, 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22), Hofstra, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) and San Diego, 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-17).
Alex Jupiter leads the team with a 5.35 points per set average. Jessica Gysin ranks second at 3.68 with Kimmee Roleder third at 3.65. Jupiter leads the team with a 4.53 kills per set average. Gysin ranks second at 3.12 with Roleder third at 2.76. Jupiter has a team-high .301 attack percentage with Zoe Garrett second at .281. Setter Taylor Carico has a 10.94 assists per set average for the Trojans. In aces per set, Roleder has a team-high .53 average with nine aces. Jupiter ranks second at .41 with seven aces. Defensively, Alli Hillgren has a team-high 4.59 digs per set average. Carico ranks second at 2.71 with Gysin third at 2.18. At the net, Lauren Williams has a team-high 1.24 blocks per set average with five solos and 16 assists. Garrett is second at .82 with two solos and 12 assists and Carico ranks third at .76 with 13 assists.
Southern California averages 14.00 points, 10.64 kills and 10.00 assists per set. The Trojans average 1.23 aces, 11.32 digs and 2.14 blocks per set. USC opponents average 12.48 points, 9.18 kills and 8.59 assists per set. Trojan opponents average 1.00 aces, 10.86 digs and 2.30 blocks per set.
OHIO STATE – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SERIES
Southern California has a 3-1 lead in the series with Ohio State. The Trojans won the first meeting in 1989, 3-0 (15-8, 15-13, 15-11), at the Cal State Fullerton Tournament. In 1994, Ohio State won 3-0 (15-12, 15-4, 15-3) at the Long Beach State Invitational. The Trojans defeated Ohio State in 2001, 3-0 (30-25, 30-20, 30-27) in the NCAA Regional Semifinals in Los Angeles. Last year at OSU’s Sports Imports Classic, Southern California won 3-2 (27-30, 30-20, 28-30, 30-26, 16-14).
OHIO STATE -LOYOLA MARYMOUNT NOTES
*Kelli Barhorst saw her first collegiate action against the Lions after missing the first seven matches of the season. She had seven kills, two digs, a solo block and two assist blocks in her first collegiate start.
*In her third consecutive start at libero, Laura Kastein had 10 digs, a kill, an assist and one ace serve. She handled 10 of 11 reception attempts while playing in all four sets.
*Sarah Mignin started a libero in sets three and four. Playing in all four sets, she had a career-high nine digs, adding an assist and handled 13 reception attempts without an error.
*Chelsea Noble had a career-high 12 kills against the Lions and had an Ohio State career-high of 15 digs in the match. A transfer from Tennesse where she was the starting setter in 2006, Noble has a .959 reception percentage, handling a team-high 245 attempts with 10 errors.
*Setter Ashley Hughes posted a season-high 43 assists against Loyola Marymount. It was her sixth start of the season. Hughes is averaging 8.17 assists per set.
*Allie Schwarzwalder recorded four kills, three assist blocks and one digs against Loyola Marymount.
*Kaila Calhoun collected a match-high 18 digs against the Lions. She added 14 kills while hitting .345. Calhoun added two assists, one ace serve and two assist blocks in the contest. She also handled 18 reception attempts without an error.
*Kristen Dozier scored a team-high 18 points against Loyola Marymount with a team-high 15 kills, two solo blocks and two assist blocks. It was her fifth consecutive double-figure kill match and her sixth overall this 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.
BUCKEYES FINISH SECOND AT THE BEST WESTERN SHOCKER VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC
Ohio State finished second at the Best Western Shocker Volleyball Classic, losing 3-2 to Wichita State in the championship match. The Buckeyes rallied from 0-2 in the match to send it to a fifth set and had two match points before falling 18-16. Kristen Dozier and Kaila Calhoun were named to the all-tournament team.
CARLSTON ON THE BUCKEYES
“I am so proud of how this team fought all weekend long,” head coach Geoff Carlston said. “We played without 3 starters which amounts to well over half our usual offensive output overall. For this group of young ladies to be down as bad as we were against the 22nd ranked team in the nation, in front of over 3,000 hostile fans, and to claw our way back into the match…that is the kind of effort programs can eventually build championships on.”
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 199-66.
DULL LEADS THE SQUAD IN POINTS PER SET
Katie Dull leads Ohio State in points per set with a 4.61 average. She had 15.5 points against Coastal Carolina, adding 11.5 against Idaho State and 6.5 against Cal State Bakersfield. She did not play against Wichita State.
DOZIER NAMED TO SHOCKER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kristen Dozier was one of two Buckeyes named to the Best Western Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team. She was the team’s offensive leader at the Classic averaging 4.40 points, 3.73 kills and 1.13 blocks per set and hit .325. She had a match-high 17 kills against Cal State Bakersfield and produced a season-high six total blocks (1-5) at Wichita State.
CALHOUN NAMED TO SHOCKER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kaila Calhoun was one of two Buckeyes named to the Best Western Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team. In the four matches at the Classic, she averaged a team high 3.60 digs per set while handling 48 of 49 reception attempts for a .980 percentage. Offensively, Calhoun averaged 3.63 points, 3.13 kills and .73 blocks per set for the weekend. In the Wichita State match, Calhoun posted career-highs of 17 kills, 20 digs and 18.5 points in the contest.
SCHWARZWALDER RECORD CAREER-HIGH 14 KILLS AT WICHITA STATE
Allie Schwarzwalder posted a career-high 14 kills at Wichita State last weekend. She added two assists blocks in the match to give her a career-high 15 points against the Shockers. Schwarzwalder tied her career high of five assist blocks against Idaho State set previously against Xavier.
NOBLE HAS CAREER-HIGH 11 KILLS AT WICHITA STATE
Chelsea Noble recorded a career-high 11 kills at Cal State Bakersfield for her first-ever double-figure kill match. She had a career-high 14 points in the Cal State Bakersfield match adding a solo block and four assist blocks. Noble had a season-high 13 digs against Wichita State. The 13 digs was her third consecutive double-figure dig match of the season.
HUGHES EQUALS HER CAREER HIGH OF FIVE TOTAL BLOCKS AGAINST COASTAL CAROLINA
Ashley Hughes had a solo block and four assists to equal her career high of five total blocks set against Southern California in 2007. She had 28 assists in the match, adding three kills and a dig. Hughes did not play against Idaho State and saw limited action against Cal State Bakersfield where she had one kill, two digs and two assist blocks. Against Wichita State, Hughes had 21 assists while sharing setting duties with Betsy Hone. She contributed four kills, a season-high nine digs and four assist blocks against the Shockers.
HONE STARTS THREE MATCHES AT THE SHOCKER CLASSIC
Betsy Hone was the starting setter in three of the four matches at the Shocker Classic last weekend. She did not start against Coastal Carolina but recorded seven assists, one kill and one dig. In her 12th career start against Idaho State, Hone recorded 30 assists, adding three kills, a career-high four ace serves, three digs and three assist blocks. She produced a season-high 49 assists against Cal State Bakersfield adding four kills, two aces, nine digs and an assist block. Hone produced 30 assists at Wichita State, sharing the duties with Ashley Hughes, and had a season-high 11 digs against the Shockers. She added four kills, an ace serve and one assist block in the match.
HALVERSON RECORDS A CAREER-HIGH 11 DIGS AT WICHITA STATE
Susan Halverson collected a career-high 11 digs at Wichita State as a defensive specialist, playing in three of the five sets. She added a kill and an assist in the match. Halverson started at libero against Coastal Carolina and Idaho State. She had 10 digs and an assists against Coastal Carolina and had five digs, an assist and an ace serve against Idaho State. She saw action in three of the four sets against Cal State Bakersfield recording nine digs and three assists.
KASTEIN PRODUCES A CAREER-HIGH 16 DIGS AGAINST CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
Laura Kastein produced a career-high 16 digs in the Cal State Bakersfield match. It was her second start of the season at libero. She started at libero at Wichita State and recorded four digs. As a defensive specialist, she had four digs against Coastal Carolina and five against Idaho State. In the four matches, Kastein was perfect in her 30 reception attempts .
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ohio State returns to Columbus Sunday after attending the Ohio State-Southern California football game Satuday. The Buckeyes complete non-conference play at the Kent State/Mizuno Open. The Buckeyes will face Duquesne (2 p.m.) and Chicago State (4:30 p.m.) Friday, Sept. 19 and play host Kent State (7 p.m.) Saturday. Ohio State will open Big Ten Conference play the following Wednesday when it hosts Michigan at 7 p.m. in a live Big Ten Network telecast.
***OhioStateBuckeyes.com***
