Buckeyes Host 12th-Ranked Michigan Friday and Michigan State Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State (22-9 overall, 10-8 Big Ten, fifth) women’s volleyball team closes out the regular season with home contests against 12th-ranked Michigan (24-7, 12-6, fourth) and Michigan State (17-13, 5-13, tied for eighth). The Buckeyes host Michigan Friday and Michigan State Saturday in 7 p.m. matches in St. John Arena. Ohio State will honor seniors Kristen Dozier, Ashley Hughes and Chelsea Noble after the match Saturday. Last week, the Buckeyes won 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22) at Indiana and lost 3-1 (28-26, 25-23, 16-25, 27-25) at Purdue.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Geoff Carlston is the head coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 22-9 overall and is 10-8 in the Big Ten Conference (fifth). Last week, the Buckeyes won 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22) at Indiana and lost 3-1 (28-26, 25-23, 16-25, 27-25) at Purdue. Katie Dull has team highs of 4.60 points and 3.95 kills per set average. Kristen Dozier ranks second in points (2.96) and kills (2.43) per set. Dozier is hitting a team-high .316 with Kelli Barhorst second at .277. At setter, Ashley Hughes is averaging 9.39 assists per set with Amanda Peterson at 8.94 and Betsy Hone at 8.50. Peterson has a team-high .50 aces per set with 27. Danks ranks second at .39 with 43. Defensively, Chelsea Noble leads the squad with a 3.87 digs per set average. Dull ranks second at 2.42. At the net, Dozier has a .84 blocks per set average to lead the team. She has 17 solos and 78 assists. Barhorst ranks second at .69 with four solos and 66 assist blocks. Ohio State is hitting .265 and is averaging 16.86 points, 13.23 kills and 12.16 assists per set. The Buckeyes average 1.59 aces, 13.21 digs and 2.04 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .187 and average 14.54 points, 11.49 kills and 10.61 assists per set. Buckeye opponents average 1.17 aces, 12.00 digs and 1.89 blocks per set.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN
Mark Rosen is the head coach for the 12th-ranked Wolverines. Michigan has a 24-7 overall record and is 12-6 (fourth) in the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines defeated Michigan State, 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-8) and 12th-ranked Minnesota, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 27-25) in home matches. Leading Michigan in points per set is Juliana Paz with a 4.38 average. Alex Hunt ranks second at 3.88. Paz leads the team in kills per set at 3.75. Hunt, at 3.32, ranks second. The top percentage hitter is Paz at .243. Courtney Fletcher ranks second at .242. At setter Lexi Zimmerman has an 11.02 assists per set average. Hunt in the team leader in aces per set with a .44 average (52). Paz ranks second at .38 with 45. Defensively, Sloane Donhoff has a team-high 4.11 digs per set average. Megan Bower ranks second at 2.92. At the net, Fletcher has a team-high .75 blocks per set average with five solos and 60 assists. Ranking second is Veronica Rood at .70 with 17 solos and 62 assists. Michigan is hitting .239 and averages 17.32 points, 13.92 kills and 12.85 assists per set. The Wolverines average 1.66 aces, 14.90 digs and 1.74 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .182 and average 14.88 points, 11.25 kills and 10.46 assists per set. Wolverine opponents average 1.00 aces, 13.92 digs and 2.64 blocks per set.
MICHIGAN-OHIO STATE SERIES
Ohio State has a 45-17 lead in the series with Michigan. The Buckeyes are 23-5 in Columbus and have a 19-9 record in Ann Arbor. The squads are 3-3 in neutral site matches. Michigan has won the last five matches against the Buckeyes including 3-0 shutouts in both matches last year. The Wolverines won 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 in Columbus and 25-16, 25-14, 25-15 in Ann Arbor. Earlier this season, Michigan won, 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22) in Ann Arbor. Ohio State head coach Geoff Carlston is 0-3 against the Wolverines.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN STATE
Cathy George is the head coach for the Spartans. Michigan State is 17-13 overall and has a 5-13 (tied for eighth) Big Ten record. The Spartans dropped 3-2 decisions at 14th-ranked Michigan (25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-8) and at home to 12th-ranked Minnesota (23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-12). Megan Schatzle leads the team in points (3.37) and kills (3.01) per set. Becca Zlabis ranks second in points (3.14) and kills (2.84) per set. Leading the squad in attack percentage is Mischelle Nelson at .340. Vanessa King ranks second at .309. At setter, Natalie Emro is averaging 10.61 assists per set. Emro is the team leader in aces per set at .27 with 31. Cheyenne VanDerSteen ranks second at .19 with 11. Defensively, Allyson Karaba leads the team in digs per set at 4.14. Becca Zlabis ranks second at 2.36. At the net, King has a team-high 1.03 blocks per set average. She has seven solos and 96 assist blocks. Ranking second at .88 is Nelson with eight solos and 83 assist blocks. Michigan State is hitting .253 and averages 16.69 points, 13.48 kills and 12.75 assists per set. The Spartans average .94 aces, 12.46 digs and 2.27 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .222 and average 15.51 points, 12.42 kills and 11.44 assists per set. Michigan State opponents average .96 aces, 11.14 digs and 2.14 blocks per set.
MICHIGAN STATE-OHIO STATE SERIES
Ohio State has a 39-27 lead in the series with Michigan State. The Buckeyes are 20-8 in Columbus and 17-15 in East Lansing. The Spartans are 4-2 in neutral site matches. Earlier this season, Ohio State defeated Michigan State, 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 16-25, 25-21) in East Lansing. Last year, Michigan State won both matches 3-1, winning 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 in East Lansing and 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21 in Columbus. Ohio State head coach Geoff Carlston is 0-4 against the Spartans.
BUCKEYES RECEIVE VOTES IN THE AVCA DIVISION I COACHES TOP 25 POLL
Ohio State received 11 votes in the weekly AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll released Nov. 23. Last week the Buckeyes received 21 votes in the poll. OSU entered the poll Nov. 2 with 14 votes. That was the first time the Buckeyes had received votes in the poll since Sept. 24, 2007 when OSU received 46 votes. Ohio State was last ranked in the Top 25 the week before, Sept. 17, when they were 23rd in the poll.
DULL CONTINUES DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL STREAK
Katie Dull, with 13 kills at Indiana and 19 at Purdue, extended her double-figure kill streak to 29 matches last week. She had 14.5 points at Indiana with one ace serve, one assist block, 11 digs and two assists. At Purdue, Dull posted a match-high 22 points adding one ace serve, one solo block, two assist blocks and 12 digs. She posted double-doubles of kills and digs in both matches to give her 12 on the season. Dull leads the squad in points (4.60) and kills (3.95) per set. She is averaging .27 aces (30), 2.42 digs and .60 blocks per set and has started all 31 matches this season.
DULL CAREER RANKINGS
Katie Dull ranks 16th in career kills with 1,090. Ranking 15th in career kills is Anne Botica (1998-01) with 1,151. Dull ranks sixth in career kills per set at 3.63. She is 15th in solo blocks with 41. In career points, Dull ranks 17th with 1,262.0 and she is ninth in points per set at 4.21.
DOZIER HAS A TEAM-HIGH 15.5 POINTS IN THE WIN AT INDIANA
Kristen Dozier recorded a team-high 15.5 points in the win at Indiana. She had 15 kills (.636), one block assist and one dig against the Hoosiers. At Purdue, Dozier recorded 11.5 points with 10 kills (.421) and three assist blocks. A starter in all 31 matches this season, she is the team leader in blocks per set with a .84 average. Dozier has 17 solos and 78 assist blocks. She is averaging 2.96 points and 2.43 kills per set.
DOZIER CAREER RANKINGS
Kristen Dozier ranks 13th in career attack percentage at .269. She is 12th in career solo blocks with 47, ninth in assist blocks with 294 and 10th in career total blocks with 341. Dozier ranks ninth in career blocks per set at .92.
BARHORST POSTS HER NINTH DOUBLE-FIGURE POINTS MATCH AT PURDUE
Kelli Barhorst recorded 10.5 points at Purdue for her ninth double-figure points match of the season. She had nine kills (.316), three assist blocks and one dig in the match. At Indiana, Barhorst had four points with two kills, a solo block, two assist blocks and two digs. A starter in the 29 matches she has played, Barhorst is averaging 2.28 points, 1.77 kills, .69 blocks, .14 aces and .53 digs per set.
BARHORST CAREER RANKINGS
Kelli Barhorst ranks 12th in career blocks per set at .89. She has 19 solos and 147 assist blocks in her career.
SZERSZEN POSTS 14 POINTS AT INDIANA
Anna Szerszen collected 14 points at Indiana last week with 13 kills (.320) and an ace serve. She added two digs against the Hoosiers. At Purdue, Szerszen recorded 9.5 points with eight kills, a solo block and one assist block. She has played in all 31 matches with five starts. Szerszen, for the season, is averaging 2.30 points, 1.93 kills, .17 aces, .33 blocks and .53 digs per set.
SZERSZEN CAREER RANKINGS
Anna Szerszen ranks 16th in career kills per set at 2.96. Szerszen ranks 19th in career points per set with a 3.47 average.
DANKS HAS BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-FIGURE POINTS MATCHES
Emily Danks posted 14.5 points at Indiana and 11 at Purdue for back-to-back double-figure point matches. She has 17 on the season. At Indiana, Danks recorded 10 kills (.250), three ace serves, a solo block, one assist block and five digs. She collected six kills, three ace serves, one solo block and two assist blocks at Purdue. Danks has started 23 of the 31 matches this season. She is averaging 2.74 points, 2.04 kills, .56 blocks, .39 aces and .64 digs per set.
HUGHES HAS 15 CONSECUTIVE STARTS AT SETTER
Ashley Hughes has started the last 15 matches at setter for the Buckeyes. OSU is 9-6 during that time. Hughes collected 44 assists at Indiana, adding two kills, one ace serve, one assist block and four digs. She had 17 assists at Purdue, adding two kills and two digs while playing in two sets. Hughes is averaging a team-high 9.39 assists per set and averages 1.74 digs. She has played in 20 matches with 16 starts.
HUGHES CAREER RANKINGS
Ashley Hughes ranks 10th in career assists with 1,244. She needs 19 assists to pass teammate No. 9 Betsy Hone (2007-current) who has 1,262. Hughes ranks eighth in career assists per set at 7.45.
NOBLE HAS HER SIXTH 20-PLUS DIGS MATCH OF THE SEASON
Chelsea Noble recorded a match-high 20 digs at Indiana for her sixth match of the season with 20 or more digs. She added two assists and an ace serve while handling 24 serve reception attempts without an error. At Purdue, Noble had a co-match-high 18 digs adding seven assists and one ace serve. She handled 32 of 35 serve reception attempts against the Boilermakers. A starter at libero in all 31 matches, Noble is averaging a team-high 3.87 digs per set. She has a .952 serve reception percentage handling 909 of 955 attempts.
NOBLE CAREER RANKINGS-NOW FIRST IN CAREER DIGS PER SET
Chelsea Noble ranks first in career digs per set with a 3.47 average. She has 770 career digs for the Buckeyes. Noble passed previous career leader Stacy Gordon (2001-04) with a 3.44 in digs (1,572) per set average.
MIGNIN CONTINUES TO START AT DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Sarah Mignin had her 11th start of the season at defensive specialist last week. She has started in 11 of the last 12 matches and has played in 28. Last week Mignin had nine digs and one ace serve at Indiana while handling 11 serve reception attempts without an error. She had three digs and an assist at Purdue while handling 21 serve reception attempts without an error. For the season, Mignin is averaging 1.58 digs per set and has a .957 serve reception percentage handling 352 of 368 attempts.
HALVERSON PROVIDES SUPPORT IN THE BACK ROW
Susan Halverson has played in all 31 matches this season and has 23 starts as a defensive specialist. She has a 1.57 digs per set average and a .948 serve reception percentage handling 330 of 348 attempts. Last week at Indiana, Halverson had nine digs and handled 13 of 14 serve reception attempts. At Purdue, she had five digs and handled five serve reception attempts without an error.
HONE CONTRIBUTES OFF THE BENCH IN THE IOWA VICTORY
Betsy Hone came off the bench in set two at Iowa to direct the Buckeyes to victory. Trailing, 3-2 in set two, Hone entered the match and collected 35 assists, three kills, five digs and three assist blocks. Last week, she played in three sets at Purdue recording 27 assists, seven digs, three kills, one ace serve and one assist block. Hone has started twice this season and played in 11 matches. She is averaging 8.50 assists, 1.77 digs and .27 blocks per set.
HONE CAREER RANKINGS
Betsy Hone ranks ninth in career assists with 1,262. She is seventh in career assists per set at 7.89.
PETERSON SEES ACTION AGAINST ILLINOIS
Amanda Peterson came off the bench to record 29 assists, two ace serves, two digs and one assist block in three sets of play against Illinois. She started 13 of the first 14 matches of the season as a freshmen setter for the Buckeyes. She has seen action in 19 matches this season. Peterson is averaging 8.94 assists, .50 aces (27), 1.31 digs and .43 blocks per set.
SCHWARZWALDER SEES ACTION AT PURDUE
Allie Schwarzwalder played in two sets at Purdue. She recorded three kills in the match. Schwarzwalder has played in 19 matches this season. She is averaging 1.26 points and 1.21 kills per set. Her top matches this season were at Northwestern and home against Wisconsin where she scored six kills in each match.
BOOTH SEEING ACTION
Mariah Booth has seen action in 12 matches this season with starts against Cleveland State and Xavier. Her top match this season was at Colorado State where she recorded 7.5 points with five kills and five assist blocks. For the season, Booth is averaging 1.08 points, .62 kills and .71 blocks per set.
BOWLER PROVIDING SUPPORT AT DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Kelsey Bowler has contributed at defensive specialist in 23 matches this season. She has 41 digs (.84 per set) on the season and has a .921 serve reception percentage handling 116 of 126 attempts. Bowler recorded a career-high seven digs in the matches at William & Mary, Xavier and at Illinois.
RALSTON SEES ACTION IN FIVE MATCHES
Maria Ralston has played in six matches this season. She had two digs against Cleveland State and one at Michigan. For the season, Ralston has handled three of four serve reception attempts.
WEISENBACH YET TO SEE ACTION
Carly Weisenbach has yet to play this season.
OHIO STATE IN THE BIG TEN STATISTICS
In Big Ten Conference only statistics, Katie Dull ranks third at 4.60 points per set. She ranks third in kills per set at 4.00. At setter, Ashley Hughes ranks eighth in assists per set at 9.70. Emily Danks is second in aces per set at .37. Chelsea Noble, with a 3.97 digs per set average, ranks third.
In conference-only team statistics, the Buckeyes rank fourth in attack percentage at .241 and are second in aces per set at 1.34. OSU is tied for fourth in kills (13.19), is seventh in assists (12.13), sixth in digs (13.21) and ninth in blocking at 1.96. The Buckeyes are fifth in opponent attack percentage at .223.
In Big Ten statistics for all matches, Katie Dull ranks third in points per set at 4.60 and third in kills at 3.95. Ashley Hughes ranks 10th in assists per set at 9.39. Emily Danks, in aces per set, ranks third at .39. Dullranks eighth in aces per set at .27. Chelsea Noble is sixth in digs per set at 3.87.
In all matches, Ohio State ranks second in attack percentage at .265 and is second in aces per set at 1.59. The Buckeyes are sixth in kills at 13.23 and eighth in assists at 12.16. OSU ranks seventh in digs per set at 13.21 and is ninth in blocks at 2.04 per set. Ohio State ranks sixth in opponent attack percentage at .187.
OHIO STATE IN THE NCAA STATISTICS
In the current (Nov. 22) NCAA statistics release, Katie Dull ranks 44th in points (4.60) and 54th in kills (3.95) per set. Emily Danks is 49th in aces per set at .39. In digs per set, Chelsea Noble ranks 189th at 3.87. Kristen Dozier ranks 130rd in attack percentage at .316.
In team statistics, Ohio State ranks 18th nationally in attack percentage at .265. The Buckeyes are 40th in aces per set at 1.59. OSU ranks 81st in kills (13.23), 90th in assists (12.16), 127th in blocks (2.04) and 257th in digs (13.21) per set.
NOBLE NAMED TO THE ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM
Chelsea Noble has been named a third-team selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV squad. She received second-team honors last season. Noble was an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten selection in 2008-09.
BUCKEYES EARN THEIR FIRST VICTORY OVER A RANKED TEAM IN 26 MATCHES
Ohio State’s 3-0 victory over seventh-ranked Minnesota was the first Buckeye victory over a ranked team in 26 matches dating back to Oct. 27, 2007 when OSU won 3-2 (24-30, 23-30, 30-27, 31-29, 15-10) at Minnesota. In the history of the program, Ohio State has 36 wins (five later forfeited) over higher ranked teams. Fourteen of the 35 wins (one later forfeited) came when Ohio State was not ranked.
ASHLEY HUGHES NAMED THE BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 26)
Setter Ashley Hughes was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week by the conference office. She shared the honor with Minnesota’s Tabitha Love. Hughes directed the Buckeyes to 3-1 victories over Purdue (25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-18) and Indiana (25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23). Against Purdue, Hughes posted 48 assists against the Boilermakers, adding seven digs, five kills (.667) and a solo block. In the Indiana match, she posted career-highs of 53 assists and 19 digs against the Hoosiers. Hughes added three kills (.429), one ace serve and three assist blocks in the match. Hughes has started at setter in the last seven matches for the Buckeyes and has eight starts overall, playing in 12 matches. For the season, she is averaging 9.65 assists and 2.03 digs per set.
EMILY DANKS NAMED BIG TEN CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (Sept. 21)
Ohio State’s outside hitter Emily Danks has been named the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (with Purdue’s Ariel Turner). Danks was named to the all-tournament team at the Sports Imports Classic, hitting .592 and averaging 3.1 kills per set as the Buckeyes went 3-0 over the weekend with wins against Bowling Green (25-19, 25-20, 25-13), Cleveland State (24-26, 25-20, 25-11, 25-15) and Xavier (27-25, 25-18, 25-6). The freshman opened the tournament by hitting a career high .714 against Bowling Green with 10 kills in 14 attempts. She also added an ace serve, an assist block and a dig. The following day against Cleveland State, she tallied 14 kills on .565 hitting with another ace and a pair of blocks (one solo, one assist) before adding on seven kills on .500 hitting with four digs and two assist blocks in the tournament finale vs. Xavier.
OHIO STATE HAD THREE MATCHES ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
Ohio State had three Big Ten matches telecast on the Big Ten Network this season. Both Penn State matches and OSU’s home match with Illinois were included in the Big Ten Network broadcast schedule. The Buckeyes hosted Penn State Oct. 7 and returned the trip to Penn State Oct. 28. Ohio State hosted Illinois Nov. 15.
HEAD COACH GEOFF CARLSTON
Geoff Carlston is in his second 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 227-93.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ohio State will learn, Sunday, Nov. 29 if it will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.
The announcement will come between 3 and 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS.
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