Buckeyes Host Cincinnati in a NCAA Championship First Round Match – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State (24-9 overall, 12-8 Big Ten, tied for fourth) women’s volleyball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship and will host first and second round matches, Friday and Saturday, in St. John Arena. First round action begins at 6 p.m. Friday with the ninth-seeded and 10th-ranked California Golden Bears (18-10, 11-7 Pac-10, fourth) facing the Lipscomb Lady Bisons (28-3, 20-0 Atlantic Sun, first). The scheduled 8 p.m. match has Ohio State hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats (25-10, 12-2 Big East, tied for second). First round winners will return at 7 p.m. Saturday to play for a berth in the Gainesville (Fla.) regional semifinals.
BUCKEYES RETURN TO THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Ohio State is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Buckeyes’ last appearance was in 2006. OSU has a 23-15 record in the championship and has advanced to regional play 11 times and reached the national semifinals twice (1991 & 1994). This marks the 11th time Ohio State has hosted either first or second round matches.
FREE VIDEO OF MATCHES TO BE STREAMED ON THE WEB
Video of all three NCAA matches at Ohio State will be available free on the web at http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/LiveEvents.dbml?&&DB_OEM_ID=17300
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DULL AND DOZIER EARN BIG TEN HONORS
Junior outside hitter Katie Dull has been named a unanimous selection to the 2009 All-Big Ten team. Senior middle blocker Kristen Dozier was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.
Dull, a 5-10 junior from Stow, Ohio, was an honorable mention selection in 2008. This season, she is averaging team highs of 4.66 points and 3.97 kills per set. Dull is second in digs per set at 2.35 and is second in ace serves with 32 for a .27 per set average. She has a team-high 25 solo blocks and ranks third on the squad in blocks per set with a .63 average (50 assist blocks). Dull has recorded double-figure kills in her last 31 matches.
Dozier, a 6-2 senior from Sandy Spring, Md., leads the squad in blocks per set with a .84 average. She has a team-high 83 assist blocks and 17 solo blocks. Dozier is second on the team in points (2.92) and kills (2.40) per set and has a team-high .313 attack percentage.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Geoff Carlston is the head coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 24-9 overall and is 12-8 in the Big Ten Conference (tied for fourth). Last week, the Buckeyes upset 12th-ranked Michigan, 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) and defeated Michigan State, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) in home matches. Katie Dull has team highs of 4.66 points and 3.97 kills (472) per set. Kristen Dozier ranks second in points at 2.92 and kills at 2.40 (286) per set with Emily Danks third in points at 2.71 and kills at 2.03 (234). Dozier is hitting a team-high .313 with Danks second at .267 and Dull third at .265. At setter, Ashley Hughes is averaging 9.54 assists (601) per set with Amanda Peterson at 8.94 (483) and Betsy Hone at 8.50 (187). Peterson has a team-high .50 aces per set with 27. Danks ranks second at .37 with 43 and Dull is third at .27 with 32. Defensively, Chelsea Noble leads the squad with a 3.84 digs (461) per set average. Dull ranks second at 2.35 (280) with Sarah Mignin third at 1.64 (161). At the net, Dozier has a .84 blocks per set average to lead the team. She has 17 solos and 83 assists. Barhorst ranks second at .71 with four solos and 72 assist blocks. Ranking third at .63 is Dull with 25 solos and 50 assist blocks. Ohio State is hitting .267 and is averaging 16.88 points, 13.23 kills and 12.18 assists per set. The Buckeyes average 1.57 aces, 13.20 digs and 2.08 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .187 and average 14.55 points, 11.58 kills and 10.69 assists per set. Buckeye opponents average 1.12 aces, 11.93 digs and 1.84 blocks per set.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Ohio State, a season ago, was 12-20 overall and finished 10th in the Big Ten Conference with a 3-17 mark. A year later, the Buckeyes are 24-9 overall and tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a 12-8 record.
BUCKEYES RECEIVE VOTES IN THE AVCA DIVISION I COACHES TOP 25 POLL
Ohio State received 39 votes in the weekly AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll released Nov. 30. Last week the Buckeyes received 11 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.
A LOOK AT CINCINNATI
Reed Sunahara is the head coach for the Bearcats. Cincinnati has a 25-10 overall record and finished tied for second in the Big East Conference with a 12-2 mark. In the Big East Tournament, the Bearcats lost, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20) to Louisville in the championship match. Cincinnati closed out the season with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-15) victory against Miami (Ohio) at home. Stephanie Niemer and Annie Fesl were named first team All-Big East with Missy Harpenau earning second team honors. Niemer and Hayden earned Big East All-Tournament honors.
CINCINNATI-OHIO STATE SERIES
Ohio State leads the series with Cincinnati, 16-2. The Buckeyes are 7-1 in matches played in Columbus including a 3-1 (30-16, 22-30,
30-27, 30-20) victory in 2001 in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
OAISW Championship at Ashland
11/20/73 N L 1-2 . . 15-4, 12-15, 11-15
11/ 9/74 H W 2-1 . . 15-4, 14-16, 15-9
10/12/76 H W 2-1 . . 13-15, 15-12, 15-11
OAISW Championship at Ohio University
11/13/76 N W 2-1 . . 15-3, 4-15, 15-11
/ /77 H W 3-0 . . 15-6, 17-15, 16-14
OAISW Championship at Cleveland State
/ /77 N W 3-1 . . 11-15, 15-4, 15-2, 15-10
10/11/78 A W 3-1 . . 15-9, 15-4, 12-15, 15-7
Houston Invitational
10/ 9/79 N W 3-2 . . 15-13, 9-15, 15-9, 10-15, 15-8
OAISW Championship at Kent State
11/15/80 N W 3-0 . . 15-6, 15-10, 15-11
Bearcat Invitational at Cincinnati
9/26/81 A W 2-0 . . 15-13, 15-12
Bearcat Invitational at Cincinnati
9/26/81 A W 2-0 . . 15-1, 15-10
10/18/83 H W 3-0 . . 15-6, 15-13, 15-9
Baden Buckeye Classic at Ohio State
11/ 8/87 H W 3-1 . . 15-17, 15-5, 15-5, 15-2
8/31/91 H W 3-0 . . 15-6, 15-2, 15-6
9/ 1/92 A W 3-0 . . 15-6, 15-5, 15-8
9/12/00 H F 3-0 . . 15-11, 15-8, 15-6 (Forfeit)
9/18/01 A W 3-0 . . 30-20, 30-20, 30-28
NCAA Second Round at Ohio State
12/01/01 H W 3-1 . . 30-16, 22-30, 30-27, 30-20
A LOOK AT CALIFORNIA
Rich Feller is the head coach for the ninth-seeded and 10th-ranked Golden Bears. California has an 18-10 overall record and finished fourth in the Pac-10 Conference with an 11-7 record. The Golden Bears finished out the regular season with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 25-21) loss at 19th-ranked Arizona and a 3-2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-4) loss at sixth-ranked Stanford. Hana Cutura was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Teammates Tarah Murrey, Mindi Wiley and Carli Lloyd were honored as honorable mention All Pac-10 selections. Kat Brown was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team with Correy Johnson receiving honorable mention all-freshman honors.
CALIFORNIA-OHIO STATE SERIES
Ohio State leads the series with California, 2-1. The squads last played in 1995 at the Michigan Volleyball Challenge, a 3-0 (25-4, 25-7, 25-5) Ohio State victory.
9/15/80 A L 0-3 . . 12-15, 8-15, 9-15
Cal-Davis Invitational
9/ 8/84 N W 2-0 . . 15-2, 15-10
Michigan Volleyball Challenge
9/ 8/95 N W 3-0 . . 15-4, 15-7, 15-5
A LOOK AT LIPSCOMB
Brandon Rosenthal is the head coach for the Lady Bisons. Lipscomb has a 28-3 overall record and won the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 20-0 record. The Lady Bison currently have a 28-match winning streak. Lipscomb won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament closing out the regular season with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22) win over Belmont and a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) victory over Florida Gulf Coast. Rosenthal earned conference coach of the year honors and Alex Kelly was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year. Kelly and Jake Pease were named first team All Atlantic Sun Conference with Meghan Hinemeyer named to the second team. Earning Atlantic Sun freshman team honors was Kaycee Green. At the Atlantic Sun conference tournament, Pease was named the most valuable player and earned all-tournament honors with Erin Pierce and Kelly.
LIPSCOMB-OHIO STATE SERIES
This would be the first meeting between the schools.
DULL NAMED ALL-BIG TEN
Katie Dull was named to the All-Big Ten team as a unanimous choice. A starter at outside hitter in all 33 matches this season, she leads the team in points (4.66) and kills (3.97) per set. Dull is second on the squad in digs with a 2.35 per set average and is third ace aces per set at .27 with 32. She has posted double-figure kills in her last 31 matches. Last week against Michigan, Dull had 13 kills (.423), four digs, two solo blocks, one assist block and one ace serve. She matched her 13 kills the next night against Michigan State while hitting .400. Dull added three solo blocks, one assist block, two digs and one ace serve against the Spartans.
DULL CAREER RANKINGS
Katie Dull ranks 16th in career kills with 1,116. Ranking 15th in career kills is Anne Botica (1998-01) with 1,151. Dull ranks sixth in career kills per set at 3.65. She is 13th in solo blocks with 46. In career points, Dull ranks 17th with 1,296.0 and she is eighth in points per set at 4.24.
DOZIER NAMED HONORABLE MENTION ALL-BIG TEN
Kristen Dozier was named an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by a vote of the league coaches. She has started every match this season at middle blocker and leads the squad in blocks per set with a .84 average. Dozier has 17 solos and a team-high 83 assist blocks. She ranks second on the team in points (2.92) and kills (2.40) and has a team-high .313 attack percentage. Against Michigan last week, Dozier had five kills (.417) and one assist block. In the Michigan State match, she recorded six kills, four assist blocks and one dig.
DOZIER CAREER RANKINGS
Kristen Dozier ranks 13th in career attack percentage at .269. She is 12th in career solo blocks with 47, eighth in assist blocks with 299 and 10th in career total blocks with 346. Dozier ranks ninth in career blocks per set at .92.
BARHORST RECORDS HER 10TH DOUBLE-FIGURE POINTS MATCH
Kelli Barhorst posted 11 points against Michigan for her 10th double-figure points match of the season. She recorded eight kills (.312), two ace serves and two assist blocks. Against Michigan State, Barhorst contributed three kills, four block assists and three digs. She has played and started in 31 matches this season. Barhorst is averaging 2.30 points, 1.78 kills and .71 blocks per set.
BARHORST CAREER RANKINGS
Kelli Barhorst ranks 12th in career blocks per set at .89. She has 19 solos and 153 assist blocks in her career.
SZERSZEN HAS 10.5 POINTS AGAINST MICHIGAN
Anna Szerszen collected 10.5 points in the win over Michigan. She had nine kills (.533), one solo block, one assist block and one dig against the Wolverines. Szerszen contributed four kills and an ace serve in the Michigan State match. She has played in every match this season and has five starts. Szerszen is averaging 2.31 points, 1.94 kills, .17 aces and .53 digs per set.
SZERSZEN CAREER RANKINGS
Anna Szerszen ranks 17th in career kills per set at 2.95. Szerszen ranks 18th in career points per set with a 3.45 average.
DANKS HAS STARTS AGAINST MICHIGAN AND MICHIGAN STATE
Emily Danks started against Michigan and Michigan State last weekend to give her 25 starts this season in the 33 matches. She recorded eight kills, four digs and one assist block against Michigan. Danks posted four kills, three digs and two assist blocks in the Michigan State match. She is third on the team in points (2.71) and kills (2.03) for the season. Danks has a team-high 43 aces and averages .37 per set.
HUGHES DIRECTS BUCKEYES TO WEEKEND WINS
Ashley Hughes set the Buckeyes to wins over Michigan and Michigan State last weekend. She had 41 assists, four digs, one ace serve and two kills in the Michigan match. Hughes equaled her career high of five assist blocks against Michigan State adding 25 assists, five kills and four digs. A starter in 18 matches, she has played in 22 and averages 9.54 assists and 1.70 digs per set.
HUGHES CAREER RANKINGS
Ashley Hughes ranks ninth in career assists with 1,310. She ranks ninth in career assists per set at 7.57.
NOBLE HANDLES 44 SERVE RECEPTION ATTEMPTS WITHOUT AN ERROR LAST WEEK
Chelsea Noble was perfect in 44 serve reception attempts last week in matches against Michigan and Michigan State. She handled 16 attempts in the Michigan match without an error and recorded 10 digs. In the Michigan State match, Noble was perfect for her 28 serve reception attempts and recorded 10 digs against the Spartans. A starter at libero in all 33 matches this season, she is averaging a team-high 3.84 digs per set and has a .954 reception percentage handling 953 of 999 attempts.
NOBLE CAREER RANKINGS
Chelsea Noble ranks first in career digs per set with a 3.46 average. She has 790 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 PLAYING THE BACK ROW
Sarah Mignin has played in 30 matches this season and has 13 starts including the last 11 matches. She is averaging 1.64 digs per set and has a .958 serve reception percentage in handling 387 of 404 attempts. Last week against Michigan, Mignin had seven digs and handled 23 serve reception attempts without an error. She had nine digs and handled 12 of 13 serve reception attempts against Michigan State.
HALVERSON CONTRIBUTING AS A DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Susan Halverson has seen action in all 33 matches this season and has started as a defensive specialist 23 times. She averages 1.59 digs per set and has a .949 serve reception percentage in handling 352 of 371 attempts. Halverson had five digs and was perfect in 16 serve reception attempts against Michigan. She recorded seven digs and handled six of seven serve reception attempts in the Michigan State match.
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. Later, 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 10th in career assists with 1,262. She is eighth 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.
PETERSON CAREER RANKINGS
Amanda Peterson ranks 16th in career assists with 483. She is sixth in career assists per set with a 8.94 average.
SCHWARZWALDER SEES ACTION AT PURDUE
Allie Schwarzwalder played in two sets at Purdue. She recorded three kills in the match. Schwarzwalder has played in 20 matches this season. She is averaging 1.22 points and 1.18 kills per set. Her top matches this season were at Northwestern and home against Wisconsin where she scored six kills in each match.
BOOTH SEES 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 finished second at 4.68 points per set. She ranks third in kills per set at 4.03. Kristen Dozier, in hitting percentage, ranks seventh at .294. At setter, Ashley Hughes ranks sixth in assists per set at 9.83. Emily Danks is third in aces per set at .34 with Dull ninth at .23. Chelsea Noble, with a 3.92 digs per set average, ranks fifth.
In conference-only team statistics, the Buckeyes rank second in attack percentage at .247 and are second in aces per set at 1.33. OSU is fourth in kills (13.21), is seventh in assists (12.18), sixth in digs (13.19) and seventh in blocking at 2.03. The Buckeyes are fifth in opponent attack percentage at .220.
In Big Ten statistics for all matches, Katie Dull ranks third in points per set at 4.66 and third in kills at 3.97. Kristen Dozier is ninth in hitting percentage at .313. Ashley Hughes ranks ninth in assists per set at 9.54. Emily Danks, in aces per set, ranks fourth at .37 with Dull eighth at .27. Chelsea Noble is sixth in digs per set at 3.84.
In all matches, Ohio State ranks second in attack percentage at .267 and is second in aces per set at 1.57. The Buckeyes are sixth in kills at 13.23 and eighth in assists at 12.18. OSU ranks seventh in digs per set at 13.20 and is ninth in blocks at 2.08 per set. Ohio State ranks fourth in opponent attack percentage at .187.
OHIO STATE IN THE NCAA STATISTICS
In the current (Nov. 29) NCAA statistics release, Katie Dull ranks 39th in points (4.66) and 55th in kills (3.97) per set. Emily Danks is 65th in aces per set at .37. In digs per set, Chelsea Noble ranks 191st at 3.84. Kristen Dozier ranks 136th in attack percentage at .313.
In team statistics, Ohio State ranks 15th nationally in attack percentage at .267. The Buckeyes are 42nd in aces per set at 1.57. OSU ranks 78th in kills (13.23), 88th in assists (12.18), 118th in blocks (2.08) and 258th in digs (13.20) 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 229-93.
***OhioStateBuckeyes.com***
