No. 22 OSU Travels to Wisconsin Friday and No. 15 Minnesota Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 3, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 22nd-ranked Ohio State women’s volleyball team (16-9 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) plays the next two weeks on the road starting with matches at Wisconsin (13-11, 5-7) and at No. 15 Minnesota (13-8, 6-6). The Buckeyes face the Wisconsin Badgers at 7 p.m. CDT Friday, Nov. 4 in the Wisconsin Field House (10,600) and play at Minnesota at 7 p.m. CDT Saturday, Nov. 5 in the Sports Pavilion (5,700). Both matches will be available as a web stream at www.BTN.com for a fee. Ohio State continues on the road next week at Northwestern Friday, Nov. 11 and at Illinois Saturday, Nov. 12.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Coached by Geoff Carlston, the 22nd-ranked Buckeyes are 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten Conference. Last week, Ohio State fell 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 17-25) to top-ranked Nebraska and defeated Iowa, 3-1 (23-25, 25-27, 25-27, 25-16) in St. John Arena.
Leading the Buckeyes in points per set is Mari Hole at 4.54. Emily Danks ranks second at 4.34 with Kelli Barhorst third at 2.86. Hole has a team-high 4.03 kills per set average with Danks second at 3.46 and Kaitlyn Leary third at 2.40. Barhorst is hitting .324 to lead the squad. Danks ranks second in attack percentage at .282 with Mariah Booth third at .232. At setter, Taylor Sherwin is averaging 9.98 assists per set with Amanda Peterson at 9.26. Leading the squad in aces per set is Danks at .48 with 44. Hole ranks second at .20 with 18 aces and Sarah Mignin is third at .21 with 19. Defensively, Mignin has a team-high 4.51 digs per set average. Hole ranks second at 2.75 with Alyssa Winner third at 1.92. At the net, Barhorst leads the team with a 1.04 blocks per set average with 16 solos and 79 assists. Booth ranks second at .87 with five solos and 54 assists with Peterson third at .74 with five solos and 44 assists. In serve reception percentage, Mignin has a .967 serve reception percentage handling 588 of 608 attempts. Hole is second at .966 handling 448 of 464 attempts. Winner is third at .957 with each handling 287 of 300 attempts.
Ohio State is averaging 18.00 points, 14.55 kills and 13.56 assists per set while hitting .247. OSU is averaging 1.12 aces, 15.66 digs and 2.33 blocks per set and has a .958 serve reception percentage. Buckeye opponents average 15.26 points, 12.47 kills and 11.67 assists per set while hitting .198. They average .84 aces, 14.24 digs and 1.96 blocks per set and have a .946 serve reception percentage.
A LOOK AT WISCONSIN
Coached by Pete Waite, the Badgers are 13-11 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten Conference. Last week in road contests, Wisconsin lost at No. 3 Illinois, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25) and at Northwestern, 3-2 (12-25, 27-25, 25-22, 16-25, 8-15).
Crystal Graff has a team-high 3.02 points per set average. Alexis Mitchell ranks second at 2.90 with Ellen Chapman third at 2.79. Graff leads the team with a 2.63 kills per set average. Chapman ranks second at 2.49 with Courtney Thomas third at 2.01. Mitchell is hitting a team leading .354 with Dominique Thompson second at .284 and Graff third at .234. At setter, Thomas has a team-high 5.82 assists per set average with Janelle Gabrielsen at 5.51. Annemarie Hickey leads the team in aces per set at .34 with 30. Gabrielsen ranks second at .21 with 18 and Thomas is third at .14 with 12. Defensively, Hickey has a team-high 4.75 digs per set average. Gabrielsen ranks second at 2.56 with Thomas third at 2.51. At the net, Mitchell leads the team with a 1.01 blocks per set average with 16 solos and 68 assist blocks. Thompson, at .92, ranks second with 10 solos and 63 assists. Ranking third is Thomas at .64 with 13 solos and 43 assists.
Wisconsin is averaging 16.97 points, 13.49 kills and 12.55 assists per set while hitting .230. The Badgers average 1.06 aces, 15.60 digs and 2.41 blocks per set. Opponents average 15.48 points, 12.06 kills and 11.11 assists per set while hitting .176. Badger opponents average 1.33 aces, 14.21 digs and 2.09 blocks per set.
WISCONSIN-OHIO STATE SERIES
Wisconsin has a 32-31 edge in the series with Ohio State. OSU is 15-14 in Columbus while Wisconsin is 16-14 in Madison. Each team has won twice in neutral site matches. Earlier this season in Columbus, Wisconsin won, 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20).
A LOOK AT MINNESOTA
Led by interim coach Laura Bush, the 15th-ranked Gophers are 13-8 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten Conference. Last week, Minnesota lost 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-21) at Northwestern and won 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-15) at No. 3 Illinois.
Ashley Wittman leads the squad in points per set at 4.96. Tori Dixon ranks second at 3.50 with Katherine Harms third at 3.13. Wittman has a team-high 4.51 kills per set average with Harms second at 2.76 and Dixon third at 2.72. Dixon, at .360, is the team leader in attack percentage. Ariana Filho ranks second at .331 with Wittman third at .246. At setter, Mia Tabberson has an 11.85 assists per set average. Dixon has a team-high .34 aces per set with 28. Hailey Cowles and Wittman are tied for second at .16 with 13 aces each. Defensively, Jessica Granquist has a team-high 4.55 digs per set average. Wittman, at 2.76, ranks second with Cowles third at 2.54. At the net, Filho has a team-high .98 blocks per set with eight solos and 73 assist blocks. Dixon ranks second at .87 with a solo and 71 assists with Tabberson third at .55 with 41 assists.
Minnesota averages 16.87 points, 13.84 kills and 13.12 assists per set while hitting .228. The Gophers average .99 aces, 15.04 digs and 2.04 blocks per set. Opponents average 15.20 points, 11.87 kills and 11.02 assists per set while hitting .203. Minnesota opponents average .81 aces, 13.73 digs and 2.53 blocks per set.
MINNESOTA-OHIO STATE SERIES
Minnesota leads the series with Ohio State, 34-33. Ohio State is 19-11 in Columbus while Minnesota is 18-12 in Minneapolis and has a 5-2 advantage in neutral site matches. Earlier this season in Columbus, the Buckeyes defeated 10th-ranked Minnesota, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 11-25, 16-25).
OHIO STATE RANKED 22ND IN THE AVCA POLL
In the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll from Oct. 31, Ohio State was ranked 22nd receiving 170 votes. Seven Big Ten squads are ranked in the Top 25 with Nebraska second, Illinois fifth, Penn State sixth, Purdue 11th, Minnesota 15th and Michigan 23rd. Michigan State is listed as receiving votes.
BUCKEYES RANKED EIGHTH NATIONALLY IN KILLS PER SET
In the NCAA national statistics released through matches of Oct. 30, Ohio State is ranked eighth in kills (14.55) and seventh in assists (13.56) per set. The Buckeyes are ranked 40th in hitting percentage (.247), 107th in digs (15.66), 73rd in blocks (2.33) and 214th in aces (1.12) per set. Individually, Emily Danks ranks 15th in aces per set at .48 and Sarah Mignin is 104th in digs per set at 4.51. Mari Hole is 46th in points (4.54) and 47th in kills (4.03) per set.
DANKS SIXTH IN OHIO STATE CAREER ACES WITH 161
Emily Danks has 161 career aces and is fourth on the Ohio State career list. Third on the list is Stacey Gordon (2001-04) with 162. Danks ranks second in career aces per set with a .47 average. She ranks 14th in career attack percentage at .270 and is 20th in career points per set at 3.32.
BARHORST TIES FOR 12TH IN OHIO STATE CAREER SOLO BLOCKS
Kelli Barhorst has tied for 12th in Ohio State career solo blocks with 55. She has tied Briana McCarthy (2003-04, 05-06). Ranking 11th on the list with 62 is Danielle Myer (2004-07). Barhorst has 318 career assist blocks and ranks eighth. Seventh on the list with 322 is Jenny Jackson (1992-95). Barhorst is 10th in OSU career total blocks with 373 (55 solos, 318 assists). Tied for eighth on the list with 385 is Leisa Wissler (1988-91) (87-298) and Sherri Rinker (1984-87) (139-246). With .93 blocks per set average, Barhorst ranks ninth and is 11th in attack percentage at .283.
BOOTH RANKS TENTH IN CAREER BLOCK PER SET AT .92
Mariah Booth is ranked tenth in career blocks per set at .92. She has 14 solos and 130 assist blocks.
PETERSON 11TH IN OHIO STATE CAREER ASSISTS WITH 1,339
Amanda Peterson has 1,339 career assists and ranks 11th on the Ohio State career assists list. Ranking 10th is Ashley Hughes (2006-09) with 1,392. Peterson is ninth in career assists per set with an 8.16 average. Ranking eighth at 8.62 is Betsy Home (2007-10).
SHERWIN 17TH IN OHIO STATE CAREER ASSISTS WITH 479
Taylor Sherwin ranks 17th in Ohio State career assists with 479. Heather Whalen (2000-03) is ranked 16th with 568. Sherwin ranks sixth in assists per set at 9.98. Ranking fifth is Jen Boleyn (1994-96) at 11.28.
MIGNIN NOW TENTH IN CAREER DIGS WITH 1,102
Sarah Mignin has moved to tenth on the Ohio State career digs list with 1,102. She passed Carrie Leonard (1991-94) with 1,077. Ninth on the list is Jen Flynn (1996-99) with 1,138. Mignin ranks seventh in career digs per set at 2.95 passing. Sixth on the list is Tricia Stragliotto (1993-95) at 2.99.
#1 DANKS HAS DOUBLE-FIGURE DIGS WEEKEND
Emily Danks recorded 10 digs against Nebraska and 11 against Iowa last week. Against Nebraska she added nine kills (.179), a solo and three assist blocks and one assist. Danks posted 12 kills (.250) against Iowa adding three assist blocks, one ace serve and two assists. A starter in all 25 matches, she is averaging 4.34 points, 3.46 kills, .48 aces, 1.62 digs and .71 blocks per set while hitting .282.
#2 BARHORST LEADS THE SQUAD IN BLOCKING
Kelli Barhorst is the team leader in blocks per set with a 1.04 average. She has team-highs of 16 solos and 79 assist blocks. Last week against Nebraska, Barhorst posted two assist blocks, five kills (.182), three digs and one ace serve. She had two assist blocks against Iowa adding nine kills (.273), and five digs. A starter in all 25 matches, Barhorst is averaging 2.86 points, 2.22 kills, .58 digs and 1.04 blocks per set while hitting a team-high .324.
#3 SCHWARZWALDER HAS PLAYED IN SIX MATCHES
Amy Schwarzwalder has played in six matches this season but did not see action against Nebraska or Iowa. She is averaging .62 points, .50 kills, .38 digs and .25 blocks per set.
#6 WINNER SEES ACTION AGAINST IOWA
Alyssa Winner played in two sets of the Iowa match last week recording three digs and one assist while handling six serve receptions without an error. She did not play against Nebraska. Winner has played in 23 matches with seven starts at defensive specialist and two at libero. She is averaging 1.92 digs per set and has a .957 serve reception percentage handling 287 of 300 attempts.
#7 MIGNIN COLLECTS FOUR ACES FOR THE WEEKEND
Sarah Mignin recorded two ace serves in the matches last week against Nebraska and Iowa. She ranks second on the squad in aces per set at .21 with 19 on the season. Against Nebraska, Mignin posted 16 digs, two ace serves and three assists while handling 36 of 37 serve receptions. She had 15 digs against Iowa adding two ace serves and four assists while handling 27 serve receptions without an error. Mignin has played in all 25 matches with one start at defensive specialist and 22 at libero. She is averaging a team-high 4.51 digs per set and .21 aces per set while handling 588 of 608 serve reception attempts for a team-high .967 percentage.
#8 SHERWIN SEES ACTION AT SETTER
Taylor Sherwin played in both matches last weekend playing in one set against Nebraska and three against Iowa. She had 10 assists, three digs and one kill against the Cornhuskers and 15 assists and four digs against Iowa. Sherwin has played in 17 matches this season with nine starts. She is averaging a team-high 9.98 assists per set and averages 1.54 digs per set.
#9 DISALVATORE EQUALS HER CAREER DIGS HIGH AGAINST IOWA
Davionna DiSalvatore, with 13 digs against Iowa, tied her career high for the fourth time. She added one assist and handled 12 serve receptions without an error as the starter at defensive specialist. Against Iowa, DiSalvatore had four digs, two assists and one ace serve while handling 10 of 12 serve receptions. She has played in all 25 matches with 12 starts at defensive specialist. DiSalvatore is averaging 1.80 digs per set and has a .953 serve reception percentage handling 303 of 318 attempts.
#10 BOOTH TIES HER CAREER HIGH OF 12 KILLS AGAINST IOWA
Mariah Booth had 12 kills (.333) against Iowa to tie her career high set at Iowa earlier this season. She added four assist blocks against the Hawkeyes. Booth posted nine kills (.353), one solo block and four assist blocks in the Nebraska match. A starter in 19 matches, she is averaging 2.29 points, 1.81 kills and .87 blocks per set while hitting .232.
#11 LEARY TIES CAREER HIGHS OF POINTS AND DIGS AGAINST IOWA
Kaitlyn Leary posted 14.5 points and six digs in the Iowa match to equal her career highs. She had 14.5 points against Towson and recorded six digs against Minnesota earlier this season. Leary recorded 13 kills (.286), six digs, one solo block and one assist block against Iowa. She had 10 kills (.348), two digs and one assist block against Nebraska. Leary has played in 22 matches with five starts. She is averaging 2.54 points, 2.40 kills, 74 digs and .23 blocks per set while hitting .200.
#12 SEKINGER PLAYS AGAINST NEBRASKA
Erin Sekinger played in one set in the Nebraska match recording one dig. She did not play in the Iowa match. Sekinger has played in 11 matches with three starts. She is averaging 1.75 points, 1.57 kills, .560 digs and .33 block per set while hitting .132.
#14 HOLE RECORDS 13TH DOUBLE-DOUBLE OF THE SEASON
Mari Hole had 19 kills and 14 digs against Iowa for her 13th double-double of the season. Against the Hawkeyes she added two ace serves and one assist while hitting .317 and handling 19 serve receptions without an error. Hole had 15 kills (.263) against Nebraska adding nine digs and one assist while handling 24 of 26 serve receptions. She has played in 25 matches with 22 starts and is averaging team-highs of 4.54 points and 4.03 kills per set. Hole averages .20 aces, 2.75 digs and .48 blocks per set while hitting .230. She has a .966 serve reception percentage handling 448 of 464 attempts.
#15 PETERSON HAS THE STARTS AT SETTER
Amanda Peterson started both matches last week and has 16 starts in her 21 matches this season. She had 34 assists, five digs, two assist block and two kills against Nebraska and 41 assists, eight digs, one assist block and four kills against Iowa. Peterson is averaging 9.26 assists, 1.65 digs and .74 blocks per set for the season.
#18 FAUL SEES ACTION AGAINST NEBRASKA
Anna Faul played in one set against Nebraska. She did not play against Iowa. She has played in 14 matches with six starts. Faul is averaging 1.05 points, .65 kills, .26 digs and .77 blocks per set while hitting .207
OHIO STATE AGAINST THE NO. 1 TEAM
Since 1992, Ohio State has faced the American Volleyball Coaches Association top-ranked team in 16 matches. One loss was later vacated. The Buckeyes are 1-14 against the No. 1 team with the lone victory coming in 2004 (Oct. 1) in a 3-1 (30-24, 30-23, 18-30, 30-24) win over Minnesota in St. John Arena. In No. 1 matches, Ohio State has lost to Penn State nine times twice to Nebraska and once each to UCLA, Stanford and Illinois. A second loss to Nebraska was later vacated.
HOLE NAMED THE BIG TEN OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big Ten Conference honored Mari Hole as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 12. She helped Ohio State win the Rocket Classic in Toledo, Ohio, with 3-1 wins over Penn, Alabama and Toledo and was named the Classic Most Valuable Player. Hole had 12 kills (.385), eight digs and four blocks (one solo and three assists) against Penn. She produced career highs of 25.5 points and 21 kills (.232) against Alabama adding 11 digs, five assist blocks and two ace serves. She reset her career highs for points (31.0) and kills (26, .316) against Toledo adding two ace serves and equaled her career highs of three solo blocks and 14 digs. Hole had set-winning kills in five of nine Buckeye set wins. With the Toledo match tied at one set each, she scored kills for six of OSU’s final seven points in the third set on her way to a 12-kill performance in the set. Hole averaged 5.92 points, 4.92 kills, 2.75 digs and 1.00 blocks per set for the three matches.
MIGNIN NAMED THE BIG TEN CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big Ten Conference honored Sarah Mignin as the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 12. She helped Ohio State win the Rocket Classic in Toledo, Ohio, with 3-1 wins over Penn, Alabama and Toledo and was named to the Classic All-Tournament Team. Mignin averaged 6.0 digs per set and had a .972 serve reception percentage in the three matches at the Rocket Classic. She recorded 15 digs and tied her career high of three ace serves against Penn while handling 15 serve receptions without an error. Mignin produced a career-high 30 digs against Alabama adding one ace and one kill. She handled 25 of 27 reception attempts against the Crimson Tide. Mignin closed out the weekend with 27 digs against Toledo adding two ace serves and handling 29 reception attempts without an error.
MIGNIN NAMED THE BIG TEN CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big Ten Conference honored Sarah Mignin as the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 19. She averaged 6.27 digs per set for the three matches and handled 69 serve reception attempts without an error. Mignin tied her career high of 30 digs against Albany and tied her career high of three aces against Maryland. She converted 24 of 69 digs (.348) to kills and had a .406 reception to kills percentage (28 of 69) in the three matches. Mignins play helped hold OSU’s three opponents to a .154 attack percentage. For her play at the Sports Imports Classic, she was named the most outstanding defensive player.
SHERWIN NAMED THE BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
The Big Ten Conference honored Taylor Sherwin as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week Sept. 19. She directed the Buckeye offense to the Sports Imports Classic Championship. Sherwin averaged 14.18 assists and 2.00 digs per set helping OSU to a .304 attack percentage for the three matches. Defensively, she produced a career-high 14 digs in the Albany match, adding a solo and one assist block against the Great Danes.
HEAD COACH Geoff Carlston
Geoff Carlston is in his fourth season at Ohio State. He directed the Buckeyes to the third round of the NCAA Championship finishing with a 24-12 overall record last season. OSU finished sixth in the Big Ten Conference with a 10-10 mark.
Carlston 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 270-115.
NEXT WEEK FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State completes two week of road matches playing at Northwestern Nov. 11 and at fifth-ranked Illinois Nov. 12.
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