Volleyball Hosts Iowa/Minnesota
10/8/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 1999
? STATE OF THE STATE: Michigan State begins a four-match home stand on Friday, Oct. 1 against Iowa, then plays Minnesota, who is tied for first in the Big Ten with a 4-0 record on Saturday. Saturday?s match will be televised by espn2 for a tape-delayed broadcast on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. MSU fell to both Purdue and No. 20 Wisconsin last weekend, 3-0. Jessica Sanborn recorded her 500th career kill against Purdue, while setter Vicki Basil, seeing her first Big Ten action in nearly two years, set a career high with five blocks (0-5) against the Boilermakers.
? IOWA: Iowa is 3-8 overall and a surprising 2-2 in the Big Ten Conference, tying for fifth place with another dark horse, Purdue. The Hawkeyes fell to Minnesota last weekend, 3-0, but rebounded to sweep Northwestern. After losing its first six matches, Iowa has won three of its last five. Julie Williams leads the team at 4.13 kills and 2.31 digs per game. The Hawkeyes have two setters in Larissa Lopes (5.41 assists pg) and Jill Schmidt (4.04 apg). Katie Panhorst is the lead blocker at 0.87 pg. Michigan State has won the last eight meetings between the two schools, dating to Sept. 30, 1995. Iowa leads the series 19-17. Michigan State won the last meeting 15-9, 15-11, 15-13 in Iowa City on Nov. 28, 1998.
? MINNESOTA: Minnesota defeated both Iowa (3-0) and Northwestern (3-0) last weekend to raise its overall record to 13-3 and stay perfect in the Big Ten Conference at 4-0, tying with Penn State for first. The Gophers have won their last seven matches in a row and 11 of their last 12. Nicole Branagh leads Minnesota and the Big Ten, and was fifth in the NCAA last week with 5.31 kills per game. Branagh also averages a team-best 3.00 digs per game. Setter Lindsey Berg puts up the ball for 12.64 assists per game, while the Gophers count three players who average over one block per game, including Charnette Pair at 1.52. State has won eight of the last nine matches against the Gophers, including the last two in a row. Minnesota leads the series 24-13. Michigan State won the last meeting 15-7, 15-7, 10-15, 15-6 in Minneapolis on Nov. 6, 1998.
? TV-RADIO: AT&T Cable will broadcast the Iowa match live on Oct. 8. Ben Stark does the play-by-play and Jamie Ianni provides color. Corie Richard is the sideline reporter. espn2 will air the Oct. 9 match between MSU and Minnesota on a tape delay basis. The match will be broadcast on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. Both matches this weekend will be aired on the radio by 730-AM WVFN. Jason Colthorp has the play-by-play, while former Spartan Veronica Morales provides color.
? WISCONSIN 3, MSU 0: No. 20 Wisconsin handed Michigan State its second 3-0 Big Ten loss in a row on Oct. 2 in Madison, 15-5, 15-13, 15-4. MSU was held to just .165 hitting. The Spartans looked to be on track in game two after dropping the first game, but Wisconsin stayed strong and tied the score seven times before scoring four straight points to take the pivotal game. The Spartans came out flat in game three, falling into a 0-12 hole before block assists by Angela Morley and Sarah Gustin put them on the board. Erin Hartley led the team with 11 kills while Morley tacked on a match-high six blocks.
? BOILERMAKERS FORGE WIN: Purdue won its first Big Ten match of the season with a 3-0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-13) decision over MSU onOct. 1 in West Lafayette. It was the Boilermakers? first win over Michigan State since Nov. 13, 1993. Jessica Sanborn hit her 500th career kill in the third game and had a match-high nine blocks. Sarah Gustin led MSU with 18 kills, while Sanborn and Erin Hartley added 15 each.
? BLOCKING BESTS: Vicki Basil set her career high for block assists and total blocks with five against Purdue on Oct. 1. Jessica Sanborn set her season high with seven blocks in the same match as MSU outblocked the Boilermakers 14-10.
? OUT: Junior setter Christie Landry was lost for the season with a torn right ACL in MSU?s 3-1 victory over Ohio State on Sept. 25. Taking her place is junior Vicki Basil, who started for MSU in 1997 and currently stands eighth on the MSU all-time assists chart with 1,508. Basil tallied 51 against Purdue and 32 against Wisconsin last weekend.
? 500, 500 x 3: Jessica Sanborn tallied the 500th kill of her career in the Spartans? third game against Purdue on Oct. 1. Vicki Basil notched the 1,500th assist of her career against Wisconsin on Oct. 2.
? NATIONAL PRIDE: Jessica Sanborn was sixth in the nation in hitting percentage last week at .417. On Oct. 1 at Purdue she had 15 kills on .429 hitting, marking the 10th time she has hit over .400 this season.
? AVERAGE: Michigan State is hitting .280 as a team this season. The Spartans hit .326 against Ohio State on Sept. 25, the 11th time MSU has hit over .300 this season. Michigan State hit over .300 only seven times in 1998.
? ON THE AIR: All of Michigan State?s home matches are televised live by AT&T Cable Services (Channel 13/17). MSU also has two network matches, both aired on a tape-delay basis: Fox Sports Chicago will aired the Oct. 2 match (MSU at Wisconsin) on Oct. 3 at 4 p.m., while espn2 which will air MSU?s home match with Minnesota (Oct. 9) on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. Eight of State?s matches are also being broadcast on the radio by 730-AM WVFN (Sept. 24, Sept. 25, Oct. 1, Oct. 2, Oct. 8, Oct. 9, Oct. 13 and Nov. 24).
? SEEING DOUBLE: Five players have combined for 11 double-doubles so far this season. Here?s the rundown: Christie Landry - 41 ast, 12 digs v. Texas A&M, 9/4, 49 assists, 13 digs v. Loyola, 9/18, 65 assists, 12 digs v. Penn State, 9/25 Jessica Sanborn - 15 kills, 12 digs v. Texas A&M, 9/4 Erin Hartley - 19 kills, 10 digs vs. UMass, 9/11, 15 kills, 10 digs v. WMU, 9/18, 22 kills, 18 digs v. Penn State, 9/25 Maren Witzel - 15 kills, 11 digs vs. UMass, 9/11, 10 kills, 16 digs v. Loyola, 9/18 Sarah Gustin - 12 kills, 12 digs vs. Seton Hall, 9/11, 23 kills, 11 digs v. Penn State, 9/25
? SPARTANS IN THE NCAA (as of 10/4): Jessica Sanborn is 12th in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten in hitting percentage at .396, while the Spartans rank 17th in that category as a team nationally, and are second in the conference at .280.
? CAREER MARKERS: MSU milestones in the making. Tammy Vonderheide - needs 20 digs to reach 500 in her career. Sarah Gustin - needs 3 blocks to move into 7th place on the career total blocks list, 15 block assists to move into 6th place on the career block assists list and 153 digs for 500 in her career. Jessica Sanborn - needs two blocks to tie Sarah Gustin for 8th place on the career total blocks list and three to move into 8th on the career block assists list. Chuck Erbe - needs seven more wins to reach 150 at Michigan State. Vicki Basil - needs 83 more assists to move into 7th on the career assists list. Erin Hartley - needs 42 more kills and 159 more digs for 500 in her career.
