Volleyball Faces Tough Tests With Wisconsin/Purdue
11/3/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 3, 1999
? STATE UPDATE: Michigan State (16-8, 6-6) fell to No. 22 Minnesota, 0-3 (6-15, 3-15, 10-15), and defeated Iowa, 3-0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-5), last weekend. The loss to Minnesota snapped a four-match winning streak. Minnesota swept the season series 2-0 while Iowa and MSU split, 1-1. MSU is still in fifth place in the Big Ten.
? CHANNEL SURFING: The Wisconsin and Purdue matches will both be televised live by AT&T Cable. Ben Stark has the play-by-play, with Jamie Ianni providing color analysis and former Spartan Corie Richard as the sideline reporter.
? WISCONSIN: Wisconsin is 15-7 overall and tied for third in the Big Ten with an 8-4 record. The Badgers won twice last weekend, defeating Illinois, 3-0 (15-5, 15-11, 15-13) and Indiana, 3-1 (15-7, 15-4, 7-15, 15-4). Wisconsin has won four consecutive matches. Jenny Maastricht, Sherisa Livingston and Kelly Kennedy lead the team with 3.75, 3.51 and 3.32 kills per game, respectively. Setters Morgan Shields and Lizzy Fitzgerald average 9.94 and 9.55 assists per game, while the Badgers have three players averaging one or more block per game: Maastricht (1.19), Kennedy (1.08) and Marie Meyer (1.05). Leading the way in digs is Erin Byrd at 3.00 per game. As a team, Wisconsin is hitting .229 and averaging 3.08 blocks, 14.77 digs and 13.39 assists per game. Wisconsin leads the series 27-15. The Badgers won the last meeting in Madison on Oct. 2, 15-5, 15-3, 15-4. Wisconsin has won four of the last five meetings.
? PURDUE: Purdue is 13-8 overall, 5-7 (t-6) in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers split last weekend, losing to Indiana, 1-3 (12-15, 15-13, 4-15, 5-15), but defeating Illinois, 3-2 (15-9, 15-9, 6-15, 6-15, 15-10). Purdue has won three of its last five, including two five-game matches. Aneska Arosarena is tops on the team at 4.98 kills and 2.75 digs per game. Setter Taryn Catlin notches 13.44 assists per contest, while the Boilers? leading blocker is Sarah Emke at 1.04 bpg. Purdue leads the series, 32-17. The Boilermakers won the last meeting in West Lafayette on Oct. 1, 15-11, 15-10, 15-13. MSU had won 11 straight meetings until then.
? DEVIL OF A HITTER: (OTHER APPROPRIATE TITLES: Sarah ?Damien? Gustin or Mark of the Be(a)st): Sarah Gustin currently has 666 career kills. She tallied 17 last weekend, including a team-high 11 against Iowa. She has been hell for opponents to handle and leads the Spartans with a monstrous 4.15 kills per game average.
? LUCKY 13: Angela Morley tallied another 13 blocks last weekend to raise her season total to 124. She is currently leading the team at 1.61 blocks per game. Morley needs 10 more block assists to tie for ninth in the MSU single-season record books with 112. She needs 11 more total blocks to tie for 10th on the single-season total blocks list.
? A NEGATIVE NOTE: Michigan State hit -.018 against Minnesota on Oct. 29. The last time the Spartans had a negative hitting percentage in a match was on Sept. 27, 1991, also against Minnesota, in a 0-3 loss under then-head coach Ginger Mayson.
? A POSITIVE NOTE: Michigan State has recorded 258 blocks as a team this season. Were the season to end today, MSU?s total would rank it eighth on the school?s single-season chart. Last year, the Spartans ended with 394 total blocks, nine short of the school record of 403, established in 1997. The Spartans are averaging 3.5 blocks per game, 1.0 more than their opponents.
? HARTLEY HIGH: Erin Hartley tied her career blocking high - set earlier in the season against Iowa - with seven blocks (all assists) against .... Iowa on Oct. 30.
? HOME ADVANTAGE?: Michigan State is currently 5-5 at home. In contrast, MSU is 5-3 on the road and 6-0 at a neutral site. Even if MSU wins its last four home matches in 1999, it will be the lowest home win total (9) in the last five years. The Spartans are currently 5-5 in Jenison Field House. The last time the team had a losing record at home was 1993, when the Spartans went 4-8.
? SIAMESE TWINS: Jessica Sanborn and Sarah Gustin are neck and neck on the MSU career block assists, total blocks and hitting percentage charts. Gustin is sixth all-time (254) on the block assists list while Sanborn is seventh (249). On the total blocks chart, Sanborn is sixth with 306 (57-249) and Gustin is seventh with 303 (47-254). Gustin takes the advantage in career hitting percentage, holding the No. 2 spot with a .302 average while Sanborn sits in third at .294. ? CAREER MARKERS: ? Chuck Erbe needs two wins to reach 150 at Michigan State. ? Vicki Basil needs 146 assists for 2,000 in her career. ? Sarah Gustin needs 11 digs for 500 in her career and four more block assists to move into fifth place on the career block assists chart.
? SPARTANS IN THE NCAA (as of 10/31): Angela Morley was 8th in blocks at 1.61 pg. As a team, MSU was 14th in blocking with 3.15 per game.
BIG TEN STANDINGS (as of 11/1) Big Ten Matches All Matches 1. Penn State 12-0 1.000 22-1 .957 2. Minnesota 10-2 .833 19-5 .792 3. Wisconsin 8-4 .667 15-7 .682 Illinois 8-4 .667 12-6 .667 5. Michigan State 6-6 .500 16-8 .667 6. Indiana 5-7 .417 14-7 .667 Purdue 5-7 .417 13-8 .619 Ohio State 5-7 .417 11-8 .579 9. Michigan 4-8 .333 12-9 .571 Iowa 3-9 .250 4-15 .211 11. Northwestern 0-12 .000 2-20 .091
? SEEING DOUBLE: Six players have combined for 19 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, 18 kills, 11 digs v. Indiana, 10/23. 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, 20 kills, 11 digs v. Northwestern, 10/15, 21 kills, 13 digs v. Illinois, 10/22 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, 31 kills, 10 digs v. Iowa, 10/7, 22 kills, 11 blocks v. Indiana, 10/23 Vicki Basil 46 assists, 10 digs v. Illinois, 10/22 63 assists, 12 digs v. Indiana, 10/23 27 assists, 14 digs v. Minnesota, 10/29
