Volleyball Prepares For Opener on Sept. 3-4
8/31/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 31, 1999
? L&L/MSU Classic: Michigan State hosts the Fifth Annual L&L/MSU Volleyball Classic as its 1999 season and home opener. This year?s Classic features No. 16 Texas A&M, Clemson, Cleveland State and Eastern Kentucky. In 1995, State won the inaugural tournament, defeating San Diego State, Bowling Green, Illinois State and Baylor. In 1998, Michigan State won its second L&L title, defeating Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Pittsburgh. Jenna Wrobel was named tournament MVP, while Sarah Gustin and Christie Landry were both voted to the All-Tournament team.
MICHIGAN STATE enters the 1999 season after finishing ?98 with a 23-7 mark, 15-5 (3rd) in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans hosted the first/second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years as the No. 4 seed in the Pacific Division, but fell to Pepperdine, 2-3 in the first round. Michigan State returns six letterwinners and three starters from last year?s team, including All-Big Ten preseason selection Erin Hartley, a sophomore outside hitter who was second on the team with 3.14 kills per game.
TEXAS A&M kicks off the 1999 season ranked No. 16 after finishing with a 21-9 record in ?98. The Aggies placed fourth in the Big 12 Conference and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to USC. Texas A&M returns five starters, including senior middle Amber Woolsey, who averaged 3.58 kills and 1.79 blocks per game last season. Michigan State leads the series with Texas A&M, 3-2. The teams last met on Dec. 7, 1996 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with MSU winning 3-0.
CLEVELAND STATE opened its season on Sept. 1 by hosting the University of Akron. CSU was 15-17 last season and finished fifth in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. The Vikings return four letterwinners including senior middle Deirdre Laney, who was second on the team with 3.04 kills per game last season. Michigan State leads the series with Cleveland State 9-2. The teams last met on Sept. 14, 1996 with MSU winning 3-0.
CLEMSON opens its 1999 campaign in the L&L Classic after a 22-11 showing in 1998 and a fourth-place finish in the ACC. The Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where Penn State ended their season. Senior outside hitter Alison Coday returns for her senior season after leading the team with 4.13 kills per game last year. This is the first meeting between Michigan State and Clemson.
EASTERN KENTUCKY opened its season on Sept. 1 at Kentucky. EKU looks to rebound in ?99 after a 3-23 finish last season. The Colonels return all of their starters. Junior outside hitter Courtney Bowen led her team with 3.33 kills and 2.89 digs per game last season. Michigan State leads the series with Eastern Kentucky 6-4. The teams last met on Sept. 7, 1984 with MSU winning 3-0.
? PRESEASON POLLS: Michigan State was chosen to finish fourth in the Big Ten Conference behind last year?s champion Penn State, Wisconsin and Illinois. MSU ranks No. 22 according to the USA Today/AVCA preseason top 25.
? CAPTAIN:? Senior Tammy Vonderheide captains the 1999 Spartan squad. Vonderheide, an outside hitter/back row specialist and two-time academic All-Big Ten, was a tri-captain last season.
? HERE TO ASSIST YOU: Michigan State lists three new assistant coaches on its roster this season. First assistant Todd Dagenais (Daa-juh-nay) was a volunteer assistant at MSU in 1997. Last season he served as an assistant at Northern Michigan University. Dagenais graduated from Central Michigan in 1995. A certified athletic trainer, he played on the CMU men?s club team for four years. Second assistant Laura Abbinante graduated from Wisconsin in 1998 and spent last season playing with the Pelgrim Volco Volleyball Club in the Dutch Pro League. A former AVCA All-American and Badger team captain, Abbinante holds the Wisconsin career record for assists (5,833) and is second in digs (1,246). Volunteer assistant Dominic Yoder graduated from Western Michigan in 1998 and is currently working towards a graduate degree there. He was an assistant coach at Kalamazoo Community College in 1997 and an assistant varsity coach at Portage Central High School in 1996-97.
? DID YOU KNOW? The Spartans were ranked in the top 25 in every AVCA poll in 1998.
? PLAYING WITHOUT HART(LEY): Sophomore outside hitter Erin Hartley will miss the L&L/MSU Volleyball Classic. Hartley is participating at the World Junior Championships in Canada as the starting opposite hitter for the U.S. Junior National Team. Senior Tammy Vonderheide captains the 1999 Spartan squad. Vonderheide, an outside hitter/back row specialist and two-time academic All-Big Ten, was a tri-captain last season.
? RECORDS WATCH: Career Assists No. Years 1. Judy Doles 4,151 1985-88 2. Courtney DeBolt 3,773 1992-95 3. Gina Conroy 2,096 1981-84 4. Julie Pavlus 2,028 1994-96 5. Christie Landry 1,746 1997-98 6. Amy Rauch 1,697 1991-92 7. Corinne McNamara 1,591 1988-91 8. Vicki Basil 1,322 1997-98
Block Assists No. Years 1. Dana Cooke 494 1993-96 2. Val Sterk 447 1993-96 3. Dawn Andrews 329 1987-90 4. Jenna Wrobel 295 1995-98 5. Corie Richard 258 1994-97 6. Cheryl Histed 248 1981-84 7. Courtney DeBolt 224 1992-95 8. Jenny Whitehead 219 1996-98 9. Michele Kasper 215 1981-84 10. Sarah Gustin 203 1997-98
Total Blocks No. (BS-BA) Years 1. Dana Cooke 581 (87-494) 1993-96 2. Val Sterk 575 (128-447) 1993-96 3. Dawn Andrews 433 (104-329) 1987-90 4. Cheryl Histed 363 (115-248) 1981-84 5. Jenna Wrobel 354 (59-295) 1995-98 6. Michele Kasper 296 (81-215) 1981-84 7. Corie Richard 277 (19-258) 1994-96 8. Jenny Whitehead 258 (39-219) 1996-98 9. Courtney DeBolt 239 (15-224) 1992-95 10. Sarah Gustin 236 (33-203) 1997-98
1998 IN REVIEW: ?98 Trends and Leaders - Home: 14-3 Away: 7-4 Neutral: 2-0 When leading after one game: 22-1 When leading after two games: 18-0 3-game matches: 14-2 4-game matches: 7-3 5-game matches: 2-2 Kills: 5.94, Jenna Wrobel Assists: 13.39, Christie Landry Digs: 2.59, Jenna Wrobel Blocks: 1.53, Sarah Gustin
MARATHON IN MADISON - The Spartans fell to No. 8 Wisconsin, 1-3, in the longest match of the year for MSU on Nov. 27. After two hours and forty minutes the Badgers emerged victorious, but Jenna Wrobel left with two school records (kills and attempts), six Spartans recorded double-figure digs, and freshman Erin Hartley set her career kills mark with 28.
20-20-20-20 - Michigan State?s 1998 record of 23 wins marked the fourth consecutive year the Spartans have had 20 wins. Prior to 1995, the last Michigan State team to record 20 wins in a season was in 1980 (32-17).
BIG TEN VICTORIES - MSU?s 15 Big Ten Conference triumphs ranked as the third-best mark in Spartan history. In 1995 and 1996, MSU won 19 and 18 matches, respectively, and two Big Ten Conference titles.
ON THE BLOCK - Michigan State was 22-0 when outblocking its opponents in ?98. MSU ended the season with a 394.0-239.5 block advantage.
CLOSE DOESN?t count - Jenna Wrobel ended her four-year career as Michigan State?s outside hitter with 2,292 kills. That set the school record for career kills but the figure came up eight short of tying the Big Ten record for kills in a career. The record of 2,300 still belongs to Katrien DeDecker, who played at Minnesota from 1993-96.
She?s all (Big Ten) that - With Wrobel?s selection to the 1998 All-Big Ten team, she became just the third player in Big Ten history to earn the award four times. Sarah Gustin and Christie Landry earned honorable mention status.
HOSTS - Michigan State hosted the NCAA First/Second Rounds for the third time in four years. The Spartans made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 1994.
haven?t we seen you somewhere? - The Spartans faced 10 of the 64 teams in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, ending with an 8-7 record against those teams. Here they are in alphabetical order: Illinois (1-1), Indiana (1-1), Louisville (0-1), New Hampshire (1-0), Notre Dame (1-0), Ohio State (2-0), Penn State (0-2), Pepperdine (0-1), Utah (1-0) and Wisconsin (1-1).
LEADING OFF - Jenna Wrobel led all hitters on both teams in kills in 27 of 30 matches in 1998. Wrobel tallied 20 or more kills in 17 matches last season, including the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth 30-kill games of her career against Louisville (30) on Sept. 11, Wisconsin (35) on Oct. 24, Illinois (30) on Nov. 14, Wisconsin (36) on Nov. 27 and Pepperdine (30) on Dec. 3.
1,000-1,000 - Jenna Wrobel became the sixth member of MSU?s 1,000 kills-1,000 digs club on Sept. 19. She ended her career with 2,292 kills and 1,223 digs. She joined Veronica Morales (2,006 k-1,484 d), Becky Belanger (1,669 k-1,293 d), Dana Cooke (1,226 k-1,245 d), Jill Krumm (1,236 k-1,466 d) and Pam Wischmeyer (1,031 k-1,016 d) in the exclusive club.
SANBORN SETS FIELD HOUSE MARK - Sophomore middle Jessica Sanborn broke the Jenison Field House record and her career record on Sept. 25 vs. Illinois with five solo blocks, including three in one game. The previous best had been four, held by several players. The five solo blocks ties her for fourth on the MSU single-match records chart.
TEAM BLOCK SOLO - The Spartans set a single-game team record with 11 solo blocks vs. Ohio State on Oct. 16. Sarah Gustin and Erin Hartley both tallied three, Jessica Sanborn and Jenny Whitehead tabbed two, while Christie Landry had one. The previous record of 10 was set vs. Notre Dame on 11/14/82 and vs. Tulane on 9/16/91.
Knock-off - MSU upset No. 5 Wisconsin on Oct. 24, 3-2. Despite being outhit, .242-.210 and tying UW in blocks at 11, the Spartans persevered behind a 73-64 digs advantage and a then-career-high 35 kills from Jenna Wrobel as one of four Spartans in double figures.
STATE PRIDE RETURNS - Michigan State regained possession of the State Pride flag with a 3-2 win over Michigan on Nov. 4. The Spartans won the flag back with their 2-0 showing over the in-state rival Wolverines in 1998.
Gustin marks a century - Sarah Gustin tallied her 100th block assist of the season against Purdue on Nov. 12, making her only the sixth player in MSU history to reach that mark in a season. Gustin ended the season with 137 assists, third on the MSU single-season record chart.
NINE is fine - The Spartans won nine matches in a row from Oct. 23-Nov. 14 and 13 of 14 from Oct. 3-Nov. 14. The only blemish came at No. 2 Penn State on Oct. 17. The Nittany Lions also ended the winning streak on Nov. 20. Everywhere a block, block - Michigan State set a team block assists record with 38 against Illinois on Nov. 14. Sarah Gustin led all Spartans with 13 to set school records for total blocks (0-13) and block assists. Jenny Whitehead contributed seven while Jessica Sanborn chipped in 6. MSU outblocked the Illini, 23-8.
Big ten names jenna again-a - Outside hitter Jenna Wrobel was named co-Big-Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 30, marking the third time in ?98 she was honored by the Conference. On Oct. 26, Wrobel was named the AVCA National Player of the Week after MSU upset No. 5 Wisconsin and she set her then-career best with 35 kills. It was the second time Wrobel was honored by the AVCA in her career.
Record-setter - Wrobel ended her career as MSU?s all-time leader in career kills (2,292) and attempts (5,353), single-match kills (36) and attempts (102) and single-season kills (671) and attempts (1,544). Also on the career chart she is No. 4 in block assists, No. 5 in total blocks (354), No. 5 in digs (1,223), No. 9 in block solos (59), and No. 10 in hitting percentage (.262). Wrobel is tops with 19 20-kill matches in 1997 and 54 in her career.
ALL-american - Jenna Wrobel topped off her career by earning first-team All-America honors in 1998. She became just the third Spartan to earn the honor.
