Volleyball Hosts No. 2 Penn State in Big Ten Opener
9/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 21, 1999
? BIG TEN OPENER: Friday?s match marks the Big Ten opener for both Penn State and Michigan State. Penn State is the reigning Big Ten champion, finishing undefeated last season at 20-0, while MSU placed third with a 15-5 record. Ohio State opens its Big Ten slate at Michigan on Friday. The Buckeyes placed fifth in the conference in 1998 with a 9-11 record.
? PENN STATE: The No.2-ranked Nittany Lions are 10-1 overall. PSU beat No. 8 Texas twice last weekend, both matches 3-1 (9-15, 15-7, 15-1, 15-13 and 15-6, 12-15, 15-10, 15-11). After losing its opener to Florida, Penn State has won its last nine matches in a row. Lauren Cacciamani paces the team with 4.50 kills and 1.32 blocks per game. Setter Bonnie Bremner is averaging 12.05 assists per contest, while Amanda Rome leads the way with 3.37 digs per game. Penn State is holding its opponents to .130 hitting to its .320. Penn State leads the series 13-4. PSU won the last match 15-6, 15-7, 15-13 in East Lansing on Nov. 20, 1998.
? OHIO STATE: The 18th-ranked Buckeyes are 6-1 overall and have won their last four contests. Last weekend, OSU defeated both Boise State (15-4, 15-5, 15-5) and Temple (15-7, 15-7, 15-9) at home. Rosie Snow leads the team at 4.17 kills and 2.38 digs per game. Katie Virtue is averaging 13.76 assists and a team-best 0.33 service aces per contest. Sue Calligaris is the Buckeyes? lead blocker at 0.89 per game. OSU is averaging 17.83 kills per game to its opponents 13.13 pg. Ohio State leads the series 29-16. MSU won the last meeting 15-12, 15-12, 15-12 on Nov. 22, 1998 in East Lansing.
? ON THE AIR, EVERYWHERE: All of Michigan State?s home matches will be televised live by AT&T Cable Services (Channel 17). MSU will also have two network matches, both aired on a tape-delay basis: Fox Sports Chicago will air the Oct. 2 match (MSU at Wisconsin) on Oct. 3 at 4 p.m., while espn2 (Oct. 9 vs. Minnesota) which will air MSU?s home match with Minnesota (Oct. 9) on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. Eight of State?s matches will also be 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).
? STREAK vs. STREAK: Penn State and Michigan State both bring long winning streaks to its match this weekend. Penn State has won its last nine matches in a row after losing its first, while MSU has won its last eight, after losing two of its first four matchups.
? TWICE AS NICE: Michigan State won its second tournament in a row in defeating DePaul, Niagara, Loyola and host Western Michigan at the Ameritech Invitational in Kalamazoo on Sept. 17-18. Christie Landry was named MVP, while Jessica Sanborn and Angela Morley were chosen for the all-tournament team. The Spartans lost just one game, against Loyola.
? 2,153: Setter Christie Landry moved into third place on the MSU all-time assists chart last weekend. She needs 1,621 assists to overtake Courtney DeBolt for second place. Judy Doles (1985-88) holds the Michigan State record with 4,151. Landry is averaging 12.72 assists per game. She is currently on pace to get her 3,000th assist this season.
? KPG: All seven of MSU?s regular rotation is averaging 1.0 kills per game or better. List: M Jessica Sanborn - 4.00, OH Sarah Gustin - 3.79, OH Erin Hartley - 3.87, OH Maren Witzel - 2.30, M Angela Morley - 1.95, BR Tammy Vonderheide - 1.08, S Christie Landry - 1.00.
? GUS-SIED UP: Outside hitter Sarah Gustin set a career high with 21 kills against DePaul, helping MSU to a 3-0 win. She hit .625 in that contest (21-1-32), the third time she has hit over .400 this season.
? ICY HOT: Alaskan native Maren Witzel has stepped into the starting lineup at outside hitter. Her defense has improved dramatically in the last two weeks. In the first six matches, Witzel totaled 36 digs. In the last six, she has 47 digs, including three matches of more than 10. Witzel set a career high with 16 digs against Loyola and posted her first second double-double of the season by adding 10 kills, in the Ameritech Invitational. She currently leads the team at 2.42 per game.
? FOR STARTERS: Michigan State, at 10-2, is off to its best start since 1995, when the team started 11-1 and went on to win the first of its back-to-back Big Ten Championships. The Spartans have tallied 10 victories in their first 12 matches only five times in its history: 1975 (12-0), 1976 (12-0), 1980 (11-1), 1989 (10-2) and ?95 (11-1).
? HOTTER ?n @*$#!: Jessica Sanborn is hitting a blistering .538 over her last eight matches. She has only 14 errors on 107 kills in that span and has been named to two all-tournament teams, including the MVP of the UMass Invitational. Sanborn leads the Big Ten with a .461 percentage and is averaging 4.00 kills per game.
? LANDRY=MVP: Setter Christie Landry was named the most valuable player at the WMU Ameritech Invitational last weekend. She tallied 127 assists and hit .529 in the three matches she played. She had no errors in the tournaments final two matches and added six blocks and 16 digs. Landry nearly posted her first triple double with 49 assists, 13 digs and six kills against Loyola. She currently leads the team with 12.72 assists per game.
? MO? BETTER: Middle Angela Morley was named to the all-tournament team at the WMU Ameritech Invitational. She raised her career high in blocks in three consecutive matches. She started the weekend with seven blocks (2-5) against DePaul, then tallied eight (3-5) against Niagara. Versus Loyola, Morley was everywhere, cleaning the nets for nine (3-6) blocks. She is currently leading the team with 1.29 blocks per game.
? SPICED WITH BASIL: Junior setter Vicki Basil received her first start of the season against Niagara University in the Ameritech Invitational on Sept. 17. She responded with 33 assists, two service aces, eight digs and a solo block. She is eighth on the MSU career assists list with 1,399.
? SHUTOUT: Michigan State defeated Niagara in the WMU Ameritech Invitational, 15-4, 15-0, 15-1. The 15-0 win was just the seventh game in MSU history where the Spartans have held their opponent scoreless. The last time was Sept. 13, 1996 vs. West Viriginia (See pg. 106 of the media guide for the complete list).
? SEEING DOUBLE: Five players have combined for eight double-doubles so far this season, including three last weekend. Here?s the rundown: Christie Landry - 41 ast, 12 digs v. Texas A&M, 9/4, 49 assists, 13 digs v. Loyola, 9/18 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 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
? L&L FOOD CENTERS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Maren Witzel and Erin Hartley. Check your local L&L Food Centers for photos and biographies of both Erin and Maren.
