Spartan Volleyball Hosts Season's Last Home Matches
11/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 17, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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Quick Hits on the Spartans
FINAL WEEKEND AT HOME FOR SENIORS - Michigan State volleyball (18-8, 10-6) hosts its final home matches of the 2003 season Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22. Friday, No. 22 Minnesota (19-9, 12-4) comes to Jenison Field House, while Saturday the Spartans host Iowa (6-20, 1-15). Both matches begin at 8 p.m. Friday night is Parents' Night, while Saturday will honor the 2003 seniors.
Michigan State enters the weekend coming off a weekend split, Nov. 14-15. The Spartans defeated Ohio State Friday, 3-1, and lost at Penn State Saturday, 3-2.
FIVE'S THE LIMIT- The Spartans' five-game win streak was snapped Saturday at Penn State, with a 3-2 loss to the Nittany Lions. It was State's second such streak of the season, and marks the fourth time in the last three seasons MSU had a winning streak of at least five matches. In 2001, MSU had two five-match streaks from Oct. 24-Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 to Nov. 30. That year, the Spartans began the season with a seven-match winning streak.
KOPKA RETURNS & GARNERS ACADEMIC HONORS - Opposite Michelle Kopka returned to the Spartans' lineup Nov. 14 after missing 12 matches to injury. Kopka wasn't far off from her pre-injury self in her return (Nov. 14-15), with 11 kills and two errors on 24 attacks (.375 hitting), 10 digs, two blocks and two assists in the nine games she played on the weekend.
On Nov. 13, Kopka was named to the Academic All-District team. A physics major, she carries a 4.0.
NEWMAN! - This season, Penn State has become something like Jerry Seinfeld's nemesis to the Spartans. The Nittany Lions have handed State its only two five-game losses of the year, as MSU fell 3-2 to Penn State on Sept. 26 in Jenison Field House (20-30, 30-28, 28-30, 30-21, 15-11) and Nov. 15 in University Park, Pa. (28-30, 30-24, 21-30, 30-28, 8-15).
ANOTHER COLSON RECORD? - Senior setter Nikki Colson is just 227 assists from breaking the season assist record she set last year (1,577). At 1,351 entering the weekend, and on a season pace of 13.51 assists per game, Colson needs approximately 17 games to reach the 1,577 mark. That translates to anywhere from four to six matches; the Spartans have four matches left in the 2003 Big Ten season.
With just 14 more, she will tie her own mark for sixth place on the season assists record list. Colson had 1,364 assists in 2001 for the Spartans.
IN THE LAST FIVE - The Spartans are 4-1 in their last five matches, with four road wins - at Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State - and one at home against Purdue. Their loss in that span came at No. 16 Penn State. In those five matches, State has bested its opponent in every category except service aces.
Kills Attack Pct. Assists S. Aces Digs Blocks
MSU 360 (15.65 pg) .234 334 (14.52 pg) 21 (0.91 pg) 360 (15.65 pg) 70 (3.04 pg)
Opponents 319 (13.87 pg) .185 296 (12.87 pg) 36 (1.04 pg) 316 (13.74 pg) 47 (2.04 pg)
A Look at the Weekend Ahead
A LOOK AT NO. 22 MINNESOTA - Entering the week, Minnesota is tied with Illinois for second place in the Big Ten, at 19-9 overall and 12-4 in league play. Cassie Busse leads the Golden Gophers at 4.73 kills per game and a .311 attack percentage. Teammates Trisha Bratford and Erin Martin each average better than 3.55 kills per game as well. Setter Lindsey Taatjes has 1,217 assists and 268 digs on the year, while libero Paula Gentil has 478 digs this season (4.93 pg).
Head coach: Mike Herbert (UC Santa Barbara, 1966) has a 192-75 record in seven-plus seasons at Minnesota. Overall, he has a 764-431 record as a head coach.
Earlier This Year: Michigan State fell to Minnesota on Oct. 25, 3-1. Kim Schram led MSU with 20 kills, while Cassie Busse and Erin Martin had 30 and 23 kills, respectively, for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers out-hit State, .364-.195 in the match.
All-Time Series History: Minnesota holds a 31-15 lead in the all-time series with Michigan State, and is 14-8 in Jenison Field House all-time. Currently, the Gophers have a three-match winning streak against MSU, as they swept State last year. MSU's last wins came in a 2001 season sweep, with both matches taking just three games.
The Last 10 Years: UM holds an 11-10 advantage in the last 10 years. It's been a streaky stretch for both teams as MSU dropped both matches in 1993 and the first in 1994 before going 8-1 from Nov. 11, 1994 to Nov. 6, 1998. Since, however, the Gophers hold a 7-2 advantage.
COMPARING THE NUMBERSMinnesota Minnesota Michigan State Michigan State
Overall/Big Ten PG (O/Conf.) Overall/Big Ten PG (O/Conf.)
Kills 1662/1002 16.46/16.98 1644/1009 16.44/16.02
Total Attacks 4126/2469 40.85/41.85 3925/2451 39.25/38/91
Att. Pct. .241/.252 N/A .263/.249 N/A
Assists 1536/924 15.21/15.66 1507/920 15.07/14.60
Service Aces 116/50 1.15/0.85 95/58 0.95/0.92
Digs 1680/1041 16.63/17.64 1513/937 15.13/14.87
Total Blocks 287/187.5 2.84/3.18 266.5/172 2.66/2.73
A LOOK AT IOWA - The Hawkeyes picked up their first win in the Big Ten and first since Sept. 13 on Nov. 15, with a 3-2 win against Purdue in Iowa City. Iowa is 6-20 on the season and 1-15 in the Big Ten. Carolyn Giese has 276 kills on the season to go along with 69 blocks. Setter Jitka Stehnova has 889 assists this season, an average of 9.66 per game on the year. Eighteen Hawkeyes have played in different matches this season.
Head coach: Rita Buck-Crockett (Iowa, 2002) is in her sixth season as the Hawkeyes' head coach, and owns a 50-119 record in that time.
Earlier This Year: The Spartans were the first team in the Big Ten that did not sweep the Hawkeyes. MSU won, 3-1, in Iowa City on Oct. 24. State hit .338 to Iowa's .124. Kim Schram had 23 kills on .353 hitting, while Sara Villwock contributed 16 kills for MSU. Setter Nikki Colson added 57 assists. Laura Simpson had 20 kills for Iowa, while Carolyn Giese added 12 and Tiana Cosstanzo contributed 10.
All-Time Series History: Michigan State leads the all-time series with Iowa, 24-21 and has a current winning streak of six matches. Iowa has a 12-10 all-time record in East Lansing. The teams' first meeting came in 1975, and they have met at least once a year since 1982.
The Last 10 Years: Since 1993, State is 17-4 against Iowa and 8-3 in East Lansing. The Spartans' last loss to Iowa was a five-game match in Jenison Field House on Oct. 21, 2000. In State's current six-match win streak, three matches have been three-game sweeps, while the other three have been 3-1 MSU victories
COMPARING THE NUMBERS
Iowa Iowa Michigan State Michigan State
Overall/Big Ten PG (O/Conf.) Overall/Big Ten PG (O/Conf.)
Kills 1261/674 13.71/12.96 1644/1009 16.44/16.02
Total Attacks 3836/2168 41.70/41.69 3925/2451 39.25/38/91
Att. Pct. .136/.105 N/A .263/.249 N/A
Assists 1129/625 12.27/12.02 1507/920 15.07/14.60
Service Aces 75/26 0.82/0.50 95/58 0.95/0.92
Digs 1468/805 15.96/15.48 1513/937 15.13/14.87
Total Blocks 181.5/106 1.97/2.04 266.5/172 2.66/2.73
2003 Spartan Note-Ables
PLACES, PEOPLE - At 10-6, the Spartans are tied with Wisconsin for fourth place in the Big Ten entering the second-to-last weekend of conference play. Penn State stands alone at the top with a 13-3 record, while Illinois and Minnesota are tied for second place at 12-4.
SCHRAM HITS 19-PLUS AGAIN - Kim Schram posted 43 kills on the weekend at Ohio State and Penn State, extending her streak of matches with 19 or more kills to nine, which dates to Oct. 18 when MSU defeated Northwestern in East Lansing. In that span, she has recorded at least 20 kills six times.
COLSON CONTINUES - Setter Nikki Colson, who set the career assists record at Wisconsin on Nov. 8, has contributed at least 40 assists in 20 of MSU's 26 matches on the season. She's had 50 or more in 14 matches, including each of the last five.
NOT SINCE 1994 - The Spartans' back-to-back five-game match wins at Michigan and Wisconsin Nov. 5-8 marked just the fourth time in MSU history the Spartans pulled out 3-2 victories in consecutive matches. The last time it happened was Sept. 9-10, 1994. That two-match span saw the Spartans defeat Michigan, 3-2 on Sept. 9 and Pittsburgh, 3-2 on Sept. 10 at the Michigan Challenge in Ann Arbor.
COLSON RECORD SET - Senior setter Nikki Colson, who set the season record for assists in a year (1,577) in 2002, set the school record for career assists Nov. 8 at Wisconsin. The record-setting assist came off a kill from Sara Villwock and broke Judy Doles' record (4,151) that stood for 15 years. Entering her final weekend's play in Jenison Field House, Colson has 4,329 career assists.
Colson's career average of 11.40 assists per game ranks second among all-time Spartans. She is averaging 13.44 assists in Big Ten Conference matches, and with 1,236 assists in 2003, she has posted at least 1,000 in each of the last three seasons.
RECENT KILLS LEADER - Kim Schram has had 116 kills, an average of 5.04 per game, in MSU's last five matches, during which the Spartans have posted a 4-1 record. She's also recorded seven service aces, 49 digs and 14 blocks. Her hitting percentage, though, has dropped dramatically in the last few matches, to .207.
Three other Spartans have 50-plus kills in the same span - Sara Villwock (78), Megan Wallin (59) and Jenny Rood (56).
FIRSTS FOR 2003 SENIORS - The 2003 Spartan senior class has accomplished three things this season they have not been able to do in their three previous years at Michigan State: defeat Wisconsin in Jenison Field House, win at Michigan and win in Madison against the Badgers. This year's Spartans defeated Wisconsin in East Lansing on Oct. 3, won in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines on Nov. 5 and beat Wisconsin in Madison on Nov. 8.
Prior to the 2003 season, the last MSU win against Wisconsin was in 1999, and its last win in Madison was on Nov. 22, 1996; MSU's last win in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines came on Oct. 7, 1998.
DIG IT? - Nikki Colson and Marley Bellwood lead the team in digs with 278 and 251, respectively. The two Spartans average at least 2.78 digs per game this season.
IN THE CLUTCH - In 2003, State is 13-2 in game fours and 4-2 in game fives.
FOUR OR FIVE GAMES EQUAL WINS (GENERALLY) - MSU is 9-1 in four-game matches this season, with its only loss coming at Minnesota on Oct. 25. In the last three seasons, MSU is 8-4 in five-game matches, including going 4-2 in 2003 and posting a 4-1 mark in 2002.
DOUBLE-DIGITS - Three Spartans have hit for double-digit kills totals in at least half of the matches in which they've played. Playing in all 26 matches for the Spartans, Kim Schram and Jenny Rood have posted at least 10 kills in all but three matches each. Megan Wallin missed four matches earlier this season, but has recorded 10 or more kills in 12 of the 22 in which she's played.
Schram averages 4.74 kills per game (approximately 14 kills in a three-game match, nearly 24 in a five-game match), while Rood is at 3.39 per game. Wallin averages 2.8 kills per game on the year.
GAMES ONE AND THREE ARE KEY - State is 13-1 when it wins game one of the match, and is 13-0 when winning game three.
WALLIN BREAKS OUT AGAINST MICHIGAN - Megan Wallin, a redshirt sophomore, posted a career-high 17 kills against Michigan on Nov. 5, as she hit .500 in the five-game match. She also had a service ace, three digs and six blocks (two solo, four assists).
Wallin has started every match she's played in this season, playing in 20 matches and 74 games. This season, she's averaging a .313 attack percentage and 2.84 kills per game, both improvements upon her numbers as a freshman.
OVERALL STRENGTH - State owns better per game numbers than its opponents in every category this season - kills, assists, digs and blocks - except service aces.
ANOTHER "NOT SINCE"... - Oct. 27 marked the first time since last season (Dec. 9, 2002) that the Spartans were not ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll. MSU, which until Oct. 31-Nov. 1, alternated wins and losses throughout the Big Ten season, began the year ranked No. 25 in the preseason poll, jumped to No. 17 on Sept. 8 and was ranked No. 14 for two weeks (Sept. 22-Oct. 5). MSU fell to No. 18 on Oct. 13 before dropping to No. 22 on Oct. 20.
ACES AT THE SERVICE LINE - Two Spartans - Mickey Davis (7) and Kim Schram (7) - have combined for 14 of MSU's 21 service aces in the last five matches.
DAVIS STEPS UP - After seeing action in just two matches early this season - Villanova (8/29) and Nebraska (9/13) - Mickey Davis has played in each of State's matches since Oct. 1 against Michigan. In the last five matches, she has 33 digs, six assists, seven service aces and a kill. Additionally, Davis contributed a career-best three aces against Indiana Friday, Oct. 31 and tied that number Saturday, Nov. 8 at Wisconsin.
EXTRA POINTS BRING EXTRA STRESS - The Spartans are 5-4 in games that go to extra points; they are 7-2 in matches with extra-point games.
Date Opponent Game No. Result Score Match Result Match Score
Aug. 30 vs. Tennessee 3 W 31-29 W 3-2
Aug. 30 vs. Tennessee 5 W 17-15 W 3-2
Sept. 26 PENN STATE 5 L 14-16 L 2-3
Sept. 27 OHIO STATE 4 L 31-33 W 3-1
Oct. 10 at Purdue 1 L 31-33 L 0-3
Oct. 10 at Purdue 2 L 29-31 L 0-3
Oct. 18 NORTHWESTERN 2 W 32-30 W 3-0
Nov. 1 PURDUE 3 W 32-30 W 3-1
Nov. 5 at Michigan 5 L 29-31 W 3-2
Nov. 14 at Ohio State 4 W 32-30 W 3-1
HOME, SWEET HOME - In eight matches at home this year, the Spartans' average of 1,421 is ranked 25th in the nation. Once again in 2002, the Spartans were among the nation's attendance leaders, with an average of 1,802 fans per match, 12th in the nation. The Spartans drew 25,229 in 14 matches last year, the most since 1996.
SMART OFF THE COURT, TOO - MSU had a league-best 11 volleyball players honored as Academic All-Big Ten selections in 2002. Marley Bellwood, Mickey Davis, Emily Engel, Stephanie Knopp, Michelle Kopka, Brooke Langston, Angela Morley, Jenny Rood, Kim Schram, Diana Steplyk and Megan Wallin were all named to the team.
Looking Back at Ohio State & Penn State
Penn State snapped the Spartans' five-match winning streak Saturday, as the Nittany Lions defeated MSU 3-2 (28-30, 30-24, 21-30, 30-28, 8-15). It was only the second time this season the Spartans lost a five-game set, with both losses coming to Penn State. Sara Villwock and Kim Schram each had 19 kills in the match for the Spartans; Schram added 15 digs and three service aces. Sophomore Megan Wallin contributed a career-best nine blocks to go along with 12 kills.
Friday at Ohio State, MSU defeated the Buckeyes 3-1 (30-28, 23-30, 30-26, 32-30). Schram posted a team-best 22 kills, which marked the sixth time in the last seven matches she had recorded at least 20 kills. Nikki Colson finished the night with 55 assists, two block assists and nine digs. Libero Marley Bellwood added 12 digs in the match, and had two bump kills. Villwock had 13 kills on the night, while senior Jenny Rood added 11. Rood and Villwock also each contributed five blocks in the match.