Weekly Release #13
11/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 23 -- vs. Indiana (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 24 - vs. Illinois (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 26 -- NCAA Tournament Selection Show, 3 p.m.
Thu-Sun., Nov. 29-Dec. 1 -- NCAA First and Second Rounds
U-M Needs Two Wins for a Chance to Make Tournament
The University of Michigan volleyball team (12-13, 8-10 Big Ten) closes out the regular season with Big Ten Conference home matches against Indiana at 7 p.m. Friday (Nov. 23) and No. 21 Illinois at 7 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 23) at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines must win both matches to finish the season with a winning percentage above .500 and be eligible for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. One win and U-M will finish the year with its best Big Ten record since 1997. In addition to the importance of both matches, fans have additional incentives to attend the matches. A pair of tickets to an upcoming Britney Spears concert will be given away during the match against Indiana on Friday, and fans can watch the match against No. 21 Illinois on Saturday for free by showing a ticket stub from the football game between Michigan and Ohio State earlier that day.
Win Tickets to See Britney Spears in Concert
Fans attending the volleyball match against Indiana at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 23) can enter to win two (2) tickets to the Britney Spears concert on Monday, Nov. 26, at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Fans must be present to win, as the tickets will be awarded during the match. The ticket giveaway is courtesy of Pepsi.
Keep the Good Times Rolling on Saturday
Fans can help pack Cliff Keen Arena to cheer on the Wolverines in their match against No. 21 Illinois at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 24). Fans who attend the football game against Ohio State Saturday afternoon will receive free admission to the volleyball match just by showing their ticket stub.
On Indiana
Michigan and Indiana are meeting for the 46th time. Indiana leads the series 28-16-1. The Wolverines defeated the Hoosiers in five games (30-25, 28-30, 30-28, 28-30, 15-11) on Oct. 13 in Bloomington, Ind., in the teams' first meeting this season. Indiana (8-18, 5-13 Big Ten) has picked up three of its five conference wins while on the road. Freshman outside hitter Christina Archibald and sophomore middle blocker Melissa Brewer lead the Indiana offense with averages of 3.74 and 3.15 kills per game, respectively. Archibald is sixth in the Big Ten with an average of 4.04 kills per game in conference matches. Freshman middle blocker Katie Pollom leads the way at the net with 1.02 blocks per game. Junior setter Laurie Gardner leads the team with 9.90 assists per game. Head coach Katie Weismiller is in her ninth season at Indiana and has a record of 136-142 at the school. In 11 years as a collegiate head coach, she is 186-166. Indiana on the Web: www.iuhoosiers.com.
On No. 21 Illinois
Michigan and Illinois are meeting for the 39th time. Illinois leads the series 26-12. Michigan fell to the Fighting Illini 3-1 (18-30, 28-30, 30-27, 27-30) on Oct. 12 in the season's first meeting. The Illini (19-7, 12-6 Big Ten) opened the conference season 2-4 before posting a record of 10-2 in the last 12 Big Ten matches to tie No. 16 Penn State for the third-best record in the league. Illinois is the best blocking team in the conference, with an average of 3.11 blocks per game in Big Ten action. Sophomore middle blocker Lisa Argabright leads the team and is third in the Big Ten with an average of 1.39 blocks per game in conference matches. Also helping out on defense is senior outside hitter Shadia Haddad, who leads the team and the conference with 3.74 digs per game in Big Ten play. Offensively, Argabright and Haddad lead the Illini with averages of 3.54 and 3.44 kills per game, respectively, in Big Ten matches. Junior setter Betsy Eiserman leads the team in assists with an overall average of 12.54 assists per game and an average of 12.25 assists per game in conference play. Don Hardin, in his sixth year at Illinois, has a record of 101-75 at the school and is 293-151 in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Illinois on the Web: www.fightingillini.com.
Wolverines Take Penn State to Five Games, Fall at Ohio State
Michigan visited then-No. 14 Penn State on Friday (Nov. 16) and took the Nittany Lions to five games but could not pull out the upset, falling 3-2 (30-23, 22-30, 30-26, 25-30, 9-15). Sophomore Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) led the way, posting career highs with 18 digs and seven blocks while adding 15 kills. Freshman Carrie Ritchie (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive HS) hammered home a career-high 13 kills, and freshman Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) led the team with 18 kills and added 14 digs for her 16th double-double of the season. Michigan closed out the final road trip of the Big Ten season with a 3-1 loss (13-30, 25-30, 30-26, 19-30) to the then-ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (Saturday, Nov. 17). The Wolverines were led by Ohio natives Ritchie, who recorded 10 kills, five digs and three blocks, and Moore, who had nine kills, six digs and five blocks.
Must-Win Weekend
Michigan, with a 12-13 record, must win both matches this weekend to finish the season with a winning percentage above .500, the minimum to be eligible for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. With the tragedies of Sept. 11, four matches were cancelled and not rescheduled. Without those four matches, every match in the Big Ten season meant even more toward earning a postseason berth. As a result, this weekend's matches, the final home series of the year -- vs. Indiana (Nov. 23) and vs. No. 21 Illinois (Nov. 24) -- will determine the fate of the Wolverines.
Getting in Position for the Postseason
The Big Ten has received at least five NCAA Tournament bids in each of the last eight seasons (since 1993). In each of the last four seasons, the conference has received at least six tournament bids, including a record eight bids in 1999. Michigan is seventh, two games behind sixth-place Minnesota.
Making a Case for the NCAA Tournament
Besides playing in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, Michigan has victories over three of eight teams (Michigan State, Minnesota and Penn State) that earned bids to the 2000 NCAA Championship tournament. Michigan was scheduled to face a ninth opponent, Notre Dame, but the match was cancelled due to the Sept. 11 tragedies.
No Backing Down
While a winning percentage above .500 is a minimum requirement to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, two of the most important factors are a team's won-lost record and its strength of schedule. Michigan will have a record near .500, but it has played one of the nation's toughest schedules. On the docket this season were 14 matches against nine teams that have been ranked in the top 25 for at least one week during the season. The Wolverines were also scheduled for 14 matches against eight teams that earned bids to the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
Other Factors in the Mix
In addition to the factors listed above, the NCAA selection committee will also consider head-to-head competition, results against common opponents, results of the ratings percentage index and significant wins and losses. Secondary factors in the process are late-season performance, site of match, results against teams already receiving at-large bids to the championship, and eligibility and availability of student-athletes.
Postseason Reputation
Michigan head coach Mark Rosen has been to the NCAA Tournament in eight of his nine seasons as a collegiate head coach. His California State-Bakersfield and Northern Michigan teams participated in the NCAA Division II Championship tournament six times, and he has led to U-M to the NCAA Division I Championship tournament in his first two seasons at the helm of the Wolverines. The only year he has not participated in the tournament was 1998 as the head coach at Boise State.
NCAA Tournament Selection Show
The NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. EST. The show will be live on Fox Sports South, Fox Sports West 2, Fox Sports Arizona and Empire Sports. The show is also available with the use of a C-Band satellite dish. The coordinates are Telstar 5, Transponder 23.
Tough at Home
Michigan's only two losses in 10 matches at home have been to ranked teams, then-No. 10 Ohio State (Oct. 19) and No. 6 Wisconsin (Nov. 9). Dating back to last season, U-M has won 15 of the last 18 matches at Cliff Keen Arena.
One Step at a Time
Michigan has improved its number of Big Ten wins in each of the last two seasons. U-M won four conference matches in 1998 which improved to seven in 1999, head coach Mark Rosen's first season. Last year, the team won eight Big Ten matches. With at least one win this weekend, the squad will finish the season with at least nine Big Ten victories, the most conference wins since posting a 13-7 mark in 1997. One win would also assure Michigan of its best Big Ten winning percentage since it finished with a winning percentage of .650 in the 1997 campaign.
Sharing the Workload
Michigan has had four or more players reach double-digit kills in eight of 22 matches this year, including two matches with five players in double figures.
Short and Long
In three-game sweeps and five-game battles, Michigan has a combined record of 10-6, including 6-3 when matches only go three games. However, when a match takes four games to decide, the Wolverines are 2-7.
Every Other Game
Michigan has found success in every other game this year. The team has a record of 37-20 in the odd numbered games (one, three and five) while posting a combined mark of 12-29 in games two and four.
A Pair of Records are Broken
Junior Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS) broke two school records last weekend at then-No. 14 Penn State (Nov. 16) and then-No. 9 Ohio State (Nov. 17). She recorded five block assists against the Nittany Lions, giving her the U-M single-season record for block assists in a conference season with 78. She set the previous record of 76 last season. At Ohio State (Nov. 17), she added three blocks to give her a total of 87 blocks in Big Ten play, a Michigan record for total blocks in a conference season. Lehman, in 2000, and Carla Hunter, in 1988, shared the previous mark of 85.
Closing in on Two More Records
Junior Katrina Lehman has moved into fourth on the U-M career block assists list with 272. She needs 16 more to catch Sarah Jackson (1994-97), who is third on the list with 288. With 117 total blocks this year, Lehman is closing in on U-M's single-season record of 132 (Linsey Ebert, 1997). She has 303 career blocks; the U-M record is 375 (Julia Sturm, 1987-90).
Break Out the Ballots I
It's about time for the coaches to select the annual All-Big Ten teams. In 20 years as a Big Ten sport, Michigan has had just three athletes on the All-Big Ten first or second team. This season alone, the Wolverines have three All-Big Ten candidates in senior Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) and sophomore Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) and junior Katrina Lehman. Melka is fourth in Big Ten play with an average of 12.41 assists per game, while Lehman is fifth overall in the conference with an average of 1.22 blocks per game. Moore leads Michigan with 3.24 kills per game and has hit .271 (318-128-700) this season, while providing 2.33 digs per game and 0.86 blocks per game on defense.
Break Out the Ballots II
Freshmen Jennifer Gandolph has found much success in her first trip around the conference and is a Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate. Gandolph is third in the Big Ten and leads the team in digs with an average of 2.89 digs per game in all matches. She is also second on U-M with 3.20 kills per game. She has recorded double-digit digs in 18 of the last 22 matches and has posted a kill-dig double-double in 16 matches this season, including a string of eight consecutive matches from Sept. 22 (at then-No. 9 Wisconsin) to Oct. 13 (at Indiana). Despite entering the season with a foot injury, she has played in every match this year, starting all but the season opener against then-No. 7 UCLA in Hawaii.
No Stopping Her
After spending much of the season in only the back row, freshman Carrie Ritchie has turned into an offensive option for the Wolverines. With 13 kills at then-No. 14 Penn State (Nov. 16), she reached double-digit kills for the first time in her career and set a career high for the fourth consecutive match. The following night at then-No. 9 Ohio State, she lead Michigan with 10 kills. It marked the first time she had led the team in kills in a match and the first back-to-back matches with 10 or more kills in her career.
Half Her Jersey
Senior setter Shannon Melka, who wears #12, tied her career high in kills with six in both matches last weekend (Nov. 16-17). She has recorded six kills three times in the last four matches and a total of five times this season. Over the course of her career, she has posted six kills 11 times.
On the List
Senior Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) has moved into sixth on the U-M all-time digs list with 939. She needs 92 more digs to catch former teammate Alija Pittenger (1997-2000), who is fifth on the list with 1,031 career digs. Senior setter Shannon Melka, with 903 career digs, is ninth on the Wolverines' all-time list. JoAnna Collias (1990-93) is the all-time leader at Michigan with 1,131 career digs.
Still Digging Away
Jennifer Gandolph has recorded double-digit digs in 18 of the last 22 matches. She posted a career-high 18 digs against Purdue (Oct. 27) and leads the Wolverines with 275 digs and an average of 2.89 digs per game in 25 matches. In conference play, she has dug 211 attacks in 74 games for an average of 2.85 digs per game. She is third in the Big Ten in overall digs per game and fourth in conference digs per game. She is one of just two freshmen among the top four in each category.
Senior Setter Near the Top of the Stats
Senior setter Shannon Melka added 93 assists last weekend and increased her assist total to 896 this season. Melka is fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 12.41 assists per game in league play. She has 4,462 career assists, good for second on the U-M all-time career assist list. Linnea Mendoza (1994-1997) holds the U-M career record with 5,072 assists.
Rosen Nearing Another Milestone
Head coach Mark Rosen, with a record of 47-40 at Michigan, is just three wins away from his 50th victory as a Wolverine. He will be the fourth of Michigan volleyball's six head coaches to reach the mark. Currently, Rosen's winning percentage of .540 gives him the highest winning percentage of any volleyball head coach at Michigan and makes him one of just two coaches to have winning record at the school (Sandy Vong, 177-151-7, .539).
Ask the Coach
Log on to MGoBlue.com to submit your questions to head coach Mark Rosen. Coach Rosen's responses to selected questions will be posted on Wednesdays throughout the season.
Co-Captains
The 2001 Michigan volleyball team has co-captains leading the squad, seniors Annie Maxwell (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) and Shannon Melka. Melka was a captain in 2000 as a junior as well.
Big Ten Standings (through 11/18/01)
BIG TEN OVERALL Teams W-L Pct. W-L Pct. 1. Wisconsin 17-1 .944 23-3 .885 2. Ohio State 15-3 .833 23-3 .885 3. Illinois 12-6 .667 19-7 .731 Penn State 12-6 .667 18-7 .720 5. Michigan State 11-7 .611 18-7 .720 6. Minnesota 10-8 .556 18-10 .643 7. MICHIGAN 8-10 .444 12-13 .480 8. Northwestern 5-13 .278 9-16 .360 Indiana 5-13 .278 8-18 .308 10. Iowa 3-15 .167 6-21 .222 11. Purdue 1-17 .056 4-23 .148
USA Today/AVCA Top 25 (11/19/01)
Rank, School (1st-place) Points Record Prev 1. Long Beach State (64) 1624 23-0 1 2. Nebraska (1) 1559 25-1 2 3. Stanford 1495 25-2 3 4. Arizona 1402 19-4 4 5. Southern Cal 1366 20-3 5 6. Wisconsin 1300 23-3 6 7. Florida 1233 23-1 7 8. Pepperdine 1150 21-3 10 9. Hawaii 1058 26-4 11 10. Colorado State 1003 25-2 8 11. UCLA 972 17-7 12 12. Ohio State 957 23-3 9 13. Utah 843 22-5 16 14. Pacific 792 24-7 15 15. Texas A&M 698 21-5 13 16. Penn State 632 19-7 14 17. Northern Iowa 587 27-1 17 18. Santa Clara 419 19-8 19 19. Kansas State 413 18-7 22 20. Brigham Young 411 19-7 18 21. Illinois 364 19-7 21 22. Michigan State 203 18-7 NR 23. South Carolina 174 19-5 20 24. Cal-Santa Barbara 172 16-12 23 25. Notre Dame 146 21-5 24
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
