Weekly Release #12
11/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
This Week's Schedule
Michigan (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten) at No. 16 Penn State (22-4, 11-3 Big Ten)
Friday, Nov. 14 7 p.m. Rec Hall State College, Pa.
Michigan at Ohio State (10-12, 4-10 Big Ten)
Sunday, Nov. 16 2 p.m. St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio
Television: Sunday's match will be televised live by the Ohio News Network (ONN).
Radio/Internet: Friday's (Nov. 14) match at Penn State will be broadcast live over the Internet and will have live stats that can be accessed at Penn State's site ... Sunday's (Nov. 16) match will not be broadcast.
Series Information: Michigan trails 3-23 in the all-time series with Penn State but has won two of the last four meetings with the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines have never won in State College, sporting an 0-11 record at PSU. Earlier this season, the Nittany Lions recorded a 3-2 (31-29, 31-33, 32-30, 26-30, 15-13) win at Cliff Keen Arena ... The Wolverines are 9-43 all-time against Ohio State and have won two of the last three outings, including a 3-0 (37-35, 30-24, 30-24) win to open the Big Ten season on Sept. 26 at Keen Arena. U-M has never won in Columbus and owns an all-time mark of 0-24 at OSU.
Opponent Information: For information on Penn State volleyball, visit www.gopsusports.com ... For information on Ohio State volleyball, visit www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
This Week's Storylines
Time and Date Change -- Due to the 3:30 p.m. kickoff of the Ohio State-Purdue football game in Columbus, the Wolverines' match at Ohio State has been pushed back to Sunday (Nov. 16) at 2 p.m. The match was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 15).
Looking for the Stopper -- Michigan has dropped its last two matches, tying a season high, and is looking to end the losing skid Friday (Nov. 14) at No. 16 Penn State. U-M has dropped back-to-back matches on only one other occasion this season, and responded with a three-match winning streak.
The Road Less Traveled -- The Wolverines head to State College, Pa., and Columbus, Ohio, looking for their first-ever wins in either city. Michigan is 0-11 at Penn State and owns an 0-24 mark at Ohio State.
The Big Ten's Most Complete Player -- Senior Erin Moore is arguably the leading candidate for the Big Ten's Player of the Year award as the conference's most complete player, as she ranks among the top eight in three different categories in league matches -- hitting percentage (4th - .326), kills (5th - 4.49 per game) and blocks (8th - 1.22 per game). No other player in the conference can claim that distinction.
Homecoming -- Associate head coach Leisa Rosen will travel to her alma mater this Sunday (Nov. 16) when the Wolverines visit Ohio State. Rosen, a 1992 graduate of OSU, was an All-American for the Buckeyes and named Ohio State's Female Athlete of the Year in 1991. Inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001, Rosen played for current Buckeye mentor Jim Stone.
News and Notes ...
Making a Move -- Junior Jennifer Gandolph jumped up to fourth place on U-M career kills chart over the weekend after posting back-to-back double-doubles against Michigan State and at Wisconsin. Gandolph, with 1,125 career terminations, moved past Michelle Horrigan (1,124 from 1989-93).
A Season to Remember -- Jennifer Gandolph is posting the highest kills per game and blocks per game totals of her career in 2003, averaging 3.88 and 3.34, respectively.
Doubling Up -- Jennifer Gandolph, who owns a team-high 16 double-doubles (kills-digs) this season, has posted double digits in two categories in six of her last seven outings, including four straight. Gandolph has 49 career double-doubles.
Points for Accuracy -- Senior Nicole Poquette, who head coach Mark Rosen calls "the stabilizer" on the floor for the Wolverines, is hitting .298 to tie for the team lead and holds U-M's top career hitting percentage with a .272 mark.
Leading the Youth Movement -- One of the continuing stories in the Big Ten this season is the domination of freshmen in blocking. Two rookies, including U-M's Megan Bowman, are listed as the top two blockers in the Big Ten's overall statistics. Bowman ranks second among freshmen in the Big Ten and overall with a team-best 1.33 blocks per game, trailing only Penn State's Cassy Salyer (1.48).
Looking for No. 3,000 -- Junior Lisa Gamalski will most likely become the third player in U-M history to record 3,000 career assists on Friday (Nov. 14) at No. 16 Penn State. Gamalski owns 2,982 career helpers, 18 shy of the 3,000 mark.
Playing Both Sides of the Net -- Lisa Gamalski's setting skills have Michigan ranked fourth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.253), while her assistance on defense has the Wolverines tied for third in the league in blocking (2.84 blocks per game) and ranked fifth in opponent's hitting percentage (.205). Gamalski, who is averaging a career-best 0.57 blocks per game in addition to 2.30 digs per game, has notched 10 or more digs in six of her last seven appearances, including four straight. Gamalski ranks seventh among the Big Ten's setters with 12.69 assists per game.
Double Trouble -- Lisa Gamalski has notched 10 of her 22 career double-doubles (assists-digs) this season, including six in the last seven matches. Gamalski has registered a double-double in each of her last four appearances.
Oh What a Night! -- Sophomore Candace Gay moved into the Wolverines' starting lineup at No. 22 Wisconsin last Friday (Nov. 7), replacing freshman Megan Bowman at middle blocker, and made an immediate impact, recording a career-high 18 kills while taking a career-best 33 swings. Gay has notched 10 or more kills in three of her last four outings, including two straight. Gay has also hit .350 or better in her last two outings, including a career-high .500 (11 kills-2 errors-18 attempts) against Michigan State last Wednesday (Nov. 5). Gay was one of U-M's starting middle blockers in the first two matches of the season.
Stepping Up -- Since freshman Danielle Pflum went down with an injury, redshirt freshman Erin Cobler has stepped up, taking over the starting role on the outside in Michigan's last five Big Ten matches. Since moving into the staring lineup at Minnesota (Oct. 24), Cobler has posted the first two 10-kill matches of her career and is averaging 1.83 kills per game, almost a full kill better than her season average of 0.87.
Back in Action -- Senior Chantel Reedus came off the bench to tally four kills last Wednesday (Nov. 5) against Michigan State, marking her first terminations since Sept. 26 vs. Ohio State. Reedus missed six matches after suffering an injury against the Buckeyes and had played in the back row since returning to action on Oct. 18 vs. Illinois. The MSU match marked her first action as an attacker in over a month. Reedus also stepped into the front row at No. 22 Wisconsin last Friday (Nov. 7), registering five kills in 14 swings.
Doing It All -- In addition to ranking fifth among the Big Ten's top attackers with a career-high 4.37 kills per game, Erin Moore ranks seventh in the conference in blocking with a career-best 1.23 blocks per game average.
Leaving a Legacy -- Erin Moore became U-M's career leader in kills last Friday (Nov. 7) at No. 22 Wisconsin, posting a team-high 19 to improve her total to 1,273, surpassing Karen Chase's mark of 1,261, set from 1995-98. Moore, who is hitting a career-best .298 this season, ranks fourth in career hitting percentage at U-M with a .264 mark and is 88 attempts away from tying the school record for career hitting attempts. In addition to her attacking skills, Moore ranks second in U-M history for block assists and total blocks with 34-352-386 totals.
Sweet Sixteen -- Erin Moore has notched 10 or more terminations in all but two matches this season, including each of her last 15 appearances. The streak marks the most consecutive 10-kill matches of her career.
Posting a Streak of Her Own -- Junior Sarah Allen, the Wolverines' libero, continues to have a career year and ranks second on the team with a career-best 2.73 digs per game. Allen, who ranks 16th in the Big Ten in digs per game, has posted 10 or more digs in 14 matches this season, including nine of her last 10 appearances and a career-high seven straight. Entering the 2003 campaign, Allen had just one match with at least 10 digs.
Freeballs -- In the latest NCAA statistics (through matches of Nov. 2), Michigan is 15th in blocks per game, 19th in assists per game and 20th in kills per game. Individually, Lisa Gamalski ranks 30th in assists per game ... Erin Cobler is tied for 14th in the latest Big Ten rankings with 0.25 service aces per game. Cobler leads the team with 19 unreturnable serves ... With its 3-2 loss to Michigan State last Wednesday (Nov. 5), Michigan concluded the fall portion of the Pontiac Challenge Cup with a 5.5-0.5 victory for the Wolverines. U-M won seven of the eight events in the sports of football, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, volleyball and field hockey ... Percy Stamps, Michigan's long-time public-address announcer, was honored before the Michigan State match with a lifetime membership to the Blue Aces Club, the booster organization for U-M volleyball ... Michigan's loss to MSU at Cliff Keen Arena snapped a four-match winning streak against the Spartans at home ... Erin Cobler's three block solos against Michigan State are a career high ... Erin Moore tallied a season-high three aces at No. 22 Wisconsin, tying a career high.
Next Up - Wrapping Up the Home Season ...
The Wolverines will return to Cliff Keen Arena for their final two home matches of the 2003 regular season, hosting Iowa and Minnesota on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start. Prior to the Minnesota match, Michigan will honor its three seniors -- Erin Moore, Nicole Poquette and Chantel Reedus.
If You've Been With Us All Season, These May Look Familiar ...
Playing the Percentages -- Michigan is 13-2 this season with it hits .250 or better, and the Wolverines have topped the .250 mark in four of their last five matches. In games in which they hit .300 or better, the Wolverines are 5-0, while U-M owns a 2-0 record when recording a hitting percentage of .400 or better.
Anytime, Anywhere -- The motto "Anytime, Anywhere" was adopted by the Michigan volleyball team for its trip to Prague, Czech Republic, in August, and it seems the Wolverines have brought that mantra into the season. So far, U-M has won eight matches away from Cliff Keen Arena, surpassing last seasons total of five. The Wolverines, with a 4-2 record on the road in Big Ten play, have already posted the most conference road wins since 1997, when U-M triumphed in six of its 10 road contests. Prior to this year, Michigan had recorded no more than two wins on the road in conference play during each of the last five seasons.
Layin' the Smackdown -- U-M's 30-9 win in the third game of its 3-0 (30-25, 30-18, 30-9) win at Iowa on Oct. 25 marked the first time the Wolverines have held an opponent to single digits in a 30-point game in the three seasons the rally-scoring-to-30 format has been used. The previous low was 12 points against Florida Atlantic earlier this season (Aug. 29) in a 30-26, 28-30, 30-12, 30-18 victory at the Florida State Invitational.
Home Sweet Home -- U-M is 8-5 at Cliff Keen Arena this season and has posted exactly 11 wins at home in each of the last three seasons. The Wolverines have two home matches remaining on their schedule.
Sweep Success -- Michigan's victories at Indiana and Purdue on Oct. 10-11 marked the first weekend road sweep for the Wolverines since 1997, when U-M went on the road and downed Minnesota and Iowa in back-to-back days.
Triple Play -- Michigan captured three of its four pre-conference tournaments, marking the second time in school history U-M has won three in-season tournaments. The Wolverines captured the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, Tennessee's Toyota Lady Vol Classic and the Michigan/Nike Challenge this season, equaling the feat set by the 1987 squad, which took three of its four in-season tournaments.
State Pride Banner Stays at Michigan -- Michigan retained the State Pride Series Banner, awarded annually to the winner of the Michigan-Michigan State series, by virtue of a 5-3 lead in games won. The last time Michigan, which captured the banner with a sweep of the Spartans last season, won consecutive State Pride Banners was from 1990-92, the first three years of the competition. Each team won a match this season, with U-M posting a 3-0 sweep in East Lansing on Oct. 1 and the Spartans recording a 3-2 victory in Ann Arbor on Nov. 5.
Crowded Houses -- An even 2,800 fans, including a season-high 1,486 against No. 12 Penn State (Sept. 27), saw Michigan face Ohio State (Sept. 26) and Penn State, marking the second-highest weekend series attendance total in school history. The record is 3,066, set on Nov. 6-7, 1992, when U-M also hosted the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions ... U-M's 1,800 fans against Michigan State on Nov. 5 marked the fourth-largest crowd in Michigan history.
This Seems Awfully Familiar ... -- The Wolverines' starting lineup may look a little familiar to those who have been watching the team for the past few seasons. Five of the six regular starters from last season -- juniors Lisa Gamalski and Jennifer Gandolph, along with seniors Erin Moore, Chantel Reedus and Nicole Poquette -- are back in 2003. Gamalski is in her second season as the regular starter at setter, while Gandolph, Moore, Reedus and Poquette have been regular starters since the 2001 campaign.
Taking On the Top 25 -- U-M is 1-6 against ranked opponents this season, dropping matches to No. 15 Kansas State (Aug. 29), No. 16 Louisville (Sept. 7), No. 12 Penn State (Sept. 27), No. 20 Wisconsin (Oct. 4), No. 25 Minnesota (Oct. 24) and No. 22 Wisconsin (Nov. 7) while defeating No. 14 Michigan State (Oct. 1). The Wolverines have seven teams that are currently ranked by the AVCA on their 2003 schedule.
Increasing Understanding of the Game -- In the final boxscores and cumulative statistics this season, there is a new "points" column. Points is a new statistic to allow fans and media new to the game a better understanding of the game of volleyball. Points are accumulated by adding kills, service aces and blocks (1 point for a solo, .5 for assists). The points feature allows fans and media to see how a certain player performed overall in a match. For example, if Erin Moore has a career-high 30 kills and scores 40 points, you can see that she has more weapons than just her offensive totals.
Oddities -- Since the Big Ten has 11 teams, each year there is a team that is considered the odd team because they do not have a travel partner. This year Wisconsin is the lone traveling team. When travel partners (i.e., Michigan and Michigan State) play each other on Wednesday night, they will play Wisconsin on either Friday or Saturday.
Moore Named Preseason All-Big Ten -- Senior Erin Moore was one of 12 student-athletes named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, marking the second straight year she has been selected to the squad. Moore earned All-Mideast Region honorable mention from the AVCA in 2002, becoming just the second U-M player in the program's history to receive all-region accolades from the AVCA. Moore was also named to the 12-member All-Big Ten team, improving upon her All-Big Ten honorable mention laurels in 2001.
U-M Picked Seventh In Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll -- The Wolverines were tabbed to finish seventh in the Big Ten by the leagues head coaches. Michigan, which tied for sixth in the Big Ten last year with a 10-10 mark, has improved its win total and position in the Big Ten standings during each year of head coach Mark Rosen's tenure. Last year's 10 wins were the most in league play since the 1997 campaign.
Serving Up Europe! -- The U-M volleyball team traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, Aug. 14-24 to compete against club teams in the Prague area as part of its preseason training. Player journals and photos from the Wolverines' trip are available on MGoBlue.com.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
