Weekly Release #11
11/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
This Week's Schedule
Michigan (15-8, 5-7 Big Ten) at Indiana (7-11, 2-8 Big Ten)
Friday, Nov. 5 7 p.m. University Gym Bloomington, Ind.
Michigan (15-6, 5-5 Big Ten) at Purdue (11-11, 4-8 Big Ten)
Saturday, Nov. 6 7 p.m. Intercollegiate Athletic Facility West Lafayette, Ind.
Radio/Internet: Both matches will be carried live on the Sports Pass on mgoblue.com.
This Week's Storylines
Two in the Top 10
Freshman Lyndsay Miller and sophomore Megan Bowman rank in the top 10 in the Big Ten in blocks this season. Miller is third with 1.29 blocks per game, while Bowman is eighth with 1.12.
100th Match
Senior Sarah Allen competes in her 100th match with the Maize and Blue against Indiana this week.
NCAA Tournament
No Michigan team has failed to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament with 16 or more wins.
Fast Start
Michigan began the season 8-0, tying a program-best start before suffering its first loss and jumped out to a 14-2 record, the best start in program history.
Slump Busters
Michigan, Indiana and Purdue have all fallen on hard times in October. Indiana has dropped 13 of its last 15 matches, losing 10 in a row at one point. Purdue has lost eight of its last 10 matches and is on a three-match losing streak (all 3-0 losses). Michigan has lost six of its last seven, dropping three straight. This weekend is a chance for these teams to break out of their slumps and move up the Big Ten standings.
Gandolph in Sports Illustrated
Senior Jennifer Gandolph was honored by Sports Illustrated in its Faces in the Crowd section after breaking three major statistical records at Michigan this season. Gandolph is the all-time leader in kills, digs and attempts.
Michigan vs. the Top 25
Michigan is 1-5 against teams ranked in the Top 25 this season, defeating then No. 22 Tennessee (currently ranked No. 17). Michigan posted a 2-9 record against Top 25 teams in 2003, downing No. 14 Michigan State and No. 18 Illinois.
Michigan vs. Indiana
Michigan pulled out a close, 3-2 win over Indiana on October 2nd at Cliff Keen Arena, coming back from 2-1 down. Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski led the way with 19 kills, while Jennifer Gandolph had 16 and Lyndsay Miller had 14.
Michigan vs. Purdue
Michigan defeated Purdue, 3-1 on October 1st at Cliff Keen Arena. Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski led five Wolverines in double-digit kills with 17, while Jennifer Gandolph had 16, Lyndsay Miller had 15, Erin Cobler had 14 and Megan Bowman had 10.
Gandolph Against the State of Indiana
Though senior Jennifer Gandolph hails from the great state of Indiana, she has terrorized teams from the Hoosier State throughout her career at Michigan. Gandolph has helped Michigan to a 15-3 record against teams from Indiana, keeping Michigan undefeated in 2001, 2003 and thus far, in 2004. Gandolph is averaging 16.5 kills and 14 digs per match against Indiana squads, putting up 14 double-doubles and notching nearly 300 (297) of her career kills against her home state.
4,000 Assists and Counting
Senior Lisa Gamalski recorded her 4,000th assist at Illinois on October 8, making her just the third Wolverine in program history to accomplish the feat. Gamalski is currently third all-time at U-M in assists, needing 268assists to move into second place past Shannon Melka.
Freshman Leader
Lyndsay Miller has been a force in the middle, leading Michigan and third in the Big Ten with 1.29 blocks per game this season. Miller leads the team with 276.5 points, while also leading the Wolverines in blocks in 15 of 22 matches this season.
Aces Wilds
Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski recorded a pair of aces at No. 8 Ohio State (10/16), giving her 28 service aces on the season, one better than last year's leader, All-American Erin Moore. Bruzdzinksi is second in the Big Ten with 0.42 aces per game.
100th Win
Head coach Mark Rosen recorded his 100th win at Michigan against Northwestern this season.
Home Cooking
Michigan is 10-3 at home this season after posting a 9-6 record at Cliff Keen Arena in 2003. U-M has notched nine or more wins at home in each of the last four seasons, tallying 11-win home seasons in 2000, 2001 and 2002, all school records.
Big Ten Improvement
Since head coach Mark Rosen took the helm in 1999, U-M has improved its conference win total every season. The Wolverines won seven conference matches in 1999, eight in 2000, nine in 2001, 10 in 2002 and 12 in 2003.
100th Match
Senior Lisa Gamalski played in her 100th career match against Northwestern on Friday, Nov. 22. Gamalski has played in every match for the Wolverines since the 2002 season.
50 Match Milestones
Sophomores Megan Bowman and Erin Cobler competed in their 50th matches for the Wolverines on Friday, Oct. 22 against Northwestern.
First Career Double-Double
Sophomore Danielle Pflum recorded the first double-double of her career with 11 kills and a career-high 12 digs at No. 8 Ohio State (10/16).
Hitting the Sweet Spot
Michigan has outhit its opponents in all but six matches this season, slipping below .200 just five times in 21 contests. In contrast, Michigan has allowed just 12 of 21 opponents to hit better than .125, while holding five opponents below .058 hitting. Only four teams have hit better than .271 against the Wolverines this season. U-M is third the Big Ten in lowest opponent hitting percentage (.177).
Setting Career Highs Two Nights in a Row- Then Doing it AGAIN!
Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski set career highs for kills in back-to-back nights, recording 17 kills against Purdue (10/1) and then 19 kills against Indiana (10/2) before upping the ante two matches later with 20 kills at No. 24 Illinois (10/8). Bruzdzinski's previous best was 14 kills, set on opening day at Valparaiso (9/1).
Double-Double-Double-Double-Double-Double-Double
Senior Lisa Gamalski recorded seven straight double-doubles, from September 17 vs. Western Michigan to Ocotber 2 vs. Indiana. Gamalski threw in her first career triple-double against Tennessee to make it interesting. She leads U-M regulars in assists and attack percentage, is second in digs and seventh in blocks and eighth in kills.
School Record for Service Aces
Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski broke a nine-year school record for service aces, recording eight aces against Virginia Tech on September 17 in the Michigan/Nike Invitational. The previous record was set in 1996 by Sarah Jackson against Notre Dame. The record was tied in 2000 by Katrina Lehman who nailed six aces past Michigan State in five games.
Five For the Ages
Five U-M players posted double-digit kills against No. 21 Illinois (10/30) and Purdue (10/1), the first time that had happened since September 13, 2002 against Alabama.
News and Notes ...
Record-Setting Season
With 21 wins last season, Michigan cracked the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 1997. U-M posted 40 wins in 1981 while winning the Big Ten Conference title.
300 Career Wins
Head coach Mark Rosen notched his 300th career victory in a 3-0 win over Oakland University in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge. Rosen now has 98 wins at the helm for the Maize and Blue, third-best all-time.
Gandolph's 100
Senior Jennifer Gandolph played in her 100th collegiate match against No. 22 Tennessee on September 18, notching a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs against the Volunteers.
Gandolph Making More History
Jennifer Gandolph climbed a pair of Michigan plateaus in the opening weeks of the 2004 season, recording 81 attempts in the first four matches of the season, making her first all-time at Michigan in attempts and then shattering the school record for digs vs. Western Michigan in the third week of the season.
Sweeps Weeks
Michigan swept eight of its first 11 opponents this season.
Record Setting Performance
Michigan set a school record against Manhattan on September 4 when it hit .525 as a team, the most efficient attack percentage in 31 years of U-M volleyball. The previous record was set in 1991 against Iowa.
Non-Conference Action
U-M concluded its non-conference schedule with a 10-1 record. Last season, Michigan posted a 9-4 non-conference record.
Three-Time Tournament MVP
Senior Lisa Gamalski earned three tournament MVP awards in three weeks, taking home the hardware from both Michigan tournaments and the Manhattan College Invitational.
Three Tournament Crowns in Three Weeks
Michigan captured the 2004 Michigan/Nike Invitational with victories over Virginia Tech and No. 22 Tennessee, while the Wolverines took the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge with resounding wins over Eastern Michigan, Oakland University and Florida State. One week prior, the Maize and Blue captured the Manhattan College Invitational with victories over Maryland-Eastern Shore, Manhattan and American University.
All-Tournament Wolverines
Senior Lisa Gamalski earned Tournament MVP honors in the Michigan/Nike Invitational, Michigan/Pepsi Challenge and at the Manhattan College Invitational, while senior Jennifer Gandolph earned all tournament team honors in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge and the Manhattan College Invitational. Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski and sophomore Megan Bowman captured all tournament team honors at the Michigan/Nike Invitational, whil sophomore Erin Cobler and freshman Lyndsay Miller added all-tournament team honors to their resumes at the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge.
A Little Help to 300 Career Wins
Head coach Mark Rosen and his coaching staff are entering their sixth season together at Michigan, but have a lot of history together. Associate head coach, Leisa Rosen (Mark's wife) has coached with Mark since 1994 at Northern Michigan, helping him earn each of his victories since. Assistant head coach, Jun Liu, was a star player on the Rosens' Northern Michigan squad in 1994-96 before joining the staff as a coach. Liu spent one year at Marquette before rejoining Mark and Leisa at Michigan when the two were hired to take over the program, meaning Liu has been a part of a majority of Mark's victories too.
Record-Setting Season II
Michigan set the school record for the best hitting percentage last season, recording a .250 mark. The previous best was .246, set in 2002. U-M also set a new single-season record with 633 block assists, surpassing the previous best of 514 in 2002. Only two U-M teams recorded more than 500 block assists.
Pack the House
In 2003, 2,947 fans packed into Cliff Keen Arena to see Michigan face Iowa (Nov. 21) and No. 22 Minnesota (Nov. 22), marking the second-highest weekend total in school history (just 119 fans shy of the school record of 3,066, set on Nov. 6-7, 1992. 2,800 fans, including a season-high 1,486 against No. 12 Penn State (Sept. 27), saw Michigan face Ohio State (Sept. 26) and the Nittany Lions in 2003, marking the third-highest weekend series attendance total in school history.
Top Five Home Crowds in 2004
1,721 vs. Michigan State (Oct. 6)
1,583 vs.Western Michigan (Sept. 17)
1,526 vs. Northwestern (Oct. 22)
1,458 vs. Florida State (Sept. 11)
1,408 vs. Oakland University (Sept. 11)
Freshmen Debuts
Three U-M freshmen made their debuts in the Maize and Blue's season opening win over Valparaiso. Katie Bruzdzinski and Lyndsay Miller started the match, while Stesha Selsky subbed in liberally throughout the match. Bruzdzinski opened her collegiate career in style, leading U-M in kills (14), aces (2) and points (17.5), while narrowly missing a double-double with nine digs. Miller had six kills and tied for the team lead with four blocks. Selsky led the team with 14 digs, while adding seven assists and her first collegiate kill.
U.S. Junior National Team Recruits
Head coach Mark Rosen has brought in two U.S. Junior National Team players this season in Katie Bruzdzinski and libero Stesha Selsky. Bruzdzinski played for the national team from 2000-03, while Selsky played during the 2003 season. Senior Jennifer Gandolph was Rosen's first U-M recruit with U.S. Junior National Team ties in 2001.
2004 Recruiting Class
Head coach Mark Rosen might have his deepest recruiting class yet with five outstanding freshmen and two transfer students joining the Wolverines for the 2004 season. Rosen's recruiting class was ranked No. 6 nationally by prepvolleyball.com. Heading the list was prepvolleyball.com's No. 23 Senior Ace Katie Bruzdzinksi, followed by its No. 25 Senior Ace Lyndsay Miller. Sarah Draves ranked No. 56 among the nation's seniors and Stesha Selsky came in at No. 78. Freshman Mara Martin ranked No. 100 in the nation, capping the incoming freshman class of 2004. St. John's University sophomore transfer Erin Poglits ranks fifth all-time with the Red Storm in career assists, despite playing just one season. St. Clair Community College junior transfer Megan Knoebel joins the Maize and Blue after leading her team in assists last season and holding the team's highest serve percentage her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Next Up -- The Highest Ranked Team in the Big Ten ...
The Wolverines return home after their swing through Indiana to face the highest ranked team in the Big Ten, Minnesota, on Friday, Nov. 12. Michigan fell to the Gophers in Minneapolis earlier this season when Minnesota was ranked number one in the nation. After facing Minnesota, Michigan will host Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Milestone Tracker ...
Candace Gay is one kill shy of 100 career kills ... Megan Bowman needs seven blocks to record 250 for her career ... Katie Bruzdzinski needs 37 kills to notch 250 for her career.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
