Weekly Release #13
11/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 22 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CST
Friday, Nov. 29 -- vs. No. 14 Wisconsin (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30 -- vs. Northwestern (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Complete Release in PDF (5 pages, 98.4 KB)
Michigan Visits Purdue and Illinois in Final Big Ten Road Trip
The University of Michigan volleyball team (15-11, 9-7 Big Ten) takes its final regular-season road trip of the year when it tackles Purdue on Friday (Nov. 22) and Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 23). Friday's match with the Boilermakers is slated for a 6 p.m. start at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility in West Lafayette, Ind., while the Wolverines will face the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. CST at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill. Michigan enters the weekend in a tie with Ohio State and Northwestern for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference after splitting a home series last weekend. U-M fell to No. 6 Minnesota on Friday (Nov. 15) but rebounded to take down Iowa on Saturday (Nov. 16). The Wolverines are looking to reach 10 Big Ten victories for the fifth time in school history and the first time since posting a Michigan-record 13 conference victories in 1997.
Internet Extras
The official website for Michigan Athletics (MGoBlue.com) will carry live audio of all home Wolverine volleyball games for the 2002 season. MGoBlue.com will also feature live stats for all home matches.
About Purdue
Michigan and Purdue are meeting for the 48th time in series history. Purdue leads the all-time series 33-14, but U-M has won the last four meetings. Michigan defeated the Boilermakers 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-24) on Oct. 26 at Cliff Keen Arena. The Boilermakers are 11-18 overall and 1-15 in Big Ten play. Purdue's top options on offense are junior Joanna Lowry, who averages 3.87 kills per game, and sophomore Kim McConaha, who averages 3.51 kills per game. McConaha also leads the team with a .344 attack percentage and an average of 0.95 blocks per game. Freshman setter Renata Dargan averages 11.29 assists per game. Head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer has a record of 203-144 in 10 years as a collegiate head coach and is 43-76 in four years at Purdue. Purdue on the Internet: www.purduesports.com
About Illinois
Michigan and Illinois are meeting for the 45th time in series history. Illinois leads the series with a 30-14 record. Michigan won the first meeting this season 3-0 (30-25, 30-20, 30-26) on Oct. 25 at Cliff Keen Arena. Illinois owns an 11-14 overall record and a 5-11 mark in Big Ten after dropping eight of its last 10 matches. Junior Lisa Argabright and senior Sue Webber are the two most proficient attackers, averaging 3.23 and 3.04 kills per game, respectively. Argabright is also the team's top player at the net with an average of 1.18 blocks per game. Senior setter Betsy Eiserman is averaging 11.60 assists per game, while Webber leads the way with an average of 2.83 digs per game. Head coach Don Hardin has an overall record of 306-167 in 15 years as a collegiate head coach and is 108-88 in seven years at Illinois. Illinois on the Internet: www.fightingillini.com
Michigan Splits Matches Against Gophers and Hawkeyes
Michigan's nine-match home winning streak came to an abrupt halt Friday (Nov. 15) with a 3-0 (30-26, 30-24, 32-30) loss to the sixth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in front of 1,096 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines were led by juniors Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) and Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS). Poquette recorded 10 kills in 18 attempts with zero errors for a .556 hitting percentage, while Moore led the team with 12 kills. U-M rebounded the next night (Saturday, Nov. 16) as Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and Moore each recorded double-digit kills and hit over .400, leading the Wolverines to a three-game sweep (30-23, 30-23, 30-25) of Iowa in front of 1,005 fans. Gandolph led all attackers with 14 kills, completed her 14th double-double of the season with 10 digs and hit .423 (14-3-26). Moore tied Gandolph and Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield, Hills, Mich./Marian HS) for the match high in blocks with four, posted a season-high hitting percentage of .500 (12-2-20) and tied her career high with three service aces.
Thanks for the Support... Again
Michigan's combined attendance of 2,101 fans for the Minnesota (Nov. 15) and Iowa (Nov. 16) matches entered the record book as the sixth largest two-match weekend crowd in Michigan volleyball history. It is the third top-six weekend attendance total which has been recorded in the last two years. Earlier this season, U-M posted the sixth largest single-match attendance when 1,515 fans packed Cliff Keen Arena to see the Wolverines defeat then-No. 11 Penn State on Nov. 2.
Votes in the Poll
For the third consecutive week, Michigan received votes in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll (Nov. 18). The Wolverines collected 11 points for the second consecutive week, down from a season-high 97 points, the 27th highest total, in the Nov. 4 poll. This week marks the fifth time this season U-M has received votes, as it received 10 points in the USA Today/AVCA preseason poll (Aug. 12) and two points in the Oct. 7 poll.
Wolverines Hit Well Again
Michigan posted a team hitting percentage of .304 (48-14-112) Saturday night (Nov. 16) against Iowa. It marked the ninth time this season the Wolverines have hit over .300 in a match. U-M posted a season-high attack percentage of .385 (41-11-78) against Toledo (Sept. 19) at Cliff Keen Arena.
Moore Led the Hitting Parade
Erin Moore led the Wolverines' offense by hitting a season-high .500 (12-2-20) against the Hawkeyes on Saturday (Nov. 16). Her percentage is the fourth highest (minimum 15 attempts) by any Wolverines this season, tying Katrina Lehman's .500 (13-1-24) performance at Wisconsin (Oct. 19).
Nearing Uncharted Territory
Head coach Mark Rosen has helped Michigan increase its number of conference wins each of the three years he has been in charge of the program. The Wolverines won seven Big Ten matches in 1999, eight in 2000 and nine in 2001. Through 16 of 20 conference matches this season, U-M has won nine times.
Ten Big Ten Wins Will Bring Another Milestone
Michigan's next conference victory will be its 10th of the year, a mark that it has reached just four times in 20 years of conference play. The squad won 10 conference matches in 1991 under the guidance of Peggy Bradley-Doppes, while Greg Giovanazzi led the Wolverines to 11 Big Ten wins in 1992 and 1995 and a school-record 13 conference wins in 1997.
Lehman on Offense
Michigan's lone senior, Katrina Lehman, has been drawing attention for her blocking skills, but she has also been playing well on offense this season. She has posted double-digit kills in six of the last 10 matches. So far this season, she has recorded 10 or more kills in 11 of 26 matches. She posted a career-high 13 double-digit kill matches as a sophomore in 2000.
Multiple Record Book Entries for Lehman
Katrina Lehman, Michigan's all-time leader in total blocks and block assists, has a long list of additional places in the U-M record book where one can find her name. On offense, Lehman needs just one kill to tie JoAnna Collias (1990-93) for 10th place all-time at Michigan with 903 in her career. On defense, she needs one block to break a tie with Linsey Ebert (1995-98) for sole possession of the single-season record for total blocks (132; Ebert, 1997 and Lehman, 2002) and 17 blocks to tie the record for total blocks in a conference season (100; Lehman, 2001). Lehman is just six blocks shy of the school record for most block assists in a season (119; Lehman, 2001) and 24 short of the block assists in a conference season record (93; Lehman, 2001). She is also fifth all-time at U-M with 51 career block solos.
Coming Up for Lehman
Career Kills 1 Karen Chase 1,261 8 Fiona Davidson 992 9 Jeanine Szczesniak 909 10 JoAnna Collias 903 11 Katrina Lehman 902 Block Assists / Season 1 Katrina Lehman (2001) 119 2 Katrina Lehman (2000) 115 Linsey Ebert (1997) 115 Katrina Lehman (2002) 113 Block Assists / Conf. Season 1 Katrina Lehman (2001) 93 2 Katrina Lehman (2000) 76 3 Fiona Davidson (1992) 75 Katrina Lehman (2002) 69 Total Blocks / Season 1 Katrina Lehman (2002) 132 Linsey Ebert (1997) 132 3 Katrina Lehman (2000) 131 4 Katrina Lehman (2001) 130 Total Blocks / Conf. Season 1 Katrina Lehman (2001) 100 2 Katrina Lehman (2000) 85 Carla Hunter (1988) 85 Katrina Lehman (2002) 83
Balanced Attack
Michigan has had at least three players reach double digits in kills in 17 of 26 matches this season. Twice -- Alabama (Sept. 13) and then-No. 11 Penn State (Nov. 2) -- Michigan has had five of its six starters reach double-digit kills. In each of those matches, setter Lisa Gamalski, the only one not to reach double digits, chipped in with four kills. At Iowa (Sept. 27), four Wolverines reached double-digit kills, with Erin Moore and Jennifer Gandolph each posting a match-high 21 kills.
Gamalski in National Rankings
Lisa Gamalski continues to rank among the nation's best setters. However, she fell five spots to 17th in the nation in assists per game with an average of 13.02 in the latest NCAA rankings (Nov. 10). Katrina Lehman had been among the top 30 blockers in the nation but did not appear in the latest rankings.
Michigan in the National Rankings
Michigan is nationally ranked in three categories -- kills per game, assists per game and blocks per game -- in the latest NCAA rankings (Nov. 10). U-M fell 12 spots to 27th in kills per game (16.27) and fell eight spots to 22nd in assists per game (14.82). In blocks per game, Michigan moved up one spot to 29th with an average of 2.75.
Kills per game 1 Hawai'i 18.18 27 Michigan 16.27 Assists per game 1 Hawai'i 16.64 22 Michigan 14.82 Blocks per game 1 Notre Dame 3.74 29 Michigan 2.75
Blocking Bonanza
Michigan is on pace to have one of its best blocking years ever. The Wolverines have played just over 85 percent of their matches and have 436 block assists and 262 team blocks. If the team maintains the current pace, it will break the current school record of 466 block assists set in 2000 on Saturday (Nov. 23) at Illinois and approach the mark of 304.5 team blocks set in 1988 in the final match of the regular season.
Haven't I Seen This Before
Five of Michigan's six starters this season -- Katrina Lehman, Jennifer Gandolph, Erin Moore, Chantel Reedus and Nicole Poquette -- were regular starters during the 2001 season. The sixth starter, sophomore setter Lisa Gamalski, played in 16 of the team's 27 matches last season and started seven times.
Lehman Blocks Her Way to the Top of the Record Book
Katrina Lehman became Michigan's all-time blocks leader with a block assist in the fourth game of the match against Indiana (Oct. 4). She entered the season sixth on the list but now stands first with 448 career blocks. Lehman passed Julia Sturm (375, 1987-90) for the all-time record. Lehman also holds the block assists career record with 397, having passed Linsey Ebert (305, 1995-98) for the school record.
Not Just a Setter
Lisa Gamalski was not a setter when she started playing volleyball, and it shows. She leads the team in attack percentage and is second in digs per game. She has recorded 118 kills with just 34 errors in 296 attempts for a .284 attack percentage. Her hitting percentage had been above .300 for the first half of the season, but she suffered her first negative hitting game with one attack and two errors in seven chances against then-No. 9 Penn State (Oct. 11). On defense, Gamalski has 249 digs for an average of 2.62 per game, second to Jennifer Gandolph's 301 digs and 3.17 digs per game.
Postseason Reputation
Michigan head coach Mark Rosen has been to the NCAA Tournament in eight of his 10 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 led to U-M to the NCAA Division I Championship tournament in his first two seasons at the helm of the Wolverines. The only two years he has not participated in the tournament were 1998 as the head coach at Boise State and last season at Michigan.
Michigan Just Missed the Record for Consecutive Home Victories
Michigan's home winning streak ended at nine matches with the loss to No. 6 Minnesota (Nov. 16), tying the second-longest home winning streak in school history. Set between Nov. 5, 1983, and Sept. 25, 1984, the other nine-match streak includes five best-of-three tournament matches, one of which was against a two-year school (Lake Michigan Community College). The longest home winning streak is 10 consecutive victories from Sept. 8-25, 1983, and includes seven best-of-three tournament matches.
Home Sweet Home
Michigan suffered its first home loss against No. 6 Minnesota on Friday (Nov. 15) but defeated Iowa on Saturday (Nov. 16) to improve its record to 10-1 this season at Cliff Keen Arena. U-M was the last team in the Big Ten to lose at home this year. Dating back to a 3-0 (30-17, 30-20, 30-21) sweep of Northwestern on Nov. 10, 2001, the Wolverines are 12-2 in their last 14 at home. Including all of 2001, U-M is 21-4 at home in the last two years. In that span, Michigan has upset five ranked opponents, including three ranked foes this year (No. 16 Ohio State, Oct. 5; No. 18 Michigan State, Oct. 9; No. 11 Penn State, Nov. 2).
Bring It On
Michigan has played 20 of its 26 matches (77 percent) this season against 10 teams which have been ranked (Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pepperdine, Santa Clara, Wisconsin) and five teams which have received votes (Alabama, Cincinnati, Indiana, Northwestern, South Florida) in the USA Today/AVCA poll at least once this season. The Wolverines have two contests remaining against schools which have been ranked (at Illinois, Nov. 23; vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 29).
Serving Up Europe!
Michigan volleyball is planning a trip to Europe for the spring of 2003. The trip will be a chance for the athletes to compete against some of the best volleyball players in the world and experience the unique cultures in the countries they will visit. In an effort to help pay their own way, the team organized the Serving Up Europe! fund-raising program. Friends, family and fans of the program can sponsor an amount to donate for every Michigan service ace this season. Based on last season's 136 aces, a commitment of 25 cents per ace would equal a $34 donation. The team is also planning a winter volleyball camp for adults to help raise money. To sponsor the team, call coach Mark Rosen at 734-647-3035 or speak with him following a match.
Preseason Award
Erin Moore was selected to the 2002 preseason All-Big Ten volleyball team. She is the first Wolverine to be selected for the preseason all-conference squad since Sarah Jackson (1994-97) earned the honor prior to the 1997 season.
Moore Takes on Role of Captain
Erin Moore will serve as the captain of the 2002 Michigan volleyball team.
Big Ten Standings (Through 11-16-02)
Big Ten Overall 1. Minnesota 15-1 .938 28-3 .903 2. Penn State 11-5 .688 21-6 .778 Wisconsin 11-5 .688 20-7 .741 4. Ohio State 9-7 .563 15-10 .600 MICHIGAN 9-7 .563 15-11 .577 Northwestern 9-7 .563 16-12 .571 7. Indiana 8-8 .500 18-10 .643 Michigan State 8-8 .500 16-10 .615 9. Illinois 5-11 .313 11-14 .440 10. Iowa 2-14 .125 8-18 .308 11. Purdue 1-15 .063 11-18 .379
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
