Weekly Release #13
11/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
This Week's Schedule
Michigan (13-12, 7-9 Big Ten) at #15 Wisconsin (19-6, 11-5 Big Ten)
Friday, Nov. 18 8 p.m. EDT Wisconsin Field House
Michigan (13-12, 7-9 Big Ten) at Northwestern (16-10, 7-9 Big Ten)
Saturday, Nov. 19 8 p.m. EDT Welsh-Ryan Arena
Radio/Internet: Both matches will air LIVE on MGoBlue.com (subscription) with play-by-play by Richard Retyi.
The Scouting Report ...
An Inside Look at Wisconsin (Wisconsin leads the series, 37-15)
Michigan defeated Wisconsin, 3-2, in one of the biggest upsets in school history on Oct. 22, handing the then-No. 7 Badgers just their third loss of the season. Katie Bruzdzinski led four Wolverines in double-digit kills with 26, while Stesha Selsky led three Wolverines in double-digit digs with 26. Lyndsay Miller also set a career high with 19 kills, adding eight blocks and four digs to her stat line.
Wisconsin has lost three of its last six matches since falling at Michigan, losing to Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota. The Badgers find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten with Minnesota and Ohio State, with Purdue one win behind.
The last time the Wolverines swept the season series against Wisconsin was in 1992 when U-M took a 3-2 win on Oct. 3 and, 27 days later, won 3-1 on Oct. 30.
An Inside Look at Northwestern (Michigan leads the series, 29-22)
The Wildcats shocked the Wolverines on Rock The House night in Cliff Keen Arena, pulling off a 3-0 sweep and defeating Michigan for the first time since 2002. Michigan has dominated Northwestern of late, winning seven of the last 10 and 17 of the last 20 matches. Katie Bruzdzinski was the only Wolverine with double-digit kills with 16, while Stesha Selsky stood on her head defensively with 24 digs in the three-game match.
Northwestern is on a hot streak, winning the last four matches, including victories over Purdue and Minnesota, leaping into the voting in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, being listed 29th. The Wildcats are tied with Michigan for sixth place in the Big Tenwith each squad two wins up on the eighth place team, Michigan State. Two of Northwestern's final three opponents dwell near the bottom of the conference standing (Michigan State and Indiana) while the Wildcats will be hard pressed to contend with Wisconsin. On the flip side, three of Michigan's final four opponents are at or near the top of the standings, with Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin on the docket.
This Week's Storylines ...
Selsky Digging Her Way Into the Records
On November 5 vs. Iowa, sophomore Stesha Selsky became U-M's single-season leader in digs, passing Alija Pittenger on the all-time list. Selsky had the fourth-most single-season digs in her freshman campaign, setting a freshman record for digs. Selsky is on pace to become just the seventh Wolverine in U-M volleyball history to record 1,000 digs or more in a career. She is also just 16 digs away from cracking the top-10 list for career digs in U-M volleyball history.
Gay Fills In the Middle
5th/senior Candace Gay earned her first six starts of the season, replacing injured junior Megan Bowman. Gay is averaging 1.71 kills and a team-high 1.24 blocks per game over the last four matches, tallying a career-best seven blocks on two occasions. Gay has made just 12 starts in her collegiate career.
Martin Reaches 1,000 Assist Mark
Sophomore/freshman Mara Martin became just the 10th player in Michigan volleyball history to record 1,000 assists in her career when she passed the mark against Iowa (Nov. 5) and is listed eighth on U-M's career assists list with 1,098 assists. Martin is 134 assists shy of moving into seventh place on U-M's all-time assists list.
Rosen Wins His 325th
Head coach Mark Rosen recorded the 325th win of his collegiate coaching career with a 3-1 decision over Iowa (Nov. 5). Rosen holds Michigan's best career winning percentage and has won 117 matches with the Maize and Blue in his seven seasons at the helm.
The Michigan 500s
Five Wolverines reached the 500 kill milestone this season, led by sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski, who was the second-fastest Wolverine to hit the milestone in program history (42 matches). Sophomore Lyndsay Miller recorded her 500th kill in 52 matches -- becoming the fourth-fastest Wolverine to hit the mark, while senior/junior Erin Cobler and juniors Megan Bowman and Danielle Pflum hit the milestone in their third seasons with the Wolverines. Jennifer Gandolph was the fastest Wolverine to 500 kills (38 matches), while Erin Moore was the third fastest (48 matches).
The Big Ten Race to the NCAA Tournament
Michigan has never failed to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament with a record .500 or better under head coach Mark Rosen. The Wolverines must finish the season with a 2-2 record or better to qualify for NCAA Tournament consideration with a record of .500 or above. A brief look at the remaining schedule:
The Good
Michigan is on a three-match winning streak, registering more kills and more digs than its last four opponents and recording a better hitting percentage than its last four foes.
Four of Wisconsin's six losses this season have come in the last seven matches.
Two of Michigan's final four matches are at home, where the Wolverines have won 75% of the time this year.
The Big Ten has led the nation in NCAA Tournament selections the last three seasons, sending seven teams in 2003 and 2004 and a record-tying eight teams in 2002.
The Bad
The Wolverines are 1-3 this season against their four remaining opponents.
Three of the Wolverines next four opponents are nationally ranked (#2 Penn State, #15 Wisconsin, #17 Ohio State), while Northwestern is receiving votes, listed 29th in the poll.
Michigan's remaining opponents are 60-18 overall this season.
Northwestern is on a four-match win streak, with wins over nationally ranked squads Purdue and Minnesota.
State Pride Series Win
Michigan's 3-0 sweep over Michigan State on November 9 handed the Wolverines the State Pride Series title for the fourth year in a row, extending U-M's all-time lead to 9-7. Michigan also retained the State Pride Series flag, which now resides in a custom built mahogany case made by head coach Mark Rosen. The case contains the original State Pride Series flag which was flown over the state capitol building on Sept. 18, 1990 to inauguarate the first season of the State Pride Series.
Michigan Wins Its 500th
The University of Michigan volleyball program tallied its 500th all-time win with a stunning 3-2 victory over No. 7 Wisconsin. In 33 years of existence, Michigan volleyball has posted a 503-515 record. The program's first win came on October 24, 1973 against Kellogg Community College, while the first program win over a four-year institution came over Eastern Michigan University on November 3, 1973.
Defeating #7s
The seventh-ranked Wisconsin Badgers are the highest ranked opponent to fall to the Wolverines in program history - equaling Michigan's win over No. 7 BYU in 1999. Coincidentally, Michigan's win over BYU came in head coach Mark Rosen's season-opening debut with the Wolverines. Rosen has 14 wins over Top 25 teams since taking over at the University of Michigan.
Selsky Among the Nation's Best in Digs
Sophomore Stesha Selsky is second in the conference with 5.69 digs per game. Selsky is 0.19 digs per game behind three-time All-American Paula Gentil, who leads the conference with 5.88 digs per game. Selsky ranked 13th in the nation last week and should remain near the top 10 this week (NCAA statistics released on Wednesdays).
Katie Bruzdzinski Terminates
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski is fifth in the conference in kills, averaging 3.97 terminations per game.
Martin Making Her Mark
Freshman Mara Martin leads all Big Ten freshman setters and moves up to fourth in the conference with 12.62 assists per game.
Miller Blocks With the Best in the Big Ten
Sophomore Lyndsay Miller stands eighth in the Big Ten in blocks per game, tallying 1.26 rejections per game.
Wolverine Streaks
Sophomore Stesha Selsky has recorded double-digit digs in each of the last 16 matches, including nine 20+ dig outings in that span ... Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski has had double-digit kills in each of the last 10 matches and has done the deed in 21 of 25 matches this season ... Senior/junior Erin Cobler has competed in 82 consecutive matches ... Sophomore Lyndsay Miller has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last five matches.
All The News That's Fit to Print ...
Bowman Chasing the Blocking Record
Junior Megan Bowman sits seventh on the all-time blocks list with 352 rejections. She needs four blocks to climb to sixth place and 12 to move into fifth. Katrina Lehman is the all-time leader in blocks with 472, 40 more than the next-best total.
Draves Debuts
Filling in this weekend, sophomore Sarah Draves played all three games at Ohio State (Oct. 15), recording a career-best 10 kills and adding two digs. Draves tallied two kills the previous night at Penn State giving her 12 kills on the weekend -- or 150% more than her previous collegiate career total. Draves has played in just 11 matches in her career, tallying 20 kills.
Bruzdzinski and Selsky Named Big Ten Players of the Week
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski was named Big Ten Player of the Week and sophomore Stesha Selsky was honored as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for their exploits against Eastern Michigan, Georgia and Georgia Tech last week. It was the first time since the Big Ten added the defensive player of the week honor that a school has monopolized the weekly awards. Bruzdzinski had career highs in kills and blocks last week, recording the second-most single-match kills in program history with 33 against Georgia. Selsky had a career-best 33 digs against Georgia (tied for third-most in a single match in U-M history) and added 27 digs against the Eagles. The honor was the first for both players and the first for Michigan since November of 2002 when Jennifer Gandolph earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
Acing the Illini
Michigan's 12 service aces vs. Illinois (Oct. 7) were the most in a match since the Wolverines tallied 13 on September 17, 1999 against South Carolina.
Rosen's 200th is Michigan's 150th
Head coach Mark Rosen coached his 200th match at the helm of the Maize and Blue in the match against Iowa, helping the Wolverines capture their 150th Big Ten Conference victory.
Three For the Record Books
Michigan's 3-2 victory over Georgia (Sept. 16) in the Georgia Invitational put three Wolverines into the record books for single-match kills, digs, assists and attempts. Below are the recordbreakers and their feats:
Katie Bruzdzinski - 33 kills (third most), 72 attempts (tied for third most)
Mara Martin - 81 assists (fourth most)
Stesha Selsky - 33 digs (tied for third most)
Bruzdzinski was the closest to setting a new school record, falling just one termination shy of equaling the program record (34 kills by Sarah Behnke in 1999). Bruzdzinski is the first Wolverine since Behnke to crack the 30-kill mark, while Martin is just one of three setters to top 80 assists.
Katie Bruzdzinski's Breakout Season
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski set the freshman record for most kills in a season in 2004 and has already installed herself in the record books, thanks to a 33-kill performance against Georgia (Sept. 16) -- the second-most single-match kills in program history. Bruzdzinski is just nine kills shy of 500-career terminations and at this pace will finish with over 400 kills on the year -- a feat only eight Wolverines have accomplished in 32 years of U-M volleyball.
Georgia Invitational Champions
Michigan captured its second-straight tournament of the season with wins over Georgia and Georgia Tech at the Georgia Invitational. U-M's, 3-2 win over the host Bulldogs and a 3-0 sweep of the Yellow Jackets paved the way for a season tourney crown (following the Michigan Pepsi/Nike Invitational title) and three spots on the all-tournament team.
Sophomores Katie Bruzdzinski and Lyndsay Miller and senior/junior Erin Cobler each earned their second all-tournament team honor in as many weeks. Bruzdzinski recorded 33 kills against Georgia and 17 against the Yellow Jackets, while totaling 17 digs in the tourney and hitting .327. Miller had a career-best 17 kills vs. the Bulldogs and seven vs. Georgia Tech, while totaling nine blocks. Cobler recorded 14 kills vs. Georgia and eight against Georgia Tech, hitting a career-best .667 against the Yellow Jackets. The all-tournament team honors are the third of each student-athlete's career.
Martin Sets For the First Time and Makes History Doing It
Sophomore/freshman setter Mara Martin is not only the first freshman setter to start a season opener for the volleyball program but at 6-2, she is the tallest setter in Wolverine volleyball history. The redshirt freshman is also one of only three setters in U-M history to record 80 or more assists in a single match, tallying 81 in a 3-2 win over Georgia (Sept. 16) for the fourth-most single-match assists in program history. Martin finished one assist behind Shannon Melka's (1998-2001) 82 at Pacific in 1999, four short of Melka's 84 vs. Houston in 2000 and 14 shy of Linnea Mendoza's (1994-97) 95 vs. Illinois in 1996. Mendoza is the all-time assists leader in U-M volleyball history (5,072), while Melka ranks third (4,582). Last year's starter, Lisa Gamalski, ranks second all-time with 4,762, but never recorded more than 73 assists in a single match in her career.
These Kids Like to Block
Michigan's 35 block assists against Illinois State (Sept. 10) fell two shy of the school record for most block assists in a single match. The record of 37 was set in 1989 against Bowling Green. Three Wolverines (Lyndsay Miller, Danielle Pflum and Mara Martin) had career bests for blocks against the Redbirds.
Speaking of Blocks
Sophomore Lyndsay Miller's 11 total blocks against Illinois State (Sept. 10) tie the fourth-best total in a single match in U-M history, and her 11 block assists tie her for third on the single-match list. The last Wolverine to record 11 blocks in a match was junior Megan Bowman vs. No. 11 Texas in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
One More Hand For Lyndsay Miller
Sophomore Lyndsay Miller had the first double-double of her career with 16 kills and 11 blocks vs. Illinois State (Sept. 10). The 16 kills tie a career-high, equaling her total against Western Michigan in 2004.
Freshman Debut For Karpiak
Freshman middle blocker Beth Karpiak earned her first-career start in the season opener at Notre Dame (Aug. 27), leading U-M with three blocks and recording four kills in her collegiate debut. Katie Bruzdzinski and Lyndsay Miller were the only freshman opening night starters for the Wolverines in 2004 and both went on to set freshman records in their debut campaigns.
Super Happy Trivia Challenge ...
Last week's question was: "When you total the digs for players who wore a particular jersey number, which jersey number has accounted for the most digs in Michigan volleyball history"
The correct answer was #1. JoAnna Colias and Linnea Mendoza highlight the list of Wolverines to wear the #1 jersey, ranking second and third respectively in career digs. Katie Bruzdzinski also adds 520 digs to the pot, with Katrina Lehman, Wendy Raber, Carla Dearing and Janice Marguiles chipping in to the total.
This week's question looks ahead to the NCAA Tournament. Without checking your handy media guide, who is U-M's all-time leader in NCAA Tournament kills
A new feature to the Michigan volleyball weekly release, the Super Happy Trivia Challenge is a chance for U-M volleyball fans to test their knowledge of the program, its players, its coaches and other random facts. Answers can be sent to rretyi@umich.edu and each winner will be recognized the following week in the weekly release.
Page Three ...
Michigan Welcomes Ed Tolentino
U-M Interim Assistant Coach Ed Tolentino joins the Wolverines for the 2005 campaign. Tolentino served as an assistant coach at Michigan State last season and has served as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and as a head coach at Oakland University.
Captain Kirk Ain't Got Nothing on Them
Senior/junior Erin Cobler and sophomores Katie Bruzdzinski and Lyndsay Miller were named captains for the 2005 squad. Bruzdzinski and Miller are the first-ever sophomore captains in U-M volleyball history.
Michigan Seventh in the Preseason Polls
The Wolverines were voted seventh in the Big Ten Conference Preseason Poll, down one spot from their sixth-place finish in 2004.
2005 Freshman Class
Four freshmen join the Wolverines in 2005, including Liz Andary, Kerry Hance, Beth Karpiak, and Liz Raschke. Andary is a right side/outside hitter who was all-state third team and a Detroit News/Free Press All-Conference first team selection in 2005. Hance is a defensive specialist who won a national championship with her club team (Sports Shack Volleyball Club) and was selected to the California State Volleyball Tournament All-Tournament Team in her senior year of volleyball. She is also a former high school teammate of sophomore Stesha Selsky. Karpiak is a middle blocker who was named Suburban Life Player of the Year and Champaign News-Gazette All-State first team in 2005. Raschke is a setter who was a Michigan Miss Volleyball finalist and all-state first team selection in 2005.
Cliff Keen Arena Updates
After a record-setting season at Cliff Keen Arena, the Michigan volleyball program has added a brand new, state-of-the-art, full color scoreboard that displays video animations, scores, graphics and real-time stats during home matches.
Rosen Leads USA Selects in Argentina
Head coach Mark Rosen traveled to Argentina in June 2005 to coach a team of USA Selects, competing against the Argentina Junior National Team as well as a number of club and professional squads. A demanding 10-day schedule - including stops in Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Santa Fe - featured six matches in six different cities against some of the best volleyball players in Argentina.
Bruzdzinski and Bowman Tour Italy
Katie Bruzdzinski and Megan Bowman competed abroad this summer, playing with a group of United States collegiate selects on Team VolleyHut in the Sibillini Tournament in Comunaza, Italy, which will feature some of the top under-20 teams in Europe. Bowman and Bruzdzinski competed against some of the top under-20 teams in Europe, including three-time Slovakian champions Slavia Bratislava, Olomuc from the Czech Republic, Postar Belgrade from Serbia and Vasas Budapest from Hungary.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
