Weekly Release #12
11/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
This Week's Schedule
Michigan (11-12, 5-9 Big Ten) vs. Michigan State (11-13, 4-10 Big Ten)
Wednesday, Nov. 9 7 p.m. Cliff Keen Arena Comcast Local
Michigan (11-12, 5-9 Big Ten) vs. Indiana (9-17, 2-9 Big Ten)
Friday, Nov. 11 7 p.m. Cliff Keen Arena Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Television: Both matches this week will be televised. Wednesday night's match will be broadcast on Comcast Local and aired on Saturday (Nov. 12) at noon, while Friday night's match will air on Comcast SportsNet Chicago on Saturday (Nov. 12) at 5:30 p.m. EST.
Radio/Internet: Both matches will air LIVE on MGoBlue.com (subscription) with play-by-play by Brian Nemerovski. WCBN 88.3 FM will also carry both matches live.
The Scouting Report ...
An Inside Look at Michigan State (Michigan State leads the series, 41-29)
Michigan leads the series since 2000, 7-4, splitting each match last season. Michigan has captured the State Pride Series the last three seasons, leading the all-time competition, 8-7. A Michigan win clinches a state pride banner win, while a loss in anything less than five games will give Michigan State a win in the State Pride Series for 2005. In the event of a five-game Wolverine loss, the tiebreaker goes to points.
In the first meeting this season, Michigan opened the Big Ten slate with a 3-2 win over the Spartans. Danielle Pflum led the Wolverine four Wolverines in double-digit kills with 15 terminations, while Lyndsay Miller had 11 kills and 10 blocks for the second double-double of her career. Katie Bruzdzinski and Erin Cobler also tallied 11 kills, while Bruzdzinski led the Wolverines with 18 digs. Bruzdzinski had a milestone night, recording the 500th kill of her career as well. The Wolverines held Michigan State's Katie Johnson to 1.40 kills per game below her season average.
An Inside Look at Indiana (Indiana leads the series, 32-22-1)
Though the Hoosiers dominate the all-time series, Michigan holds an 8-3 record since 2000. The Wolverines swept the season series last year, winning 3-0 in Bloomington and squeaking out a 3-2 win at Cliff Keen but the Hoosiers pulled out a five-game win on its home court earlier in the year.
Bruzdzinski hammered 22 kills and added 10 digs, while Miller had 17 kills and six blocks. Mara Martin had a career-best 22 digs, while Stesha Selsky led the Wolverine defense with 25 digs.
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.
Gay Fills In the Middle
5th/senior Candace Gay earned her first four starts of the season, replacing injured junior Megan Bowman. Gay is averaging 1.80 kills and a team-high 1.27 blocks per game over the last four matches, tallying a career-best seven blocks on two occasions. Gay has made just 10 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). Martin is 18 assists shy of moving into 10th 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 116 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 4-2 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
Three of Michigan's next six opponents are even or below the Wolverines in the Big Ten standings.
Michigan State (3-7) and Indiana (1-9) are a combined 4-20 in the last 10 matches.
Four of Wisconsin's five losses this season have come in the last nine matches (including a loss to Michigan on Oct. 22), while Northwestern is 4-10 in the last 10 matches.
Four of Michigan's final six matches are at home, where the Wolverines have won 70% 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 2-4 this season against their six remaining opponents.
Three of the Wolverines next six opponents are nationally ranked (Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State).
Michigan's remaining opponents are 91-54 overall this season.
State Pride Series Gets Off to a Bang
Michigan's 3-2 win at Michigan State kicked off the State Pride Series with a bang. Bragging rights and the state pride banner are at stake each season. The team that wins two matches, or, in the case of a tie, the team that wins the most games or has the best point differential, adds its year to the state pride banner. Michigan has prevailed in each of the last three seasons of the State Pride Series and leads the all-time series, 8-7.
Challenge Cup Won For the Fall
Michigan won the Challenge Cup for the fall season with just 0.5 points to be decided in the Michigan/Michigan State volleyball match. The Wolverines earned a half point in the first meeting with a 3-2 win, while the University of Michigan leads the current competition, 4.0-1.5. Michigan has won or retained each session of the Challenge Cup since its inception in 2003.
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 500-512 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 5.73 digs per game. Selsky is 0.10 digs per game behind three-time All-American Paula Gentil, who leads the conference with 5.83 digs per game (just eight digs more than Selsky's total). Selsky ranked 15th in the nation last week and should be near the top 10 with a 0.13 improvement from a week ago (NCAA statistics released on Wednesdays).
Katie Bruzdzinski Terminates
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski is fifth in the conference in kills, averaging 3.92 terminations per game.
Martin Making Her Mark
Freshman Mara Martin leads all Big Ten freshman setters and is fifth in the conference with 12.42 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 1.27 rejections per game.
Wolverine Streaks
Sophomore Stesha Selsky has recorded double-digit digs in each of the last 14 matches, including nine 20+ dig outings in that span ... Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski has had double-digit kills in each of the last eight matches and has done the deed in 19 of 23 matches this season ... Sophomore Stesha Selsky has recorded 20+ digs in the last three matches ... Senior/junior Erin Cobler has competed in 80 consecutive matches ... Sophomore Lyndsay Miller makes her 55th consecutive start against Michigan State (Nov. 9) ... Sophomore/freshman Mara Martin and freshman Kerry Hance will play in their 25th collegiate matches against Indian (Nov. 11) ... Sophomore Lyndsay Miller has recorde double-digit kills in each of the last three matches ... Senior/junior Erin Cobler has had double-digit digs in each of the last two matches ... Sophomore/freshman Mara Martin has recorded 50+ assists in the last two matches.
Michigan Milestones
Sophomore Stesha Selsky became Michigan's single-season digs leader on Nov. 5 against Iowa ... 5th/senior Candace Gay tied a career high with seven blocks vs. Iowa (Nov. 5) ... Head coach Mark Rosen earned his 325th-career victory in a 3-1 win over Iowa (Nov. 5) ... Senior/junior Erin Cobler is two matches shy of competing in her 90th collegiate match.
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.
All The News That's Fit to Print ...
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. Rosen is 114-89 at U-M and holds the best winning percentage in program history.
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: "Six Wolverines have recorded 1,000 digs or more in their careers, but who was the fastest to 1,000 digs (by matches)."
The correct answer was Jennifer Gandolph. Gandolph hit the 1,000 dig mark in 85 matches, recording her 1,000th dig in the 27th match of her junior season in a contest at Ohio State. Alija Pittenger hit the 1,000 dig mark in 88 matches, reaching the milestone 31 matches into her senior season. Gandolph is Michigan's all-time leader in digs with 1,381, while Pittenger finished her career with 1,031 digs for sixth on the all-time list. Kevin Thomas was the only fan who answered the question this week, guessing Pittenger, which was close enough to win him accolades on the weekly release.
This week's trivia question takes the question of digs to a whole new level. "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" Just a few more trivia challenges to go, so get your guesses in!
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
