Michigan State University Athletics
Volleyball NCAA Tournament Information
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
December 1, 1998
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University will be hosting the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament First and Second Rounds on December 3-4 in Jenison Field House. Oral Roberts (29-5) and North Carolina (28-7) meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, with Pepperdine (17-10) and Michigan State (23-6) following at 8 p.m.
TELEVISION: The Michigan State-Pepperdine match will be carried live on television in the Lansing area. Media One will provide the feed. The match will be televised beginning 45 minutes after the first match ends, approximately 8 p.m. It can be seen on channel 17 on Media One cable, channel 13 on TCI cable and channel 11 on Horizon cable.
TIME CHANGE: The winners of each Thursday match meet on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to determine a regional spot. Please note the time change from previous releases. The Pacific regional begins Friday, Dec. 11 in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska is the No. 1 seed in the Pacific region. The Huskers play Morgan State in the first round and the winner of Illinois State-Utah in the second round.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets went on sale on Monday morning in the MSU ticket office (1-800-GO-STATE). Only 200 advance tickets have been sold. The ticket office is expecting a sell out. Doors open at 5 p.m. on Thursday and 5:30 p.m. on Friday. An advance two-day pass for adults is $10. For students and seniors, an advance two-day pass is $6. Prices on the day of the matches are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.
GENERAL INFO: Michigan State is the No. 4 seed in the Pacific division and the #14 seed in the entire tournament. Six Big Ten teams, led by undefeated Big Ten champion Penn State, have earned bids. Four of those six will be hosting first and second round action. The Big Ten is one of only three Conferences to place six teams in the NCAA Tournament. The others are the Western Athletic Conference (San Jose State, Fresno State, Colorado State, BYU, Hawaii, Utah) and the Big 12 (Colorado, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech).
TEAM CAPSULES: Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (29-10) The Golden Eagles won their second consecutive Mid-Continent Conference title with a 3-0 win over Youngstown State on Nov. 21 to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row. Juliana Moser was named the MCCs player of the year while Debora dos Santos was the conferences setter of the year. Head coach Amy Farber-Knowles was honored as the conference coach of the year. Moser was also the MCC Tournaments Most Valuable Player. The Golden Eagles began the year with a 2-3 record but then went on a 27-match winning streak before losing their regular season finale to Long Beach State. The team is 11-4 in away matches and 6-1 at neutral sites. Moser leads the team with a 4.02 kills per game average followed by Erica Favero at 3.49 kpg. dos Santos averages 11.85 assists per game while Erika Komel tops off the digs column at 3.43 per game. Moser also leads the Golden Eagles on the block at 1.25 pg. Oral Roberts has faced seven teams from this years NCAA field and is 3-5 against them. In the 1997 NCAA Tournament, ORU defeated Arizona in the first round, 3-2, but fell to Colorado in the second round in another five-match thriller.
North Carolina Tar Heels (28-7) The Tar Heels won the regular season ACC title and advanced to the ACC tournament final where they fell to Florida State, 0-3. This is Carolina's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1989, when the Heels lost to Texas-Arlington in the first round, and the teams fifth tournament bid overall. Head coach Joe Sagula was named ACC coach of the year, while Tar Heel setter Erin Berg was selected the ACC player of the year. Berg became Carolina's all-time assist leader with 5,527 this year. Middle hitter Tori Seibert was named All-ACC first team and middle hitter Shannon Smith made the second team. UNC is 5-5 in away matches and 6-1 at neutral sites. Carolina has faced five teams from this years NCAA field and is 6-4 in those matches. Three players average more than three kills per game led by Casey Simpson at 3.974. She is followed by Seibert at 3.650 Smith with 3.034 pg. Setter Berg averages 13.71 assists per game. On defense, Maya Starks averages 3.18 digs per game while two players in the starting lineup average more than one block per game; Smith at 1.16 and Seibert at 1.09.
Pepperdine Waves (17-10) The Waves tied for second place in the West Coast Conference with a 11-3 record. The team has won 10 of its last 14 contests. Pepperdine is making its 11th NCAA appearance, including its third trip to the tournament in as many years. The team is 0-10 in NCAA matches. The Waves have faced 10 of this years NCAA Tournament participants and are 3-9 in those matches. The team is 8-7 in away matches and 2-2 at neutral sites. Lindsay Phillips was named first team All-WCC and Freshman of the Year, while Anna Witkowski was a second team All-WCC selection for the third year in a row. Head coach Nina Matthies was named WCC Co-Coach of the Year. Phillips leads the way for The Waves at 4.76 kills per game, followed by Jamie Hill at 4.30 pg. Setter Melissa Plass averages 13.61 assists per game. On defense Phillips averages 3.41 digs per game followed by Kristin Lee at 3.09. Pepperdines leading blocker is Hill at 1.24 per game.
Michigan State Spartans (23-6) The Spartans finished third in the Big Ten Conference, rated toughest in the nation by Jeff Sagarin this year. Michigan State is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It is also the fifth consecutive bid for the Spartans. Last year, MSU defeated Butler in the first round and lost to No. 1 seed Nebraska in round two. The Spartans are 14-2 in home matches this season. The team has faced nine teams in this years tournament draw and is 8-6 in those matches. Senior outside hitter Jenna Wrobel was named to the All-Big Ten team for the fourth year, becoming only the third player in Big Ten history to be so honored. Sophomore setter Christie Landry and sophomore middle Sarah Gustin received honorable mention. Michigan State is led by Wrobel at 5.93 kills and 2.62 digs per game. Landry averages 13.35 assists per game at the setter position while Gustin is MSUs lead blocker at 1.55 per game.
