Michigan State University Athletics
Volleyball Preps For NCAA Tournament
11/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Nov. 29, 2000
Michigan State's NCAA Tournament matches will be broadcast live on the internet at www.msuspartans.com. MSU's first-round match on Saturday, Dec. 2 will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can also hear a tape-delayed broadcast on WVFN-730 AM after the Spartan hockey game. If State wins its First Round match, the Spartans will meet the winner of the UCLA-Morgan State match. The Second Round match will be at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the internet and live on WVFN-730 AM in the Lansing area. Jeff Hager has the play-by-play and Jennifer Heers will add color analysis.
State Update: Michigan State (17-12) earned its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament bid on Sunday night. The Spartans, in the Mideast region, will play Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. ET in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif. If MSU wins, it plays the winner of UCLA-Morgan State on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. ET. MSU is 7-6 in six NCAA Tournament appearances, all under head coach Chuck Erbe.
NCAA History In Brief: MSU's first NCAA appearance was in 1994 when it lost in the first round to Texas A&M. In 1995 the Spartans advanced to the Final Four where they lost to Nebraska in five. MSU returned to the regional finals the following year but fell to Florida, 1-3. In 1997, State bowed out in the second round to Nebraska, 0-3. Pepperdine ended the Spartans' 1998 season in the first round in a five-game thriller and did it again in '99, this time winning in four in the second round.
Round One Vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee: The Panthers, 23-4 overall, were an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. UWM saw its 14-match winning streak end in the semifinals of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament as Butler won in five.
The Panthers are led by Laura Dallenbach at 4.14 kills and 4.12 digs per game. Setter Lindsey Spoden averages 12.63 assists per game while Larissa Cattanach tallies 1.30 blocks per game. As a team UWM is hitting .222 with 16.13 kills, 14.86 assists, 18.86 digs and 2.52 blocks per game.
This will be the first meeting between Michigan State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee is coached by Kathy Litzau (Notre Dame, '90) in her eighth season. Litzau, a former Michigan State assistant, has a 143-101 career recor and earned her fourth MCC Coach of the Year Award this season. Last season she was named AVCA District IV Coach of the Year.
Potential Opponents: If the Spartans beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, they will play the winner of the UCLA-Morgan State match.
No. 11 UCLA - The host Bruins are 22-7 overall and finished third in the Pac-10 Conference with a 14-4 record. This is UCLA's 19th NCAA Tournament. With an all-time NCAA record of 48-16, the Bruins have won three national championships, in 1984, 1990 and 1991. UCLA has never faced Wisconsin-Milwaukee or Morgan State, and is 2-0 all-time against the Spartans, including a 3-1 UCLA win on Sept. 8 in the Notre Dame adidas Invitational.
Kristee Porter leads the team at 5.84 kills and 3.35 digs per game. Setter Erika Selsor puts up 14.41 assists per game while the Bruins' leading blocker is Elisabeth Bachman at 1.39 per contest.
UCLA is coached by Andy Banachowski, who is 895-211 in 34 years with the Bruins.
Morgan State - The Lady Bears are 26-15 overall and earned a berth in the tournament as champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, defeating defending MEAC champion Florida A&M 3-0 on Nov. 18. This is the third NCAA tournament (1997, '98, '00) for MSU as it became the first historically black institution to go to the tournament in 1997. The Lady Bears are led by Java Johnson at 3.32 kills per game while setter Tiffanie Sepree averages 9.50 assists per contest. MSU's defense is led by Dorothy Buford at 2.39 digs per game while Johnson contributes 1.09 blocks per game. Michigan State and Morgan State have never met.
The Lady Bears are coached by Ramona Riley-Bozier who is in her 10th season at MSU.
Four Spartans Honored By Big Ten: Senior outside hitter/middle Sarah Gustin was named to the 2000 All-Big Ten Volleyball Team as announced on Nov. 27. Senior setter Christie Landry and senior middle Jessica Sanborn, along with junior outside hitter Erin Hartley were all named honorable mention.
Gustin earns the honor for the second consecutive year. Gustin leads the team in kills at 4.10 per game, is second with a .323 attack percentage and third at 1.02 blocks per contest. She has nine 20-kill matches this season and was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 18. Gustin owns the fifth-best career hitting percentage in school history (.298), is fourth on the school block assists (342) and total blocks (421) lists and is tied for seventh in all-time block solos (79).
Landry, who has played and started in all 29 matches for MSU, tops the Spartans with 13.13 assists per game and is third in digs at 2.45 per game. Last weekend she was named MSU's MVP for 2000. A preseason All-Big Ten selection, she became just the third setter in school history to reach 3,000 career assists earlier this season and is currently third all-time in career assists at State with 3,637. Against Michigan on Sept. 20, Landry became the first setter in MSU history and the first Spartan since 1996 to record a triple double with 11 kills, 48 assists and 14 digs.
Sanborn, a first-team selection last season and a preseason All-Big Ten pick prior to this season, has missed 12 matches for MSU after breaking her foot. Before the injury she was leading the team with a .420 hitting percentage and averaging 1.28 blocks and 2.18 digs per game. Sanborn tallied a career-high 26 kills against Notre Dame on Sept. 10 and hit lower than .400 just three times in 14 matches she played in.
Hartley, a 2000 preseason All-Big Ten, leads the team at 2.85 digs per game, is second with 3.30 kills and 0.22 service aces per game and third in blocks at 0.99 per game. Hartley has amassed 17 double-doubles on the season, including the last eight straight matches and, earlier this season recorded her first career triple-double with 18 kills, 11 digs and 10 blocks versus Illinois on Sept. 30.
Hartley Again Leads The Way: Junior outside hitter Erin Hartley had two more standout matches last weekend. In MSU's 3-0 win over Northwestern, Hartley led the way with 16 kills on .484 hitting, six assists, 10 digs and seven blocks. Against No. 5 Wisconsin, she led the team with 13 kills and 13 digs. Hartley has 17 double-doubles on the season. In the last four matches, she is averaging 4.54 kills, 3.38 digs and 1.62 blocks per game while hitting .364.
Setting 'em Up: Christie Landry, averaging 13.13 assists per game this season, is third all-time at MSU in assists with 3,637 and is fourth in assists per game for a career at 9.52. She has 1,379 assists on the year, fourth-best in a single season. Landry is just the third setter in Spartan history to amass 3,000 assists in a career. Last week she was named the MVP for the 2000 season.
Hitting Stride: The Spartans are hitting .266 as a team, third-best in a single season in school history. MSU has hit .300 or better in a match 15 times in 2000.
...Everywhere a Block, Block: As a team, MSU is averaging 3.33 blocks per game to lead the Big Ten and rank fourth in the nation. That figure is second-best in school history for a single-season. The team's block solos (109) and block assists (509) rank fifth- and sixth-best in a single-season, respectively, while its total blocks (363.5) is fifth-best.
Gustin Blocks The Middle: Sarah Gustin has been dominating on the block since her return to the middle. She has had no fewer than seven blocks in each of the last four matches, including a season-high nine at Iowa on Nov. 17. Gustin has also maintained her hitting percentage and is currently ninth in the conference and second on the team at .323 on the season.
In The Big Ten: As of 11/28, MSU led the Big Ten in blocks per game (3.33), is third in hitting percentage (.266), sixth in assists (14.85 pg), sixth in kills (16.55 pg), seventh in digs (15.42 pg) and eighth in service aces (1.34 pg).
Individually, Sarah Gustin is ninth in hitting percentage (.323) while Angela Morley is 10th (.311). Christie Landry is sixth among setters at 13.13 assists per game, while Morley ranks seventh in blocks (1.29 pg) and ninth in service aces (0.32 pg). Gustin is seventh in kills per game at 4.10.
In The NCAA: As of11/26, Michigan State was fourth in the nation in blocks per game at 3.33.
Holding Opponents: Northeastern scored just 12 points against the Spartans on Sept. 2. That's tied for sixth-fewest points scored against MSU in its 28-year history. Illinois scored 50 points in a five-game win over MSU on Nov. 3. That's the sixth-fewest points State has ever allowed in a fiver. Games won 15-1 in 2000: Game 2 vs. Georgetown, 9/1, Game 1 vs. Iowa, 10/21, Game 3 vs. Northwestern, 11/24
Remarkable Hitting Numbers: * MSU hit .460 (55-9-100) in its 3-0 win over Georgetown on 9/16. That's the fifth-best three-game hitting percentage in school history. * Against Illinois on Sept. 30 in a five-game win, State hit .335, the third-best percentage in a five-game match in school history. * Against Illinois on Nov. 3, the Spartans hit .324 in a five-game loss, the fifth-best five-game hitting percentage in school history.
Remarkable Blocking Numbers: * Against Michigan on Nov. 8, State tallied 10 block solos, tops in a five-game match in school history and the second-best mark in State's history in a match of any length. The 21 total blocks was second-best at MSU in a five-game match. * Against Iowa on Nov. 17, MSU tallied 34 block assists and 18 total blocks, both school records for a three-game match. The block assists total is tied for third-best ever in a match of any length.
Two 1,000: Two Spartans reached the 1,000 kill career mark this season, Sarah Gustin on Sept. 29 vs. Purdue and Erin Hartley on Nov. 11. Gustin is currently ranked seventh on the all-time chart with 1,223, while Hartley is 10th at 1,061.
