Michigan State University Athletics
Volleyball Weekly Notes
9/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 5, 2000
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
MICHIGAN STATE VOLLEYBALL 2000
Coming Up:
at Notre Dame/adidas Invitational
No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 22 Notre Dame
Sept. 8-10, 2000
MSU Ranking: 20-AVCA/11-Volleyball
Destination Golden Dome:
Notre Dame/adidas Invitational
September 8-9, 2000
Friday, Sept. 8 Michigan State vs. UCLA 1:30 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Nebraska 4:00 p.m.Saturday, Sept. 9 Nebraska vs. Michigan State 4:30 p.m. Notre Dame vs. UCLA 7:00 p.m.Sunday, Sept. 10 UCLA vs. Nebraska 12:30 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Michigan State 3:00 p.m.
The Spartans travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame/adidas Invitational on Sept. 8-10.
No. 3 UCLA is 3-1 on the season. The Bruins defeated Iowa (15-3, 15-9, 15-3) on Friday and No. 19 Texas A&M (15-2, 10-15, 15-11, 15-8) on Sunday in the Hawai'i Tournament and play Hawai'i today. UCLA opened its season at the NACWAA Classic, defeating Penn State, 3-2, in the opener but falling to No. 13 Colorado State, 3-2, on the second night.
No. 4 Nebraska is 3-0 after winning the US Bank Tournament in Lincoln last weekend. The Cornhuskers defeated Northwestern (15-4, 15-7, 15-6), Georgia (15-4, 15-2, 15-4) and Colorado State (7-15, 15-7, 15-13, 15-13) en route to the title. Sophomore outside hitter Laura Pilakowski was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore MB Amber Holmquist and senior OPP Angie Oxley.
No. 22 Notre Dame is 3-0 after winning the 2000 Shamrock Invitational in South Bend last weekend. The Fighting Irish defeated Clemson (15-7, 15-8, 15-6), Fairfield (15-7, 15-7, 15-10) and No. 15 BYU (5-15, 10-15, 15-10, 15-10, 15-10). Senior setter Denise Boylan was named tournament MVP and junior OPP Kristy Kreher and senior OH Christi Girton joined her on the all-tournament team.
L&L=W, W & W: The Spartans opened their 2000 season with 3-0 wins over Rutgers, Northeastern and Eastern Washington en route to the L&L/MSU Volleyall Classic title. It was MSU's third Classic title in the six years of the tournament. Jessica Sanborn, Christie Landry and Amy SIbbernsen were all named to the all-tournament team. Sanborn was also named to the L&L all-tournament team in 1999, while Landry was selected to the team in 1998.
MVP: Senior middle Jessica Sanborn was the Most Valuable Player of the 6th annual L&L/MSU Volleyball Classic last weekend. Sanborn, who played in just two matches, hit .600 with 27 kills, averaging 4.50 kills per game. She also tallied a match-high eight blocks in MSU's 3-0 win over Eastern Washington.
'Bern-in' Down The House: Freshman outside hitter Amy Sibbernsen established herself in the starting lineup at the L&L Classic last weekend. She hit .404 for the weekend with a team-high 36 kills, including 19 kills on .485 hitting against Northeastern on Sept. 2. Sibbernsen was one of three Spartans named to the all-tournament team.
She's Back: Senior setter Christie Landry took part in a Division I volleyball match on Sept. 1, 2000 for the first time since tearing her ACL on Sept. 26, 1999. Landry played a solid tournament, racking up 92 assists and running a smooth offense that included 15 different players. She was named to the all-tournament team for her performance.
Rood Steps Up: Freshman outside hitter Jenny Rood saw action in her first collegiate match against Rutgers on Sept. 1. Playing just in game three, she had four kills on .375 hitting. That performance earned her the starting nod in the Spartans' next two matches. She tallied nine kills on 22 attempts vs. Northeastern and had six kills and four digs against Eastern Washington.
Note of the Week: Seven MSU players received votes for the all-tournament team at the L&L/MSU Volleyball Classic last weekend. The five MSU players who saw front-court action in all three matches (Christie Landry, Angela Morley, Erin Hartley, Jenny Rood, Amy Sibbernsen) each received at least one vote for the all-tournament team. Additionally, Maren Witzel and Jessica Sanborn each received votes in spite of playing in only two matches.
Few and Far In Between: Northeastern scored just 12 points against the Spartans on Sept. 2. That's tied for the sixth-fewest points scored against MSU in its 28-year-history.
Rankings: The Spartans are ranked No. 16 in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll and No. 11 by Volleyball Magazine, moving up from No. 20 and No. 12, respectively from the preseason poll. MSU plays eight of the current USA Today/AVCA top 25 teams and five of the Volleyball Magazine top 20 this season.
MSU on TV:
Sept. 20 vs. Michigan AT&T Cable 7 p.m.Oct. 2 at Illinois Fox Sports Chicago 8 p.m.Oct. 6 vs. Penn State AT&T Cable 8 p.m.Oct. 7 vs. Indiana AT&T Cable 7 p.m.Oct. 20 vs. Minnesota AT&T Cable 8 p.m.Oct. 21 vs. Iowa AT&T Cable 8 p.m.Nov. 3 vs. Illinois AT&T Cable 7 p.m.Nov. 4 vs. Purdue AT&T Cable 7 p.m.Nov. 11 vs. Ohio State AT&T Cable 8 p.m.
all times Eastern.
MSU on the Radio:
Eight volleyball matches will be broadcast by WVFN (730AM) East Lansing. The feed can also be heard live on the internet at www.msuspartans.com.
Sept. 20 vs. Michigan 7:00 p.m.Sept. 22 at Ohio State 7:00 p.m.Sept. 29 at Purdue 8:00 p.m.Oct. 13 at Wisconsin 8:00 p.m.Oct. 14 at Northwestern 8:00 p.m.Nov. 3 vs. Illinois 7:00 p.m.Nov. 8 at Michigan 7:00 p.m.Nov. 11 vs. Ohio State 7:00 p.m.
all times Eastern.
L&L Classic All-Tournament Team Jessica Sanborn, Michigan State - MVP Christie Landry, Michigan State Amy Sibbernsen, Michigan State Pualani Tuyay, Rutgers Kera Carter, Rutgers Robyn Sonju-Felder, Eastern Washington
Final Results
Michigan State 3-0Rutgers 2-1Eastern Washington 1-2Northeastern 0-3
Friday, September 1
Eastern Washington def. Northeastern, 3-2 (11-15, 15-9, 15-8, 8-15, 15-11)
Michigan State def. Rutgers, 3-0 (15-11, 15-7, 15-11)
Saturday, September 2
Rutgers def. Eastern Washington, 3-1 (15-6, 11-15, 15-13, 15-13)
Michigan State def. Northeastern, 3-0 (15-2, 15-3, 15-7)
Rutgers def. Northeastern, 3-0 (16-14, 15-5, 15-3)
Michigan State def. Eastern Washington, 3-0 (15-5, 15-5, 15-10)
OTHER INTERESTING NOTES:
No Cupcakes Here: Thirteen of the 18 opponents on MSU's 2000 schedule advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1999. Five were the champions of their conference and five were ranked in the Final AVCA Top 25 poll.
Elite Schedule: MSU faces eight of the USA Today/AVCA top 25 teams (9/4/00): No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Penn State, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 24 San Diego, No. 25 Michigan.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Seventeen players from six states and two Canadian provinces and a volunteer assistant from Egypt will make a travel agent's eyes light up at Christmas this year.
More and More Fab-ulous: The Spartans boast six Fab 50 players on their roster in 2000: Freshmen Nikki Colson and Jenny Rood, junior Erin Hartley and seniors Sarah Gustin, Christie Landry and Jessica Sanborn. In addition, redshirt sophomore Angela Morley was an honorable mention Fab 50, redshirt junior Maren Witzel was named the Alaska State Player of the Year and freshman Naomi Taylor was Manitoba's Provincial Player of the Year.
Just putting it out there: Michigan State took a three-week tour of five European countries in June (Denmark, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, France). The last time the MSU volleyball team took a trip overseas (Japan in 1995), the team went to the Final Four.
