Spartans Host MSU Volleyball Classic Friday And Saturday
8/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 27, 2001
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The Michigan State volleyball team opens the 2001 season by hosting the seventh annual MSU Volleyball Classic Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2001. This year's opponents are Auburn, Dayton, Denver and Western Michigan. Action begins on Aug. 31 when the Spartans and Auburn kick off the tournament at 10 a.m.
Michigan State, 15-5 all-time in the MSU Classic, is looking for a fourth tournament title. The Spartans won the Classic last season with wins over Rutgers, Eastern Washington and Northeastern, and also won titles in 1998 and 1995.
The Opponents: Auburn was 13-16 in 2000 and finished fifth in the West division of the Southeastern Conference with a 3-12 record. The Tigers, who return three starters, are coached by Kevin Renshler, who begins his second year at Auburn.
Dayton posted an 18-11 record in 2000, and finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 with a 10-6 league mark. The Flyers return four starters and are coached by Pete Hoyer, who has recorded a 134-80 mark in seven previous seasons at Dayton.
Denver finished the 2000 season with a 19-14 overall mark, and won the West division of the Sun Belt Conference with a 12-4 record. Five starters return for the Pioneers and head coach Beth Kuwata, who owns a 77-77 record in five seasons at Denver.
Western Michigan rolled to a 25-6 record in 2000, including a 17-1 record in the Mid-American Conference which was good for the league crown and a bid to the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Five starters return for the Broncos, including 2000 MAC Player of the Year Zakiya Pope, a 6-2 senior middle blocker. Western Michigan received nine points in the USA Today/AVCA preseason Top 25 poll. Head coach Cathy George, the 2000 MAC Coach of the Year, is 120-85 in seven seasons at Western Michigan.
Seventh Annual MSU Volleyball Classic Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2001Friday, Aug. 31 Michigan State vs. Auburn 10 a.m. Western Michigan vs. Dayton 12 p.m. Auburn vs. Denver 2 p.m. Denver vs. Western Michigan 6 p.m. Dayton vs. Michigan State 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 1 Denver vs. Dayton 9 a.m. Auburn vs. W. Michigan 11 a.m. Michigan State vs. Denver 1 p.m. Dayton vs. Auburn 6 p.m. W. Michigan vs. Michigan State 8 p.m.
Series Records: Michigan State and Auburn have only met once previously, with the Spartans earning a three-game victory on Sept. 13, 1986. The Spartans and Flyers have battled three times previously, but not since Oct. 10, 1980. Michigan State earned a 15-3, 15-3 victory in the last meeting to take a 2-1 lead in the series. This will be the first meeting between Michigan State and Denver.
Michigan State has won its last three meetings against Western Michigan to take a 18-9-1 lead in the series. The last meeting came Sept. 18, 1999, when the Spartans earned a 3-0 win in Kalamazoo.
Tough Road Ahead: Thirteen of the 31 matches on MSU's 2001 schedule will be played against teams which advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2000. Five MSU opponents won their conference or their division in their conference, and three others finished second.
MSU faces six teams ranked in the USA Today/AVCA preseason Top 25 poll: No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 9 Florida, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 16 Ohio State and No. 23 South Carolina.
Preseason Picks: The Spartans just missed being ranked in the USA Today/AVCA preseason Top 25 poll, but received enough votes to be ranked 30th. The Spartans also received votes for the Volleyball magazine Top 20 poll. MSU was chosen by the Big Ten coaches to finish fifth in the conference behind Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State. Senior outside hitter Erin Hartley was a unanimous selection to the preseason All-Big Ten team, as voted by the coaches, for her third straight appearance on the preseason team.
We Plead the Fifth: Michigan State was picked to finish fifth by the league's coaches in the Big Ten preseason poll. If recent history holds true, that should be the worst possible finish for the Spartans. MSU has finished no worse than fifth in the league since a seventh-place finish in 1994.
Filling the Gaps: This year's young Michigan State squad will have some holes to fill, as MSU will have to replace players that accounted for nearly half of its kills and digs and 90 percent of its assists last season.
Exhibition Highlights: Sophomore Jenny Rood had 18 kills and nine digs to pace several solid performances at the Green and White volleyball scrimmage Saturday at Jenison Field House. Junior Angela Morley had 16 kills and senior Erin Hartley added 13 kills and 11 digs to lead the White squad to an 81-61, 73-59 victory in the match which was played under experimental timing rules using rally scoring and 11-minute games.
Several freshmen turned in fine performances, including Megan Wallin who had 14 kills and four blocks while splitting time with both teams, and Michelle Kopka, who contributed 11 kills and 10 digs for the Green squad. Junior Emily Engel had 18 digs and nine services aces for the white squad to lead all players in both categories, while junior Kyla Smith had 11 kills and 13 digs playing for both teams.
Sophomore Nikki Colson ran the White team effectively, totaling 58 assists, while freshman Mickey Davis had 40 assists for the Green.
Top Ten Territory: Senior Erin Hartley already ranks ninth in career kills at MSU with 1,096, and by the end of the first weekend of action, she could rank in the school's top ten list in three other categories. Hartley ranks 11th in kill attempts (2,753) and total blocks (275), and needs just two more of each to tie for tenth. Also, she needs only 11 more block assists to equal the 10th place mark in that category with 234.
Block Around the Clock: Junior Angela Morley is a big reason (literally and figuratively) why Michigan State ranked fourth in the nation in blocks last year, averaging 3.36 per game. After her first two seasons, Morley has 275 block assists and 328 total blocks -- numbers that are on pace to break the Michigan State records of 494 and 581, respectively, held by All-American Dana Cooke.
Rood Awakening: Sophomore Jenny Rood is making the switch from outside hitter to middle this season after a stellar freshman year. Rood ranked third on the MSU squad last year with 278 kills, and added 208 digs and 47 blocks. Her kill total was the fifth best total for a freshman in Spartan history.
Commander Colson: Sophomore Nikki Colson assumes the setter duties this season, and head coach Chuck Erbe believes Colson could become one of the best setters in Spartan history. There is no denying that her teammates believe in her leadership abilities, as Colson, a former Fab 50 player who won three state championships at Lincoln (Neb.) Pius X, was voted a co-captain for the 2001 season by her teammates.
Smith Steps Up: Junior Kyla Smith is expected to see much more playing time this season at outside hitter for Michigan State. Smith played in only 34 games last season, collecting 58 kills, 66 digs and 21 blocks. This season, she should be a regular contributor in the MSU lineup, and could pass last seasons totals within the first few weekends.
Lights, Camera, Ashton: Senior Lisa Ashton anchors the Spartan back row, returning as the squads starting defensive specialist. Ashton, who was elected as a co-captain for the 2001 season, ranked third on the squad with 241 digs last year.
The Magnificent Seven: Michigan State welcomes seven freshmen for the 2001 season -- one of the largest freshman classes in school history. The class includes Fab 50 player Mickey Davis (Villa Hills, Ky.) and two players who have experience with the Canadian Junior National Team: Kim Schram (London, Ont.) and Michelle Kopka (Scarborough, Ont.). Other heralded newcomers include Megan Wallin (Sarasota, Fla.), Diana Steplyk (Libertyville, Ill.), Brooke Langston (Germantown, Tenn.) and Marley Bellwood (Battle Creek, Mich.).
The Drive for Five: Head coach Chuck Erbe is approaching a major coaching milestone, as his 500th career win is within sight. If Michigan State wins 19 matches this season, it will allow Erbe, who owns a 481-213-3 career record in 20 seasons, to reach the magical number 500. Entering the 2001 season, Erbe ranks 19th on the career victories for active coaches list, and only two of the coaches ahead of him have coached 20 years or less.
In addition, the Spartans need just six wins to record the 500th victory in program history. MSU's all-time record is 494-481-18.
Head Coach Chuck Erbe: Chuck Erbe enters his ninth season as head coach at Michigan State, where he has resurrected the Spartan program, guiding MSU to back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1995 and '96, and seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
He has led the Spartans to an eight-year mark of 181-92, including an 18-13 record in 2000 and a seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament where the Spartans advanced to the second round after defeating Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Los Angeles, Calif.
In just his third season at the helm of the MSU program, Erbe led the Spartans to their first-ever Big Ten championship in 1995 with a remarkable 19-1 conference record. Prior to that season, Michigan State, which climbed as high as No. 3 in the national polls, had never finished higher than seventh in the Big Ten.
Erbe was recognized by his peers for his efforts in revitalizing the Spartan program, earning 1995 Big Ten, AVCA District 2 and AVCA National Coach of the Year honors. In addition, he was tabbed as the Volleyball magazine National Coach of the Year.
Erbe, who has a 20-year career record of 481-213-3, spent 12 seasons (1976-77, 1979-88) as the head coach at the University of Southern California where he compiled a record of 310-121-3. He led the Trojans to AIAW National Championships in 1976, 1977 and 1980, and to the NCAA National Championship in 1981, the first year of NCAA competition for women's sports. USC advanced to AIAW or NCAA Tournament play in 11 of his 12 years as head coach.
Internationally, Erbe led the United States women's team in the 1981 World University Games in Bucharest, Romania. In 1979, he served as an assistant coach for the women's U.S. National Team. Erbe headed the U.S. women's team at the 1974 World Volleyball Championships in Mexico City, and led the United States to back-to-back titles in the Pacific Rim Junior Championships in 1975 and 1976.
Erbe began his coaching career in 1973 at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., where he helped guide the team to a perfect 20-0 record and the National High School Volleyball Championship.
Born Oct. 12, 1944, in Tulsa, Okla., Erbe attended Ripon College (Wis.) and Kansas before serving as a hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy from 1964-68. After leaving the Navy, Erbe completed his degree in physical education at Cal State Fullerton (1968-72).
Erbe's family includes wife, Rebecca.