Volleyball Prepares For Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational
9/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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Coca-Cola Spartan InvitationalSept. 7-8, 2001The Michigan State volleyball team hosts its second consecutive tournament, competing in the Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7-8. Bowling Green, Idaho and Winthrop will provide the competition for the Spartans.
Michigan State (4-0)Bowling Green (3-0)Idaho (2-1)Winthrop (1-2)
Friday, Sept. 7 Idaho vs. Bowling Green 12 p.m. Michigan State vs. Winthrop 2 p.m. Winthrop vs. Bowling Green 6 p.m. Idaho vs. Michigan State 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 8 Winthrop vs. Idaho 6 p.m. Bowling Green vs. Michigan State 8 p.m.
Michigan State will be looking to win its second straight tournament after claiming the championship of the MSU Volleyball Classic last weekend with victories against Auburn, Dayton, Denver and Western Michigan.
The Opponents: Bowling Green opened the 2001 season by winning the Hoosier Invitational, defeating host Indiana, Maryland and Tennessee, all in five games. Senior middle Caty Rommeck earned tournament MVP honors after collecting 27 kills and 16 digs against Indiana and 30 kills against Maryland. Senior setter Natalie Becker was also named to the all-tournament team after totalling 181 assists and adding 42 digs.
The Falcons were the preseason pick to win the East division of the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green returns five starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's team which finished 21-9 and tied for first in the MAC East division with a 12-6 mark.
Idaho posted a 2-1 record at the Shamrock Invitational hosted by Notre Dame last weekend. The Vandals defeated Florida Atlantic and Southwest Texas State before bowing to the host Irish. Sophomore middle hitter Anna-Marie Hammond made the all-tournament team after finishing the weekend with 36 kills, a .358 hitting percentage and 18 total blocks. Joining her on the all-tournament squad was freshman Laura McCaffrey, who totalled 47 kills in the tournament.
Idaho welcomes back four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team which finished 16-13, and posted a 6-10 sixth-place finish in the Big West Conference.
Winthrop started its season by hosting the Winthrop Invitational last weekend, posting a 1-2 record. The Eagles, who host North Carolina A&T Sept. 4, defeated Georgia State in four games, but lost in four to Georgia Southern and East Tennessee State. Junior middle Jennifer Pritchard, who averaged 3.17 kills and 2.42 digs per game, was named to the all-tournament team, as was senior outside hitter Erin Lehman, who averaged 3.42 digs and 3.08 kills.
Winthrop returns all six starters and 12 letterwinners from last year's squad which finished 24-10, including an 11-3 second-place finish in the Big South Conference.
Series Records: Michigan State has never competed against Winthrop or Idaho. The Spartans have battled Bowling Green eight times, with Michigan State winning five matches including the last four. The two teams last met Sept. 6, 1997, with MSU earning a 15-1, 15-5, 11-15, 15-8 win at the Michigan State Invitational.
Sister Act: Winthrop sophomore setter Christie Davis is the older sister of Michigan State freshman setter Mickey Davis.
Last Week Recap: Michigan State opened the 2001 season by winning its second straight MSU Volleyball Classic title, and fourth overall, by earning victories against Auburn, Dayton, Denver and Western Michigan last weekend at Jenison Field House.
The Spartans won their opener Friday against Auburn, 30-19, 21-30, 30-25, 20-22. Junior Kyla Smith led MSU with 15 kills and nine digs, while sophomore Jenny Rood (11), senior Erin Hartley (10) and freshman Michelle Kopka (10) all reached double-digit kills.
Michigan State defeated Dayton in its second match of the day, 33-31, 27-30, 30-25, 30-23. Hartley pounded 19 kills while hitting .421 and recording eight total blocks. Smith added 17 kills and 12 digs, and Rood totalled 15 kills and 13 digs. Junior Emily Engel tallied 11 digs, while junior Angela Morley had six total blocks.
MSU remained perfect with a 30-23, 28-30, 30-19, 30-19 win against Denver on Saturday. Hartley again led the way with 18 kills, while Smith had another double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. Engel tied an MSU Volleyball Classic record with seven service aces, and also had 12 digs. Kopka also reached double figures in kills with 10.
In the tournament finale against defending MAC champion Western Michigan, the Spartans claimed the tournament crown with a 29-31, 30-28, 30-19, 30-20 victory. Smith had her third straight double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs, while Engel again tied her record with seven service aces. Hartley had a team-high 19 kills, while Rood added 11 for the Spartans, who hit .312 as a team.
MVP: Kyla Smith was named MVP of the MSU Volleyball Classic after leading all players with 51 digs and ranking second in the tournament with 61 kills. Smith, who also tied for fifth with seven service aces, was one dig shy of having double-doubles in all four matches.
Joining Smith on the all-tournament team from Michigan State was Erin Hartley, who topped all players with 66 kills and 19 total blocks, and sophomore Nikki Colson, who led all players with 209 assists.
All-Tournament Team Kyla Smith, Michigan State (MVP) Nikki Colson, Michigan State Erin Hartley, Michigan State Susan Westbrock, Dayton Clarice Golesh-Burch, Denver Ashley Ritter, Western Michigan
Final Results
Michigan State 4-0Dayton 2-2Denver 2-2Western Michigan 2-2Auburn 0-4Friday, Aug. 31 Michigan State def. Auburn, 3-1 (30-19, 21-30, 30-25, 30-22) Western Michigan def. Dayton, 3-2 (30-28, 29-31, 30-26, 20-30, 15-12) Denver def. Auburn, 3-1 (22-30, 30-22, 30-22, 30-21) Denver def. Western Michigan, 3-2 (33-35, 30-27, 26-30, 30-23, 15-12) Michigan State def. Dayton, 3-1 (33-31, 27-30, 30-25, 30-23)
Saturday, Sept. 1 Dayton def. Denver, 3-1 (31-33, 30-23, 30-21, 30-20) Western Michigan def. Auburn, 3-0 (30-26, 30-22, 33-31) Michigan State def. Denver, 3-1 (30-23, 28-30, 30-19, 30-19) Dayton def. Auburn, 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-24) Michigan State def. Western Michigan (29-31, 30-28, 30-19, 30-20)
Four For Four: Michigan State's 4-0 start is its first since 1995 - the year the Spartans finished 34-3 and advanced to the national semifinals. Should MSU win all three of its matches in the Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational, it would be the first 7-0 start since the 1989 team started 10-0. Oddly enough, the '89 team would win only four of its last 17 matches to finish 14-17.
Coming Up Aces: Service aces were a big reason Michigan State won the seventh annual MSU Volleyball Classic. The Spartans collected a whopping 53 aces during their four matches, smashing the previous tournament record of 41. Twice Michigan State tallied 15 aces in a match, and the Spartans had 14 on another occasion. Many of the aces came from junior Emily Engel, who recorded 21 and twice had seven in a match. Engel entered this season with a grand total of four service aces during her first two seasons at MSU.
You've Gotta Have Hartley: Senior Erin Hartley lived up to her preseason All-Big Ten status at the MSU Volleyball Classic, leading all players with 66 kills (4.13 kpg), while hitting .345. Hartley also led the squad in total blocks, totalling 19 (1.19 bpg), including eight against Dayton. Hartley's weekend totals moved her into eighth place on MSU's career kills list (1,162) and tenth place on the school's total blocks (294) and block assists (237) lists.
Useless Stat of the Week: By defeating Western Michigan, Michigan State has now won 17 consecutive matches against schools that have directions (north, south, east, west) as part of their school names. The last directional school to defeat MSU was South Florida almost four years ago (Sept. 12, 1997). Since then, Michigan State's directional victims have included: Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Washington, Northeastern, Northwestern (eight times), Southern Miss and Western Michigan (three times). The next test comes at No. 21 South Carolina Sept. 14.
Knopp Knopp. Who's There?: Sophomore Stephanie Knopp was a key contributor in the second day of action at the MSU Volleyball Classic. Knopp, who played in only one game during her freshman season, started both matches Saturday, and proved to be an effective server, totalling eight aces. Knopp also notched nine digs against Denver.
Smith Steps Up: Junior Kyla Smith will 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 has already surpassed last year's kill total with 61, and has nearly as many digs with 51.
The Drive for Five: Head coach Chuck Erbe is approaching a major coaching milestone, as his 500th career win is within sight. Michigan State need 15 more wins this season to allow Erbe, who owns a 485-213-3 career record in 20 seasons, to reach the magical number 500. Entering the 2001 season, Erbe ranked 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 two more wins to record the 500th victory in program history. MSU's all-time record is 498-481-18.
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.
Close But No Cigar: The Spartans just missed being ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 coaches poll Sept. 3, but received enough votes to be ranked tied for 26th. MSU was ranked 30th in the preseason poll, and also received votes for the Volleyball magazine preseason Top 20 poll.
We Plead the Fifth: Michigan State was picked to finish fifth by the league's coaches in the Big Ten preseason poll, behind Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota. 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.
In addition, 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.
Commander Colson: Sophomore Nikki Colson has assumed 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.
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.
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 had 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.
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.).
Filling the Gaps: This year's young Michigan State squad has some holes to fill, as MSU has to replace players that accounted for nearly half of its kills and digs and 90 percent of its assists last season.
Head Coach Chuck Erbe: Chuck Erbe is in 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 a 175-92 mark, including an 18-13 record in 2000 and a seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament where the Spartans advanced to the second round.
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 485-213-3, 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.
