Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Aim Sights On Cross-State Rival Wolverines
11/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 8, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State v. Michigan Game Notes
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Michigan State will travel to Ann Arbor this Wednesday to face in-state rival Michigan in the second match-up of the 2005 volleyball season. The Wolverines claimed victory in the opening contest of the season on Sept. 21, beating MSU 3-2 at Jenison Field House. The Spartans split decisions last weekend with a victory over Iowa and a loss to #17 Minnesota. Pacing the Spartan offense as she has all season is outside hitter Katie Johnson. Johnson ranks eighth in the nation this week with 5.27 kills per game, while setter Mickey Davis ranks 24th with 13.05 assists per game and libero Nicole Colaluca ranks 19th with 5.41 digs per contest.
SPLIT WEEKEND - State tallied a 3-2 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jenison Field House on Friday night behind a floor-high 24 kills by outside hitter Katie Johnson. Despite four Spartans with double-digit kill totals (Johnson-24, Schatzle-23, Wallin-15, Langston-10) in the Saturday match-up vs. Minnesota, MSU was unable to overpower the nationally-ranked Gophers, as Minnesota took the 3-1 win.
COLALUCA HITS CAREER MARK - Spartan libero Nicole Colaluca reached the 500 dig plateau so far this season in the Spartan loss to Minnesota Saturday at Jenison. Her 2005 total, 519, ranks as the highest single-season effort in MSU history. Cola spent her freshman and sophomore season's competing for the St. John's Red Storm where as a freshman, she tallied 474 digs and as a sophomore 592.
BIG TEN ROUNDUP - After the Nov. 4/5 Big Ten conference weekend, the Penn State Nittany Lions, with a 14-0 conference slate, continue to dominate the league. Purdue, Wisconsin and Minnesota all stand at 10-4, while Ohio State sits in the 5th position with a 9-5 record. The Spartans are in eighth position with a 4-10 record heading into play with in-state rival Michigan on Wednesday.
NATIONAL SCENE - As of the Nov. 7th NCAA National Rankings, three Spartans ranked among the nation's elite. Katie Johnson ranks eighth in the nation with 5.27 kills per game, Mickey Davis boasts a 13.05 assists per game average - 24th in the nation, while Nicole Colaluca ranks 19th at the libero position with 5.41 digs per game. (The NCAA releases national stats on Tuesday of each week.)
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES - The Wolverines are 11-12 with a 5-9 record in BigTen play after falling 3-1 to Minnesota and defeating Iowa 3-1 on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Katie Bruzdzinski paces the Wolverine hitters with 3.92 kills per game, while Stesha Selsky averages 5.73 digs per game. Michigan has lost three of the last five, however the Wolverines captured the 3-2 win vs. State in the Big Ten opener on Sept. 21.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS - Indiana has struggled in Big Ten play this season as they enter play with Michigan and MSU with a 9-17, 2-12 conference mark. The Hoosiers have lost 11 of their last 12, including a current four game slide in conference play against Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State and most recently Ohio State. Erica Short leads the IU offense with 3.44 kills per game, while setter Laura Holm adds 10.04 assists per game.
CHALLENGE CUP RIVALRY - The Wolverines did capture the fall swing of the Challenge Cup competition - however the Spartans look to avenge the five game loss at Jenison Field House in the Big Ten opener with a victory vs. Michigan on Wednesday. The Wolverines won three consecutive matches throughout the 2002 season until MSU won the series finale of 2003 - however since then, the teams have matches wins and losses. Series momentum swings the way of the Spartans!
IT COULD STILL HAPPEN - Rumor has it that to make it to the NCAA tournament, a team needs at least a .500 record or better. MSU can still capture the feat. Heading into play with Michigan and Indiana, MSU is 11-13 with six matches remaining - State needs to win four of the next six contests to hold the .500 mark. Competition will be tough however, as MSU will face nationally-ranked Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State in the final three match-ups of the year.
BRIGHT SPOTS - Although the Spartans dropped the 3-1 decision to the Golden Gophers last Saturday at Jenison Field House, MSU did show signs of improvement from the first time the two teams battled in 2005. At Minnesota on Sept. 30, MSU was led by Katie Johnson with 15 kills, while Ashley Schatzle added 13. MSU managed just 2.0 blocks in the contest - however more recently vs. Minnesota - MSU had four hitters tally double-digit kill totals, Johnson-24, Schatzle-23, Wallin-15, Langston-10 - while the Green and White defense posted 6.0 total blocks at the net. Still a loss, however BRIGHT signs of improvement!
SHE'S BACK! - Sophomore outside hitter Katie Johnson suffered an injury to her non-hitting arm during the Oct. 8th match-up vs. Illinois at Jenison Field House earlier this season. After playing sparingly vs. Ohio State and seeing no action on the floor vs. Penn State, Johnson returned to the Spartan line up vs. Wisconsin on Oct. 21 pounding 24 kills with one block solo and two block assists. In the matches since - Johnson has tallied 22 kills vs. Northwestern, 30 kills vs. Illinois, 17 kills vs. Purdue, and 24 vs. both Iowa and Minnesota.
MILESTONE MARKER - A number of Spartans are climbing the record books - senior setter Mickey Davis needs just 42 assists to move into 10th place on the career assist charts after posting 128 assists combined vs. Iowa and Minnesota, while senior defensive specialist Marley Bellwood needs just 35 digs to move into 10th place all-time. Bellwood reached the 1,000 dig milestone vs. Penn State on Oct. 15; currently she has 1,025 career digs.
HITTING ERROR WOES - The Spartans have struggled throughout the 2005 season with hitting errors at the net. In the contest vs. Iowa - Katie Johnson tallied 24 kills, however she matched her kill total with 24 errors - a .000 hitting percentage for the day. As a team, State averages 16.0 kills per game - 8.2 errors per game. In strictly Big Ten play - MSU averages 15.8 kills per game, with an 8.0 error per game average. To put it in perspective, State opponents average 5.7 overall and 5.6 errors per game in Big Ten play.
HEAD COACH Cathy George - Spartan head coach Cathy George is in her first season at the helm of the MSU volleyball program. During her time as a collegiate head coach, George holds an overall 376-237 record - a .613 winning percentage for her career. If the outcome of the year is up to George, MSU will finish with a better than .500 average - for her 19 year head coaching career, she has had just seven seasons with a below .500 finish.
NOT NEWCOMERS ANYMORE - Both the Spartan front court and back court have solid additions from a year ago. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Schatzle, a transfer from Western Michigan in 2005, averages 3.20 kills per game for the Spartans thus far in 2005, while her 304 kills ranks third among the Green and White offense. Sophomore Tracy Bellwood has played solid defensively for MSU averaging 1.72 digs per game, while her 0.25 aces per game ranks third on the squad. Walk on defensive specialist Melany Rarey has seen action in 20 games for MSU where she averages 0.30 aces per game and 1.65 digs per game in 2005.
IN 2005, AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS - Thus far in 2005, MSU is 0-7 against ranked opponents with losses to Louisville, Minnesota, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and most recently the 3-1 loss to #17 Minnesota on Nov. 5
FIVE-GAMERS - Michigan State has played nine five-game matches after the win vs. Iowa on Nov. 4 that went the distance. In those five-game matches, MSU is 4-5. Six of those matches have come in Big Ten play, where MSU holds a 3-3 record.
GREEN & WHITE FAITHFULL - MSU consistently ranks among the nation's best in home attendance figures. Thus far in 2005, MSU averages 1,452 fans per match at Jenison Field House, including a 1,573 in Big Ten matches. MSU drew its largest crowd of the season Sept. 21 when it played host to cross-state rival Michigan - 2,056 fans watched the five-game thriller!
IT LOOKS LIKE THIS - At home, MSU is 6-5, on the road the Spartans are 3-6 and at a neutral site MSU is 2-2. MSU needs to get on its winning ways at home during conference season however, in 2005 MSU is 2-5 in home contests against Big Ten opponents.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN - MSU struggled on the road last season finishing with a 3-9 record with wins over Wichita State, Indiana and Northwestern. Thus far in 2005, the Spartans are 3-6 away from Jenison Field House.
DID YOU KNOW? - Prior to the installation of the wooden playing surface this summer in Jenison, the Spartans had played their home matches on the sport court surface from 1993-2004, a span of 12 seasons. When volleyball started at MSU, the Spartans competed on the main wooden floor at Jenison.
CAPTAIN SALUTE - Senior middle blocker Megan Wallin and sophomore outside hitter Katie Johnson will share captain duties for the 2005 season.
GEORGE TRACK RECORD - First-year head coach Cathy George has a celebrated coaching record. She was the first woman to coach a team to the NCAA Final Four in just her first season at the helm of the Texas-Arlington program in 1989. Posting winning seasons and strong academic numbers are key aspects of any Cathy George run program. Student-athletes boasted a 100 percent graduation rate during her time at WMU - an amazing figure coaching at any level of athletics.
TOURNEY TALK - The 2004 campaign marked the first season in the last 10 that the Spartans did not participate in the NCAA Championship Tournament - an impressive run, and one of the longest streaks in the NCAA prior to missing tourney action in 2004. During that 10-year streak, the Spartans posted a combined 11 victories.
