Michigan State University Athletics
Volleyball Continues Conference Play Against Iowa
10/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Spartan Match Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader
TV - Comcast Local
Mike Sinnott (PBP) and Emily Gerkin (Color)
Radio - Michigan State Live Audio | John Kreger (PBP)
The Spartan volleyball team continues Big Ten play on Saturday when it welcomes conference rival Iowa to Jenison Field House at 8 p.m. Michigan State leads the all-time series, 28-22, and has won four of the last five meetings between the two schools. Fans who hold a ticket stub from Saturday's Michigan State-Ohio State football game will receive free admission to the match.
Michigan Match Recap The Michigan State volleyball team improved its record to 12-5, 3-4 Big Ten with a 3-0 sweep of Michigan on Wednesday. State won by scores of 30-27, 30-28, and 30-26 in its first sweep of Michigan since 1999, and first victory in Ann Arbor since the 2003 campaign. The sweep marked the first win of Spartan head coach Cathy George's tenure at Michigan State versus the Wolverines, and the first time MSU has held a lead in the State Pride Flag series since the 2000 season.
Last Season Against Iowa The Spartans defeated the Hawkeyes in a pair of five-game matches in 2005. State posted 84 kills and 87 digs in the first meeting of the season in Iowa City, and four Spartans recorded double-digit kill totals in the match at Jenison Field House to claim the season series.
National Spotlight Michigan State ranks second in the nation in kills per game (17.39), third in assists per game (15.95) and 11th in hitting percentage (.294) in the most recent NCAA statistics (Oct. 10). Individually, setter Allison Ianni ranks 11th in assists per game (13.21), and outside hitter Katie Johnson ranks 15th with 4.98 kills per game.
 Ashley Schatzle recorded 8.00 kpg in the win versus Michigan on Wednesday.  | |
The `King' Of The Net Freshman middle blocker Vanessa King has made significant offensive and defensive contributions throughout the conference season. King has posted double-digit kill totals in four of six Big Ten contests, including a career-high 16 versus Indiana. Despite the recent loss to Northwestern, King dominated at the net, as the Spring Lake, Mich. native accounted for 9.0 blocks (1 solo, 8 assists), and a floor-high .636 attack percentage (15k-1e-22ta).
Big Ten's Depth Unmatched in Conference History Three weeks into the conference season, the Big Ten is the lone major conference (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC) to boast all its member volleyball squads with an overall winning percentage of .500 or better. Prior to this year, the Big Ten had never experienced this top-to-bottom success with all teams at .500 or better after two weeks into the conference season. In addition, an impressive nine teams this year have won two-thirds (67 percent) or more of their overall schedule.
Now And Then During the non-conference portion of the season, the Spartan offense posted 18.32 kills per game and 16.87 assists per game, against 11.03 and 10.23, respectively, by its opponents. The numbers look much different in Big Ten play however, as MSU holds a narrow 16.24-16.12 kill per game advantage, and 14.80-14.68 assist per game edge.
By The Numbers Offensively, the Spartans have dominated their opponents through the first 16 matches of the year. MSU averages 17.39 kills per game compared to 13.30 by its opponents, while the Spartans hold a higher hitting percentage (.294/.209) and tally more assists (15.95/12.21) per game. At the net, State ranks six in the Big Ten standings with 2.46 blocks per game and seventh with 14.96 digs per game, compared to 1.98 blocks per game and 11.50 digs per game, respectively, by its opponents.
On Pace The Spartan volleyball team is on pace to have its best offensive performance in recent seasons. The Green and White ranked atop the NCAA in kills per game for the first five weeks of the 2006 campaign, and ranks second (17.39) the most recent report (Oct. 10). State has failed to finish the season with a kill-per-game mark of 17.00 or above since the 1996 season (17.16) when the Spartans advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
Milestone Marker Katie Johnson recorded the 1,000th kill of her career against Minnesota on Oct. 1, posting a team-best 22 kills in the five-game contest. The Brooklyn, Mich., native added a career-high 35 kills against Purdue (Sept. 22), posting her first double-double of the season (11 digs), and tallied back-to-back matches with 24 kills against Illinois (Oct. 6) and Northwestern (Oct. 7).
Around The Big Ten In the current Big Ten statistics, Michigan State ranks first in kills per game (17.39), first in assists (15.95) and third in hitting percentage (.294). Among Big Ten competitors, Allison Ianni is second in assists per game (13.21), and ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.333). Katie Johnson (4.98) and Ashley Schatzle (4.33) rank second and eighth, respectively, in kills per game, while Nicole Colaluca is third in digs per game (4.98).
Top Marks Setter Allison Ianni is one of 24 volleyball players from around the nation, and the only member of the Big Ten Conference, to record a triple-double thus far in 2006. Ianni kicked off the season by posting 11 kills, 55 assists and 10 digs on Aug. 25 against IPFW. The feat marked the first Spartan triple-double since the 2000 season, when Erin Hartley tallied 18 kills, 11 digs and 10 blocks.
2005 Iowa Series
Game 1
Iowa City, Iowa • Oct. 1, 2005 • MSU, 3-2
Michigan State won its second five-game match of the year, defeating Iowa 3-2 in the first meeting of the year between the two schools. State won by scores of 30-18, 30-26, 27-30, 24-30, and 15-12. Katie Johnson, Megan Wallin and Ashley Schatzle all recorded 20 kills in the win, while Brooke Langston and Jessica Hohl added 11 and nine, respectively. Libero Nicole Colaluca tallied a match-high 30 digs in the Spartan backcourt, where State totaled 87 digs against 69 by the Hawkeyes.
Game 2
East Lansing, Mich. • Nov. 4, 2005 • MSU, 3-2
Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Schatzle tallied her first career double-double, posting 17 kills and 14 digs in MSU's second five-game win of the season versus the Hawkeyes. The Green and White won by scores of 28-30, 30-26, 30-22, 27-30, and 15-11. Middle blocker Megan Wallin led the Spartan defense with a season-high 7.0 total blocks, while middle Jessica Hohl added five block assists for the Green and White.
• The Series: Both matches of the 2005 series went the distance with Michigan State claiming victory in both contests. State has won four of the last five meetings between the two schools. MSU leads the all-time series, 28-22.
