Volleyball Hosts Illinois And Northwestern In Weekend Action

Oct. 5, 2006

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

Spartan Match Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader

TV - Comcast Local
Dan Gutowsky (PBP) and Joe Mazieka (Color)

Radio - Michigan State Live Audio | John Kreger (PBP)

The Spartan volleyball team looks to halt a two-game conference losing streak this weekend, hosting Illinois on Friday (7 p.m.), and Northwestern on Saturday (8 p.m.) at Jenison Field House. The Green and White are 10-4, 1-3 against Big Ten opponents entering weekend play. Illinois holds a 33-19 in the all-time series with the Spartans, while Northwestern has a slight 28-23 edge in the series between the two schools. Michigan State enters Friday's match versus Illinois ranked first in the nation in kills per game (17.54) for the fifth consecutive week.

Weekend Review
Michigan State dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 14 Wisconsin last Friday on the road in conference play. Ashley Schatzle (12 kills) and Jessica Hohl (10) paced the Spartan offense, where setter Allison Ianni added 34 assists in the loss. State concluded weekend play with a five-game loss to Minnesota. Four Spartans posted double-digit kill totals, led by Johnson with 22, while libero Nicole Colaluca tallied a match-best 23 digs.

Last Season Against Illinois
Illinois swept the season series against the Spartans a year ago, winning 3-2 at Jenison Field House, and claiming a 3-1 victory on its homecourt. Ashley Schatzle posted a career-high 24 kills in the first contest between the two schools in 2005, while Katie Johnson led the Green and White with 30 kills and two blocks in the final meeting.

Last Season Against Northwestern
The teams split the 2005 series with each school winning on its respective home court. Katie Johnson tallied 22 kills in the Spartan victory, while Ashley Schatzle posted a team-best 15 kills in the final meeting of the year. The Wildcats out-blocked the Spartans by a 3.44-1.75 margin in the series, while MSU held a slight edge with a .204 attack percentage compared to a .191 effort by Northwestern.

National Spotlight
Michigan State ranks first in the nation in kills per game (17.54) for the fifth consecutive week in the most recent NCAA statistics (Oct. 2). The total is slightly better than second-place Nebraska (17.52) and third-place St. John's (N.Y., 17.40). Setter Allison Ianni ranks seventh in assists per game (13.33), directing the Green and White to a third place in assists per game (16.08) and 13th in hitting percentage (.288).

Road Weary
Michigan State struggled on the road last weekend in Big Ten action at Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Badgers held MSU to its lowest kill total of the season (41), while State failed to register an ace against the Gopher defense. The last time the Spartans failed to record an ace in defeat, was against Penn State on Oct. 25, 1997 (PSU, 3-0) - a span of eight seasons and 175 Big Ten matches.

Bright Spot
Junior outside hitter Jessica Hohl tallied 10 kills on 18 attempts for a .556 hitting percentage in the Spartan loss to Wisconsin on Sept. 29. The total marked the second time this season Hohl has tallied at least 10 kills with zero errors in a match. The Waterville, Ohio, native also tallied 2.5 of MSU's 6.0 total blocks against the Badgers.

Welcome Home
Former Spartan standout Christie Landry returns to Jenison Field House this weekend as a first-year assistant coach at Northwestern. Landry ranks fourth all-time with 3,761 assists during her career and helped direct the Spartans to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (1999-2002).

On Pace
The Spartan volleyball team is on pace to have its best offensive performance in recent seasons. The Green and White has ranked atop the NCAA in kills per game throughout the 2006 campaign, including the most recent report (Oct. 2) with 17.54 kpg. 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 19 kills in State's 3-1 win versus Indiana (Sept. 23) in the opening weekend of conference play.

Double-Double Strong
A trio of Spartans posted double-doubles in the opening weekend of conference play, led by Allison Ianni with 67 assists and 14 digs versus Purdue (Sept. 22), and 56 assists and 10 digs against Indiana (Sept. 23). Katie Johnson dominated the Green and White offensive attack against the Boilermakers, posting a career-high 35 kills and a season-high 11 digs, while Ashley Schatzle contributed 22 kills and 11 digs in the match.

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.

Around The Big Ten
In the current Big Ten statistics, Michigan State ranks first in kills per game (17.54), first in assists (16.08) and third in hitting percentage (.288). Among Big Ten competitors, Allison Ianni is second in assists per game (13.33), and ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.340). Katie Johnson (4.81) and Ashley Schatzle (4.40) rank third and eighth, respectively, in kills per game, while Nicole Colaluca is third in digs per game (5.17).

Big Ten's Depth Unmatched in Conference History
Two weeks into the conference season, the Big Ten remains just one of two (Big 12) major conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC) that boasts 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, seven teams this year still remain above the .700 mark.

Bring on the D-D-Defense
Thus far in 2006, junior defensive specialist Miken Trogdon has posted double-digit dig totals in five matches (IPFW-11, ASU-14, Oakland-10, Indiana-13, Minnesota-12) which is three better than her total for the 2005 season. Trogdon has also contributed from the service stripe, posting 14 aces for the year - including a total of three against EMU, Oakland and Indiana.

What A Difference A Year Makes
Through the non-conference portion of the 2005 season, the Spartan offense posted a meager .203 hitting percentage and had recorded just four sweeps. In 2006, MSU tallied eight sweeps, ranked as high as sixth in the nation with a .328 hitting percentage (Sept. 5 report) and first in the nation in both kills per game (18.32) and assists per game (16.87 -Sept. 19 report).

Strong Start
Michigan State lost its first game against IPFW on Aug. 25 and didn't lose another game until a 0-3 loss to Arizona State on Sept. 8. MSU won 17 consecutive games, recorded five consecutive sweeps, and won both the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Tournament and the Spartan Invitational during the stretch.

Serving Ace
Junior defensive specialist Tracy Bellwood leads the Green and White with 14 service aces for the year. The mark ranks her third in the Big Ten standings heading into weekend play. Bellwood tallied a career-high six aces in MSU's win versus IPFW on Aug. 25. The mark was the highest Spartan total for a four-game match since Emily Engel accomplished the feat during the 2001 season.

Quick Note
Libero Nicole Colaluca had a streak of 37-consecutive matches snapped with double-digit dig totals when she managed just nine digs in the Spartan backcourt against Tennessee Tech (Sept. 9). The junior from Naperville, Ill., began a new streak when she posted a match-high 19 digs against Oakland on Sept. 12, and followed with 18 versus Toledo on Sept. 16.

Hohl Weekend
Jessica Hohl tallied some of the best numbers of her career competing at the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 1-2). The Waterville, Ohio, native posted 31 kills on 60 attempts for a .450 hitting percentage, including a career-high .750 average against Miami. Hohl added 1.44 blocks per game (1 solos-12 assists) and garnered tournament MVP accolades, the first such honor of her career.

By The Numbers
Offensively, the Spartans have dominated their opponents through the first 14 matches of the year. MSU averages 17.54 kills per game compared to 12.94 by its opponents, while the Spartans hold a higher hitting percentage (.288/.205) and tally more assists (16.08/11.92) per game. At the net, State ranks seventh in the Big Ten standings with 2.42 blocks per game and sixth with 15.25 digs per game, compared to 1.98 blocks per game and 11.67 digs per game, respectively, by its opponents.

Spartan Honors
Junior outside hitter Jessica Hohl was named the 2006 Spartan Invitational MVP, while teammates Allison Ianni and Ashley Schatzle also garnered all-tournament accolades. In opening weekend action, outside hitter Katie Johnson was named the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend tournament MVP, while Ianni and libero Nicole Colaluca also garnered all-tournament honors.

TV Airtime
Michigan State will compete in eight televised matches this season. Seven of those matches will be tape delayed on Comcast Local, while MSU's Nov. 10 contest against Indiana will be tape delayed on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Schedule Note
This season, Michigan State will face six teams that competed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, (Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue and Minnesota) including five (Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Minnesota) that were ranked in the final poll by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Captain Salute
Senior libero Nicole Colaluca and junior outside hitter Katie Johnson will serve as captains of the 2006 Spartan volleyball team. Johnson also served as co-captain of the 2005 squad.

Homecoming Debut
Spartan setter Allison Ianni, a former Okemos High School standout, played her first match in Green and White on Aug. 25 after transfering from the University of the Pacific last January. The senior tallied her second career triple-double (11 kills-55 assists-10 digs), and the first Spartan triple-double since the 2000 season, against IPFW.

Preseason Picks
The Michigan State volleyball team was selected seventh in the Big Ten preseason poll. In addition, Spartan outside hitter Katie Johnson was selected to the 12-member Preseason All-Big Ten Team for the first time in her career. The league's head coaches chose the Spartans seventh in the 2006 poll, which is two spots up from a ninth-place preseason ranking in 2005.

Head Coach Cathy George
Spartan head coach Cathy George finished her first season at the helm of the Michigan State program with a 12-18 overall record, including a 5-15 Big Ten Conference mark. George entered the 2006 campaign ranked as one of the 50 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I (377 wins) and is one of the top 80 coaches in NCAA Division I history with a career .609 winning percentage. In 1989, she was the first female head coach to lead a team to the NCAA Final Four when she did so in just her first season at Texas-Arlington.

State Pride Flag
Despite a valiant effort by the Spartans in 2005, the Michigan Wolverines captured another State Pride Flag by winning both matches between the two schools last season. The win marks the fourth straight for the conference rival, as the Spartans captured their last flag during the 2001 season.

2005 Illinois Series
• Illinois won both contests of the 2005 series, 3-2 and 3-1.

Game 1
East Lansing, Mich. • Oct. 8, 2005 • Illinois, 3-2
Ashley Schatzle tallied a career-best 24 kills as four Spartans tallied double-digit kill totals in a five-game loss to Illinois in the opening contest of the 2005 season between the two schools. Illinois won by scores of 28-30, 30-28, 31-29, 30-32, and 15-12. The Spartans record fell to 9-7 for the year, including a 2-4 mark against conference opponents with the loss.

Game 2
Champaign, Ill. • Oct. 28, 2005 • Illinois, 3-1
Despite 30 kills from outside hitter Katie Johnson and 52 assists from setter Mickey Davis, Illinois clinched the season sweep against the Spartans with a 3-1 victory in the final matchup between the two schools. The Fighting Illini won by scores of 31-29, 30-23, 26-30, and 30-28. Spartan libero Nicole Colaluca tallied 18 digs, her 21st consecutive match with double-digit kills in 2005 in the loss.

• The Series: Illinois has won five of the last six meetings between the two schools and holds a 33-19 series advantage.

2005 Northwestern Series
• The Spartans and Wildcats split the 2005 series, with each team winning on its respective home court.

Game 1
East Lansing, Mich. • Oct. 22, 2005 • MSU, 3-2
In the final contest of the 2005 Homecoming weekend, MSU halted a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory versus Northwestern in the opening contest of the year between the two conference rivals. The Green and White won by scores of 25-30, 30-21, 23-30, 30-19, and 15-10. Outside hitter Katie Johnson posted a match-high 22 kills, while Jessica Hohl, Megan Wallin and Ashley Schatzle added 16, 13 and 12, respectively.

Game 2
Evanston, Ill. • Nov. 18, 2005 • Northwestern, 3-0
Northwestern extended its winning streak to five games, posting scores of 33-31, 30-21, and 31-29 to defeat Michigan State in conference play. Ashley Schatzle and Katie Johnson paced the Green and White with 15 and 14 kills, respectively, while Nicole Colaluca (19) and Melany Rarey (10) each tallied double-digit dig totals in the Spartan backcourt.

• The Series: Northwestern holds the 28-23 all-time series advantage against the Spartans.