Michigan State University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts Purdue And Indiana To Open Big Ten Play
9/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Spartan Match Notes
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Mike Sinnott (PBP) and Emily Gerkin (Color)
The Michigan State volleyball team concludes a four-game homestand this weekend, when it opens the Big Ten Conference season against No. 11 Purdue and Indiana. State opens weekend play against Purdue, Friday at 7 p.m. The Boilermakers swept the season series with the Spartans in 2005, winning both matches 3-0, while State swept the Hoosiers in both matches last season. In the most recent reports, the Spartans rank atop the Big Ten and NCAA statistics in both kills per game (18.32) and assists per game (16.87). State's 9-1 record marks the best start since the 1995 season when the Green and White won its first-ever Big Ten championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals. Fans that hold a ticket for Saturday's Michigan State versus Notre Dame football game at 8 p.m. will receive free admission to the 5 p.m. volleyball match against Indiana.
The Week Ahead Michigan State opens Big Ten Conference play this Friday (Sept. 22) when No. 14 Purdue visits Jenison Field House for a 7 p.m. contest. The Spartans will play host to Indiana on Saturday (Sept. 23) in a match beginning at 5 p.m.
Toledo Recap MSU improved its record to 9-1 on the season by sweeping Toledo last Saturday night at Jenison Field House. State out-hit the Rockets .252-.104, and a trio of Spartans posted double-digit kill totals. Led by Ashley Schatzle with a season-high 19 kills, Katie Johnson and Jessica Hohl each added 10 for the Green and White. Setter Allison Ianni posted 47 assists and a match-high 6.0 total blocks, while libero Nicole Colaluca paced the Spartan backcourt with 19 digs for the night.
Last Season Against Purdue Purdue swept the season series with the Spartans in 2005, winning both matches 3-0. Purdue out-hit the Spartans .275-.164 in the series, where Katie Johnson posted a team-best 5.67 kills per game, and Nicole Colaluca added 7.17 digs per game.
Last Season Against Indiana The Spartans swept the season series against the Hoosiers in 2005. Ashley Schatzle and graduated senior Megan Wallin each posted 4.14 kills per game for MSU, while Wallin led the Spartans with 1.43 blocks per game.
National Spotlight In the most recent NCAA national statistics, the Spartans rank first in assists per game (16.87), first in kills per game (18.32), and 12th in hitting percentage (.301). Individually, setter Allison Ianni ranks fifth with 13.81 assists per game, while outside hitter Katie Johnson ranks 24th with 4.80 kills per game. In 2005, Johnson ranked as high as first in the nation with 6.18 kills per game and finished the season ranked 15th (4.95 kpg), while libero Nicole Colaluca finished the year ranked 23rd (5.41) in digs per game.
Crossing Paths Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller is a 1988 graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington University. Spartan head coach Cathy George assumed head coaching duties for the Mavericks in 1989, and became the first female head coach in Division One volleyball history to lead a team to the NCAA Final Four. During her time at Texas-Arlington, George earned Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors three times (1989,1992 and 1990), and finished her tenure with a 10-2 record in postseason competition.
Big Ten Openers The Spartans haven't fared well in Big Ten openers, going 8-17 in those matches since the 1981 season. Three of MSU's eight wins have come against intra-state rival Michigan, including back-to-back seasons in 1993-94.
The Big `O' And `D' Senior setter Allison Ianni tallied a season-high 6.0 total blocks (2 block solos-4 block assists) in MSU's sweep over Toledo on Sept. 16. The Okemos, Mich., native directed the Spartan offense to a .252 attack percentage with 47 assists for the match. Through the non-conference portion of the schedule, Ianni averages 1.77 kills per game, 13.81 assists per game, and 0.84 blocks per game at the net.
Coming On Strong Junior Jessica Hohl boasts a team-high .400 hitting percentage and is one of three Spartans (Mischelle Nelson, 1.05 / Whitney Tremain, 1.00) to average better than 1.0 blocks per game (1.13). Over the past six matches, the middle blocker averages 3.72 kills per game, three service aces, one block solo, and 22 block assists. Hohl entered the season with a 0.58 bpg average and has raised that mark to 0.68 through the first nine matches of the year.
Bring on the D-D-Defense Thus far in 2006, junior defensive specialist Miken Trogdon has posted double-digit dig totals in three matches (IPFW-11, ASU-14, Oakland-10) which is one better than her total for the 2005 season. Trogdon has also contributed from the service stripe, posting 11 aces for the year - which is one higher than her 2005 performance.
 Allison Ianni ranks fifth in the nation with 13.81 assists per game.  | |
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 loose a 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.
Next In Line MSU hits the road next weekend, traveling to face Wisconsin on Friday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. ET, and Minnesota on Sunday, Oct 1 at 2 p.m. ET.
2005 Purdue Series • Purdue won both contests of the 2005 series, 3-0.
Game 1 East Lansing, Mich. • Oct. 7, 2005 • Purdue, 3-0 Although State rallied for a strong game three, the Boilermaker defense out-blocked MSU 15.0-6.0 to sweep the Spartans in the first meeting of the 2005 season. Purdue won by scores of 30-20, 30-27, and 36-34. Spartan libero Nicole Colaluca broke a 16-year old single-season record, posting 28 digs in the loss, one dig better than Jill Krumm's record-setting 27 in 1989. Katie Johnson paced the Green and White offense with 17 kills, while Ashley Schatzle added 15.
Game 2 West Lafayette, Ind. • Oct. 29, 2005 • Purdue, 3-0 State was swept for the second consecutive time by the Boilermakers. Purdue won by scores of 30-21, 30-24, and 30-28. The loss sent MSU's record to 10-12, 3-9 Big Ten for the year. Leading the way for MSU was Katie Johnson with 17 kills, while Megan Wallin and Ashley Schatzle added nine and 10, respectively in the loss. State managed just 2.0 total blocks for the match, while libero Nicole Colaluca tallied 15 digs in the Spartan backcourt.
• The Series: Purdue holds the 37-25 all-time series advantage and has won four consecutive matches. Over the past ten meetings between the two schools, the series is knotted at 5-5.
2005 Indiana Series • MSU won both contests of the 2005 series, 3-1 and 3-0
Game 1 Bloomington, Ind. • Sept. 23, 2005 • MSU, 3-1 State defeated Indiana in four games, 31-29, 23-30, 30-22, 30-24, to capture its first Big Ten win of the 2005 season. Leading the way for MSU was the duo of Katie Johnson and Megan Wallin with 16 kills each, while setter Mickey Davis added 53 assists in the victory. Defensively for the Spartans, Wallin posted six block assists, while libero Nicole Colaluca tallied 14 digs for the match.
Game 2 East Lansing, Mich. • Nov. 12, 2005 • MSU, 3-0 MSU won by scores of 30-21, 30-17, and 30-13 to sweep the season series with the Hoosiers in 2005. Outside hitter Ashley Schatzle paced the Green and White offense with 17 kills for the match, adding one block solo. Megan Wallin added 13 kills on 23 attempts for a .522 hitting percentage, while Katie Johnson added 12 kills and two block assists for the Spartans.
• The Series: Michigan State holds the 35-24 all-time series advantage and has won six consecutive matches. Over the past ten meetings between the two schools, MSU holds a dominating 9-1 record.
Net Chatter In the first 10 matches of the season, MSU has out-blocked its opponents 2.87-1.56. Junior Jessica Hohl (1.13) and freshmen Mischelle Nelson (1.05) and Whitney Tremain (1.00) are the only Spartans to average better than 1.0 blocks per game, while freshman Vanessa King and senior Allison Ianni add 0.79 and 0.84 blocks per game, respectively.
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 nine matches of the year. MSU averages 18.32 kills per game compared to 11.03 by its opponents, while the Spartans hold a higher hitting percentage (.301/.138) and tally more assists (16.87/10.23) per game. At the net, State ranks sixth in the Big Ten standings with 2.87 blocks per game and fifth with 15.65 digs per game, compared to 1.56 blocks per game and 11.68 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.
