11/7/2006 6:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
THIS WEEK: North Dakota State University hosts the Division I independent women's volleyball tournament this Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (2,100) in Fargo, N.D. These are the final three matches for NDSU and the rest of the six-team field, which includes Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Providence College, South Dakota State University, the University of Texas-Pan American, and Utah Valley State College.
THE SCHEDULE: There will be two pools of three teams, and all six teams will play three total matches. Pool 1 includes IPFW, North Dakota State and Texas-Pan American. Pool 2 includes Utah Valley State, South Dakota State and Providence. Six pool-play matches are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 10, beginning at 9 a.m. and Saturday's schedule begins at 2 p.m. with the fifth-place match.
Friday, Nov. 10
9 a.m.--North Dakota State vs. Texas-Pan American
11 a.m.--South Dakota State vs. Providence
1 p.m.--IPFW vs. Texas-Pan American
4 p.m.--Utah Valley State vs. Providence
6 p.m.--IPFW vs. North Dakota State
8 p.m.--Utah Valley State vs. South Dakota State
Saturday, Nov. 11
2 p.m.--Fifth place
5 p.m.--Third place
8 p.m.--Championship
ON THE RADIO: North Dakota State's two matches Friday will be broadcasted by NDSU ThunderRadio on the Internet at www.thunderradio.fm. Sports director Brad Jones will call the play-by-play. Saturday's coverage availability is to be determined.
ON THE WEB: Coverage of the Division I independent women's volleyball tournament can be found on the Internet at GoBison.com. Live in-game statistics will be available for all nine matches. Live streaming video will be available by subscription for all of Friday's six matches and Saturday's championship match.
BISON SEEK WINNING RECORD: North Dakota State is 15-12 this season and the Bison need only one win in this weekend's three matches to guarantee NDSU's first winning record in Division I volleyball. The Bison were 5-31 last year and 13-20 in 2004.
ABOUT IPFW: The Mastodons, who enter as the top seed in Pool 1 with a 23-10 record, are the hottest team in the tournament field after winning six straight matches and 17 of their last 19. The only losses in that span came on IPFW's home court to North Dakota State and Bowling Green State. Players to watch: Cynara Martins, 5-10, Jr., OH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil...Leads the team with 373 kills and 3.27 kills per game...Peachy Jankowski, 5-8, Jr., L, Fraser, Mich...D-I independent Defensive Player of the Week...Averaging 5.70 digs per game, which ranks in the top 30 nationally...Jessica Dominiak, 5-9, So., S, Waterville, Ohio...Offensive-minded setter whose 114 kills are more than any other setter in the tournament...Averages 9.94 assists per game.
ABOUT UTAH VALLEY STATE: The Wolverines are the top seed in Pool 2 with a 15-10 overall record. Utah Valley State has been streaky of late, winning four straight at home in response to a four-match losing skid in October. Players to watch: Camie Manwill, 6-0, So., OH, Paradise, Calif...Leads the team with 363 kills and is second in the D-I independent stats with 4.22 kills per game...Also second on her team with 3.90 digs per game...Lacee Koelliker, 5-11, Sr., S, Las Vegas, Nev...Third leading setter in the D-I independents with 11.69 assists per game...Very aggressive on offense with 105 kills.
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE: The Jackrabbits are 21-10 overall but have lost three of their last five matches. SDSU led the D-I independent standings most of the year and the Jacks remain atop the statistical charts in hitting percentage (.241) and assists per game (14.0). Players to watch: Kristina Martin, 6-0, Jr., OH, Hubertus, Wis...D-I independent Offensive Player of the Week...Leads the team in kills (407) and kills per game (3.77)...Kristie Klusaw, 5-10, Sr., S, Bellevue, Neb...Top setter in the D-I independents with 11.99 assists per game...Amy Anderson, 5-11, Jr., MH, Huron, S.D...Leads the Jacks with 118 blocks (1.10 bpg) and is second with 330 kills.
ABOUT TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN:
Texas-Pan American is closing out its worst season since 1992. The Lady Broncs are 4-23 and have lost 10 straight since a sweep of Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 26. Players to watch: Heather Bravo, 5-11, Sr., OH, Las Vegas, Nev...Third in the independent stats in kills (378) and kills per game (3.98)...Also averages 3.24 digs per game...Chelsea Blakely, 5-6, So., S, Houston, Texas...Aggressive setter with 70 kills this year and is averaging 10.57 assists per game.ABOUT PROVIDENCE:
The Friars assembled a seven-match winning streak in October but have lost their last two matches to dip to 14-15 overall. Players to watch: Jeanette Toney, 5-10, So., OH, Brooklyn, N.Y...Leads the Friars with 374 kills and 3.63 kills per game and is averaging more than a block per game (1.09)...Sara Sheehan, 5-8, So., S, West Chester, Pa...Averaging 9.73 assists and 1.96 digs per game.LAST WEEK: North Dakota State snapped a nine-match losing streak to South Dakota State with a 30-23, 30-23, 30-15 sweep of the Jackrabbits in Brookings, S.D. The Bison outhit South Dakota State .379 to .156, led by the 15 kills of Chloe Quirk, 12 kills from Sheila Parrish, 11 kills from Christy Stuewe and 10 by Lindsay Rogers. Stuewe and Rogers were errorless in 39 combined attacks, and the Bison committed only eight errors in 124 total attacks. NDSU is now 56-16 against SDSU dating back to 1974, but the Jacks have a 9-1 lead in the series since the teams moved to Division I in 2004.
FAGNAN BREAKS DIGS RECORD: North Dakota State libero Kari Fagnan broke the school four-game digs record with 31 digs at Utah Valley State on Oct. 28. It was the third highest total in school history behind the 35 of Geri Getchell against South Dakota State in 1999 and the 33 by Fagnan against Iowa earlier this season. Those were both five-game totals. Fagnan previously tied the four-game digs mark with 28 in the win at IPFW on Oct. 7.
TWO ON ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: North Dakota State placed two student-athletes on the Division I independent women's volleyball all-academic team announced last week. Senior outside hitter Sheila Parrish from Fargo and senior middle hitter Lindsay Rogers of LaMoure, N.D., were the two honorees, and it was the third straight year both players have been selected. Parrish maintains a 3.92 cumulative grade-point average in human performance and fitness (pre-medicine) and Rogers carries a 3.86 cumulative GPA in zoology (pre-dentistry).
BISON RANK NATIONALLY IN BLOCKING: North Dakota State continues to rank nationally in blocks per game in the NCAA Division I statistics released last week. The Bison cracked the list at 30th on Oct. 10 and were as high as 24th two weeks ago when NDSU was averaging 3.11 blocks per game. The Bison are currently at 3.03 blocks per game, which leads the Division I independents. Updated national statistics are due out Tuesday.
BISON CONTROLLING THE NET: North Dakota State has outblocked opponents in 20 of 27 matches this season, including a plus-15 margin in the 3-0 home win over Texas-Pan American Oct. 21 when the Bison had 17 total team blocks to UTPA's two. How important has the blocking game been for North Dakota State? NDSU is 0-7 in the seven matches when opponents have had more blocks.
CAREER AND SEASON RECORD WATCH: North Dakota State has four players in the career and single-season top 10 lists in five statistical categories?digs, attacks, assists, block assists and total blocks. Notably, junior libero Kari Fagnan needs only 25 digs to break the single-season record of 524 digs set by Becky Ruebke in 2003. Fagnan is currently fifth on the list.
|
Player |
Stats |
|
4th in career digs (1,405) | |
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5th in career digs (1,344) | |
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9th in career assists (1,228) | |
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8th in career block assists (350) |
SEVEN-MATCH WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State's seven-match winning streak snapped by South Dakota State on Oct. 15 was NDSU's longest since beginning Division I play in 2004 and the most consecutive victories since the Bison won nine in a row as a Division II team in September 2002.
THREE RECORDS WRITTEN AT IPFW: North Dakota State broke its four-game team record with 111 digs in the victory at IPFW on Oct. 7, and two individual marks were written as well. Junior libero Kari Fagnan tied what was then the four-game record with 28 digs set in 2000 by outside hitter Rachael Schmieg, and senior outside hitter Sheila Parrish set an all-games record with 88 attacks.
PARRISH JOINS 1,000-1,000 CLUB: NDSU outside hitter Sheila Parrish earlier this season became the 17th member of NDSU's 1,000 kills club, and she is the sixth member of the 1,000-1,000 club with kills and digs, joining Janet Cobbs (1985-1988), Angie Converse (1990-1993), Brenda Schultz (1987-1990), Rachael Schmieg (1998-2001) and Chrystal Olson (1994-1997). Parrish has 1,343 kills and 1,344 digs in her career despite playing setter most of last season.
PLAYER AWARDS: North Dakota State has had several standout performances while running its record to 15-12 this season. Three players have earned all-tournament honors, and the Bison have had regular representation in the weekly Division I independent player of the week voting. Here is a list of the honorees:
|
Player |
Awards |
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All-tournament at Creighton, South Dakota State and Brown | |
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4x Offensive Player of the Week (9/5, 9/12, 9/26, 10/10) | |
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5x Newcomer of the Week (8/29, 9/5, 9/12, 9/19, 10/17) | |
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3x Setter of the Week (9/26, 10/10, 11/7) | |
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All-tournament at South Dakota State | |
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All-tournament at Brown | |
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Defensive Player of the Week (10/10) |
FORFEIT DOESN'T COUNT:
North Dakota State cannot accept a win by forfeit as encouraged by the Big Sky Conference in a September ruling that Weber State used an ineligible player in its 3-1 win over the Bison on opening weekend Aug. 26 in Brookings, S.D. NCAA statistics allow for changes in win-loss records only when forfeits or vacancies are declared by the NCAA Committee on Infractions. The match remains a 3-1 loss for North Dakota State on its official record, and all individual and team statistics remain intact.ACTIVE STATUS: North Dakota State has completed the reclassification from Division II to Division I in the sports of wrestling and women's volleyball. The two sport programs were elevated to active status by the NCAA on Sept. 1. NDSU is eligible for regional and national playoffs in both sports and is on track to be eligible in all sports by the 2008-09 season.
BISON INVITED TO MID-CON: North Dakota State accepted an invitation Aug. 31 to join the Mid-Continent Conference for the 2007-08 season. IPFW and South Dakota State also accepted invitiations to push Mid-Con membership to 10 teams in 2007-08. NDSU will be immediately eligible for all regular-season championships and eligible for the league's postseason tournament championship only in women's volleyball until the rest of NDSU's programs are active Division I members in 2008-09.
THE COACHES: Erich Hinterstocker is in his first season as head coach at North Dakota State. Hinterstocker, 32, was an assistant at Alabama the past two seasons and spent three years at Wisconsin-Green Bay prior to that. He holds a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from the National College of Chiropractic, and was a standout club volleyball player at Marquette University. Former Wisconsin-Green Bay players Kari Thompson and Leslie Kuhn are the assistant coaches. Thompson was a graduate assistant at Alabama last season and Kuhn, a setter, played professionally in Spain.
