Oct. 8, 2007
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Penn State and Wisconsin sit atop the conference standings with 6-0 records in Big Ten play. The Big Ten Network will televise two conference matches, including Monday night's 7 p.m. CT contest that features Purdue at Illinois. Friday's slate features two top-15 matchups as No. 15 Michigan battles No. 3 Penn State and No. 9 Wisconsin takes on No. 11 Minnesota.
Big Ten on TV
Two conference matches will hit the national airwaves this week, beginning with a rare Monday contest as Purdue travels to Illinois for a 7 p.m. CT showdown. The Illini are 0-1 in games played on the network while the Boilermakers are making their Big Ten Network debut. On Wednesday, Penn State hosts Ohio State in a 8 p.m. ET match that will be broadcast live. The Nittany Lions will make their first appearance on the network while the Buckeyes are 0-1 in Big Ten Network games.
Gophers' Streak Reaches Program High
Minnesota tied its program record for longest Big Ten winning streak at 11 matches, defeating Ohio State, 3-2 on Friday. The Gophers won the last six matches of the 2006 season and the first five of the 2007 season before the streak was halted by No. 3 Penn State on Saturday.
PSU Brings Out the Brooms
Penn State has won all 18 of its conference games this season. Dating back to 2004, the Nittany Lions are 64-2 in league matches with 52 of those wins coming in three-game sweeps.
U-M's Bruzdzinski Sets School Record
Michigan senior Katie Bruzdzinski broke Michigan's all-time kills record over the weekend, surpassing Jennifer Gandolph with a total of 1,570 in her career. Bruzdzinski threw down 11 kills as the Wolverines swept Northwestern on Saturday in a match that was televised by the Big Ten Network.
Hoosiers Tough in Tight Matches
Indiana is 4-0 in five-game matches this season, including a 3-2 win over Illinois on Friday. The Hoosiers have come from behind in all four of those contests, closing out the victories with wins in Games 4 and 5.
Badgers Out to Impressive Start
At 14-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, Wisconsin is out to one of the program's best starts in history. Currently riding an 11-match winning streak, the Badgers have gone undefeated through six conference matches just once previously (2001). That season, Wisconsin started Big Ten play with an 11-0 mark.
DeBruler Hitting Her Way into Records Book
Illinois' Laura DeBruler is on pace for one of the best freshman seasons in program history. At the regular season's half-way marker, DeBruler owns 274 kills, putting her on pace for the fourth-highest total in the Illinois records book. Entering the weekend, the freshman was 37th in the NCAA in kills per game (4.67), and currently ranks second in the conference in that category in all matches played.
All 11 Conference Teams Boast Winning Records
With all 11 squads owning winning percentages of .529 or higher, the Big Ten is the only major conference (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, SEC, Pac-10) in the country with all of its teams over .500 on the season.
Big Ten in the Polls
The Big Ten boasts four teams in the nation's top 15 according to the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll. Penn State is in its eighth consecutive week at No. 3, while Wisconsin is ranked No. 9 for the fifth week in a row. Minnesota remains No. 11 for the second straight week. After sweeping Michigan State and Northwestern over the weekend, Michigan moved up one spot to No. 15. The Big Ten has had at least four teams in the AVCA Top 25 in each week of the season.
