 |
Volleyball: Weekly Notes (November 13, 2001)
Nov. 13, 2001 TOURNEY TIME: The Butler volleyball team will participate in the Horizon League Tournament this weekend (Nov. 16-18), which is hosted by UW-Milwaukee. The Bulldogs (11-12, 6-8 Horizon League) earned a No. 5 seed in the tournament, and will face No. 4 seeded UIC (15-14, 6-8 Horizon League) in the first round on Friday (Nov. 16) at 5:30 p.m. If the Bulldogs advance, they will play the winner of No. 1 Loyola (18-8, 13-1) and No. 8 Youngstown State (10-17, 1-13) on Saturday (Nov. 17) at 2:30 p.m. The Horizon League championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3:00 p.m. SCOUTING THE FLAMES: UIC has won its last three Horizon League matches and is a game over .500 (15-14) for the first time this season since Sept. 7. The Flames are led by Teaha Shepperd's 3.37 kills per game and Vicki Lublow's 3.67 digs per game. Setter Dawn Strahanoski averages 11.35 assists per game. OUR LAST TWO MEETINGS: Butler has split with the Flames in the two meetings this season, winning 24-30, 30-26, 23-30, 30-22, 15-7 on Oct. 5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and losing 31-33, 30-20, 17-30, 29-31 in a four-game match at the UIC's Physical Education Building on Nov. 3. Keely Norris led the Bulldogs offensively in both meetings, recording 17 kills on her homecourt, and 16 kills at UIC. Freshman Elizabeth Moreau pounded down a career-high 14 kills in the teams' first meeting, and Areal Bienemy added 11 kills in the second match-up. Senior Allison Cox led Butler's defensive efforts in both matches, recording 23 and 19 digs, respectively. For UIC, Teaha Shepperd had Butler's number, tallying a total of 36 kills in the two matches. Teammate Lynn Clarkson also posted high marks against the Bulldogs, notching 25 total kills, while Dawn Strahanoski dished out a total of 105 assists. OUSTED BY THE RAIDERS: Butler dropped a four-game decision to Wright State in a Horizon League showdown on Saturday (Nov. 10) at the C.J. McLin Gymnasium. The loss marked Butler's fourth straight, and was the second time this season the Bulldogs had lost to WSU. It was Butler's final regular-season match of the season, as they finish in a fourth-place tie in the Horizon League with UIC. After losing game one 30-23 and game two 30-25, the Bulldogs found themselves down 15-7 early on in game three. But, with its back against the wall, Butler overcame a late-game 29-25 deficit, taking a 31-29 victory. The two teams traded off points early on in game four, but WSU pulled ahead 17-10. The Bulldogs would close the margin to 25-21 heading down the stretch, but were unable to pull ahead, losing 30-24. NOT A GOOD WAY TO END: The Butler volleyball team's seniors didn't end their career at Hinkle Fieldhouse the way they had hoped, as instate rival IPFW escaped with a narrow five-game victory (30-20, 32-30, 24-30, 22-30, 15-13) on Senior Night (Nov. 7). After losing game one 30-20, the Bulldogs found themselves down 27-20 in game two. But senior Kristi Kerkhoff served up seven consecutive points, tying the game up 27-27. The two teams would alternate points until IPFW's Kirsta Solberg connected on two straight aces, giving her team the 32-30 victory. The Bulldogs bounced back in games three and four, winning 30-24, 30-22, but the Mastodons would capitalize on key points in game five, winning 15-13. Butler finished the season 9-4 at home. RECAPPING THE 2000 CHAMPIONSHIPS: After beating sixth-seeded UW-Green Bay in the opening round of the 2000 conference tournament, and knocking off the No. 2 seed, UW-Milwaukee, third-seeded Butler advanced to the championship round of the conference tournament. But, the Bulldogs didn't have enough left in them, as they fell to top-seeded Loyola in the title match. Andrea King and former Bulldogs Lynze Lysen and Kylie Galbraith were named to the all-tournament team. 20-20 VISION: Senior Allison Cox recorded her second career 20-20 match, when she went out in style on Senior Night (Nov. 7), posting team-bests of 20 kills and 20 digs against IPFW. The 5-10 outside hitter also hit .327 on the match, and tallied four service aces. Against Wright State, Cox also had a solid outing, pounding down 15 kills and collecting a match-high 20 digs. On the week, the North Judson, Ind. native had 35 kills, 40 digs, five aces and four assists, while hitting a .240 clip. STEADY SENIORS: Along with Allison Cox, seniors Kristi Kerkhoff and Andrea King also put forth an outstanding effort on Senior Night. Kerkhoff had 13 digs, four assists and two block assists on the evening, while King had 16 kills, while hitting .297, and six total blocks on the match. KEELY'S KILLING 'EM: Junior Keely Norris posted high marks on the week, recording 38 kills over the two matches, while hitting .345. The 6-1 middle blocker had 20 kills against IPFW, and followed up that performance with 18 kills against Wright State, averaging 4.22 kills per game in the two matches. Norris also had 10 total blocks on the week. |
