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Volleyball Welcomes Ball State To Hinkle Fieldhouse On Tuesday
Complete Release in PDF Format
Sept. 26, 2006
This week in Butler Volleyball...
The Week Ahead: The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time in three weeks on Tuesday (Sept. 26) when they host Ball State beginning at 6:00 p.m. Butler then returns to the road again this weekend, traveling to Dayton, Ohio on Friday (Sept. 29) for a 7:00 p.m. match with Wright State.
Previewing The Bulldogs: The Bulldogs (5-10, 0-2 Horizon League) take a brief break from Horizon League play this week when they host in-state rival Ball State in Butler's first home game since Sept. 5. Freshman Porshia Allen has been the strongest offensive player for the Bulldogs in her first collegiate season, pacing the squad with 164 kills, including 27 in two conference matches. Senior Krystal Hendrix continues to be a force both on offense and defense, hitting a team-high .312 while averaging 1.25 blocks per game, while junior Michelle DeGeeter leads the team with 140 digs and touts 147 kills. Sophomore Dana Daprile has been steady at setter, dishing 480 assists. Head coach Sharon Clark is in her seventh season with the Bulldogs and is just one win away from her 100th with the program.
Butler Opens Horizon League Play In Chicago: Freshman outside hitter Porshia Allen and junior middle blocker Michelle DeGeeter led the way offensively for the Bulldogs in their first Horizon League competition of the season, totalling 53 kills between them in games against UIC (Sept. 22) and Loyola (Sept. 23) last weekend. Sophomore Nina Inic added stellar defensive performances, notching 12 digs against the Flames before registering a career-best 22 against the Ramblers. UIC and Loyola proved to be too much in the final tally, however, as the Flames sent the Bulldogs to a 3-0 defeat before the Ramblers held off a late Butler charge to claim a 3-1 decision.
Home Sweet Home: Hinkle Fieldhouse has been a very hospitable home for the Bulldogs, especially in the early part of this season. Butler touts a 4-1 mark in home matches this year, with wins over Chicago State (August 29), Kennesaw State (Sept. 1), Evansville (Sept. 1) and St. Joseph's (Sept. 5). Fortunately for Butler, nine of the final 14 regular season matches will be held inside Hinkle.
Block Party: The Bulldogs continue to have a significant edge on their opponents when it comes to blocking, sending back 127.5 to their foes' 76.5. In fact, the team is third in the Horizon League in total blocks with 2.41 per game.
Moving Up The List: With 356 block assists in her four seasons on the team, senior Krystal Hendrix sits in second-place all-time and continues her climb to the top of the Butler record books. The top mark is held by Amy Pickett, who totalled 413 from 1995-98. Hendrix also ranks seventh all-time with 393 career total blocks and stands behind Keely Norris in sixth with 409. Inic To Win It: Not much got by sophomore defensive specialist Nina Inic in last weekend's Horizon League opening matches. The Belgrade, Serbia native tied for the team-high with 12 digs against UIC on Sept. 22 before notching a career-best 22 against Loyola on Sept. 23. She was nearly perfect in her attempts as well, committing just one error in each of the games.
Welcome To The Show: Freshman outside hitter Porshia Allen made quite a first impression against Marian (August 25), pacing the Bulldogs with 21 kills in helping the team to a 3-1, season-opening victory over the Knights. She currently leads the team in kills (164) and is tied for third with 31 total blocks.
...And Welcome Back: Sophomore setter Dana Daprile returned to the Butler lineup this season following a break-out freshman campaign that was cut short due to a knee injury. She wasted no time getting back to her stellar form in the season opener at Marian on August 25, dishing out a then-career-high 51 assists. She has continued her success since then, topping her career mark yet again with 57 against Evansville while averaging 9.06 per game.
Triple Your Pleasure: Dana Daprile put together an all-around impressive performance in the Bulldogs' match against Army (Sept. 2), recording a triple-double with 11 kills, 30 assists and 17 digs while hitting a team-high .450 (11-2-20) in the match.
More On Daprile: With 480 assists on the year to date, Dana Daprile has surpassed her freshman total of 476 and needed only 15 matches to do it, compared with 18 last year. Steele Named To All-Tournament Team: After leading the Bulldogs with superior serving in at the Courtyard by Marriott Classic, freshman Stephanie Steele was named to the All-Tournament Team as the tournament's Best Server. In matches against Duke, Notre Dame and Arizona State, she recorded three service aces and only two errors in 35 attempts for a .943 service percentage. She also chipped in 18 digs and added three total blocks. On the year, Steele touts 13 service aces and a .917 service percentage.
They Come From Near And Far: Three of the Bulldog's six newcomers didn't have to travel too far to reach campus this fall. Sophomore transfer Corissa Foster and freshman Porshia Allen both hail from Indianapolis, while freshman Stephanie Steele comes from Sellersburg in southern Indiana. The other three, however, covered quite a bit more distance in their relocations. Freshmen Melody Austin (New Orleans, La.), Adrianna Higle (San Antonio, Texas) and Stephanie McGurk (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) combined for nearly 4,100 miles in their trips to Indianapolis.
Four Out Of Five Scorers Agree: The Bulldogs boast four of their top five scoring threats from a year ago in seniors Krystal Hendrix and Susana Henri, junior Michelle DeGeeter and sophomore Alicia Coltrane. The quartet was responsible for 70 percent (857 of 1,224) of the team's kills in 2005.
The Biggest Test: The Horizon League volleyball season provides challenging competition every year, and coach Clark planned accordingly when scheduling non-conference opponents. Last weekend's match-ups featured the most demanding non-conference matches for the Bulldogs this season, including bouts with Duke, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2005, and Notre Dame, which reached the Sweet 16 of the national tournament last season.
Head Coach Sharon Clark: In her 14th year of coaching and seventh season with the Bulldogs, head coach Sharon Clark earned her 200th career victory against Evansville on Sept. 2. She now needs only one victory to eclipse the century mark in total wins as the head coach of Butler. Clark has compiled a 201-201 record in 13-plus years as a head coach, including a 99-93 record at Butler. During her tenure with the Bulldogs, she has coached a two-time All-American, nine All-Horizon League Team members and seven all-newcomer team members.
Clark Recognized by NABJ: On August 18, head coach Sharon Clark was named as a recipient of the Sam Lacy Pioneer Award by the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). She was presented with the honor for her success as one of the few black major-college volleyball coaches and the leadership she has shown in American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and NCAA activities. The Pioneer Awards, which pay tribute to black ground-breakers in the sports world, are the most prestigious honors bestowed by the NABJ Sports Task Force, which is comprised of black print and broadcast sports journalists nationwide. Next Up: Horizon League play continues as Butler hosts Cleveland State at 7:00 p.m. on Oct. 6 before welcoming Youngstown State to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a 4:00 p.m. contest on Oct. 7. |
