Volleyball Looks to Gain Ground at Home Tonight
10/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Complete Release (PDF Format)Hoping a return to the friendly confines of the M.A.C. Center will be kind, the Kent State University volleyball team (7-9, 4-5 MAC) hosts Miami University (4-13, 2-6 MAC) Wednesday night (Oct. 20). KSU then heads to James A. Rhodes Arena to battle arch-rival University of Akron (11-9, 3-5) Friday (Oct. 22) before travelling to Ohio University (15-2, 7-0 MAC) Saturday (Oct. 23). First serve for all three matches is set for 7 p.m. Miami is looking to bounce back from consecutive losses to Toledo and Eastern Michigan last weekend. On the season, Carli Reihman ranks third in the MAC in hitting percentage (.331) while Tara Buroker leads the squad in kills (3.11) and digs (2.95) per game. Carolyn Condit (Mount St. Josephs 76) is the head coach of the RedHawks. Earlier this year, Miami took a 3-1 win from the Flashes, Oct. 10.Akron currently is fourth in the MAC East Division after splitting a pair matches against Northern Illinois and Ball State last week. In the Zips 3-1 win over the Huskies Oct. 15, Jennifer Stewart notched a double-double with 20 kills and 25 digs, helping UA produce a season-high 125 digs. Mike Sweitzer (Akron 90), in his 14th season, is the mentor of the Zips.Kent State leads the backyard rivalry 28-23. In two meetings last season, both teams took a victory on its home floor. Ohio remains undefeated in the league after sweeping Toledo and Bowling Green Oct. 15-16. Briana Adamovsky leads the conference with 13.54 assists per contest while Julia Winkfield ranks second in hitting percentage (.341) and is tied for eighth in kills per game (3.67 k/g). The Bobcats received 60 votes in the latest USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Poll. Geoff Carlston (Minnesota 93) has coached Ohio for two seasons. The last time KSU and Ohio met, the Bobcats topped KSU 3-0 in Kent, Oct. 6. The Flashes will have an entire week to regroup before competing against Ball State University Saturday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. CT in Muncie, Ind. Kent State volleyball team endured a tough trip to Michigan as KSU picked up two losses against Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan last weekend. The Flashes were shut out by the MAC West Division leading Eagles 31-33, 20-30, 27-30 Friday night.In the loss, three Golden Flashes notched 10 or more kills, led by junior Danielle Holts (Galion, Ohio/Galion) 13 kills. Senior Michelle Corniffe (Ajax, Ontario/Ajax) chipped in 12 kills while senior Ruth Ladurner-Schnitzer (Lana, Italy/Franz Kafka) finished with 11 kills. Freshman Laura Jensen (Apple Valley, Minn./Burnsville) led all players with 22 digs while freshman Anne Zakelj (Willoughby, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) recorded four blocks.The following evening in Kalamazoo, Kent State dropped another close match at the hands of Broncos by scores of 28-30, 27-30, 30-27, 26-30.Holt recorded a match-high 22 kills and three aces, Ladurner-Schnitzer compiled 14 kills while Corniffe matched her kills output from the last match with 12. Junior setter Anne Butts (Bloomington, Ill./University) finished with 56 assists.The freshman tandem of Jensen and Zakelj led the Kent State defense for the second consecutive match as Jensen registered 19 digs and Zakelj had four blocks. The solid reputation that Kent State volleyball has built in the past seven seasons can be credited to head coach Mora Kanim. After becoming the programs all-time wins leader in 2002, she notched her 100th victory with a 3-2 win over Northern Illinois Oct. 4, 2003 to become the first volleyball coach at Kent State to reach the century plateau. She now holds a 113-113 career coaching record (.500).The Flashes also hold a rich academic tradition as the volleyball squad just completed its 18th consecutive semester with at least a 3.0 GPA.Four Golden Flashes are on the latest MAC individual leaders list Oct. 18. Junior Danielle Holt (Galion, Ohio/Galion) ranks fourth in kills (4.37 k/g) and points (4.94 p/g) per contest. Sophomore Sarah Wilber (Huron, Ohio/Huron) is tied for fourth in aces per game (0.41 sa/g). Junior Anne Butts (Bloomington, Ill./University) stands ninth in assists per contest (10.60 a/g) while freshman Laura Jensen (Apple Valley, Minn./Burnsville) ranks fifth in digs (4.71) per game.Five Kent State volleyball players rank on the MACs active career leaders list as of Oct. 18. Junior Danielle Holt (Galion, Ohio/Galion) ranks fourth in kills (1,297) and 13th in digs (842). Senior Ruth Ladurner-Schnitzer (Lana, Italy/Franz Kafka) stands 15th in kills (728) and 16th in digs (807). Senior Kara Warnke (Aurora, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit [Lock Haven]) ranks ninth in kills (840 [660 with Lock Haven]) and 19th in digs (775 [708 with Lock Haven]) and senior Michelle Corniffe (Ajax, Ontario/Ajax) is 14th in kills (730). Junior Anne Butts (Bloomington, Ill./University) ranks fourth among active players and 27th in the MAC record book with 3,410 assists and is 24th among active leaders in digs (672).Freshman libero Laura Jensen (Apple Valley, Minn./Burnsville) is continuing to make history in her first season in a Kent State uniform. Against Northern Illinois Oct. 2, she registered a school-record 42 digs which broke the 20-year-old record of 33 digs previously set by Laurie Mehlenbacher Sept. 21, 1984, ironically against the Huskies. Her record output also ties for the eighth-most in one match in MAC history.Jensen needs 55 more digs to break into the schools top 10 single-season list and is on pace to shatter the Kent State single-season digs per game record with 4.71 digs per contest.Junior outside hitter Danielle Holt (Galion, Ohio/Galion) continues to add record marks to an already impressive resume as one of the cornerstones of the Kent State offense.Holt is three kills shy of recording 1,300 kills for her career and needs 13 more kills to break into the MACs all-time records list. She also added an eighth-place ranking in the schools career aces category with 116 and is seven digs away from 10th place in career digs with 842. She already ranks in the Kent State career records book in kills per game (4.46 k/g), kills (1,297, third), attack attempts (3,240, fourth), aces per game (0.40 sa/g) and digs per game (2.89 d/g). This season Holt ranks fourth in the league with 4.37 kills and 4.94 points per game in 2004. She has tallied double-digit kills in all but one match and has recorded seven double-doubles (kills-digs) this season.Sophomore Sarah Wilber (Huron, Ohio/Huron) continues to come into her own and solidify her position at middle blocker. She has recorded four blocks or better in 10 matches, including a career-best nine blocks twice this year. She also has recorded double-digit kills in six matches, including a career-best 15 kills against Buffalo Oct. 8. On the season, Wilber has started in all 63 games for the Flashes this season and is tied for fourth in the MAC in aces (0.41 sa/g).Junior setter Anne Butts (Bloomington, Ill./University) is steadily climbing Kent States career record chart. With her 25th assist against Alabama Sept. 18, Butts recorded the 3,000th of her career. She now has 3,410 to date, which places her third in the record books, fourth among the MACs active leaders and 27th in the league all-time. On the season, she ranks ninth in the conference with 10.60 assists per game and has notched two double-doubles (assists-digs) this season.Freshman middle blocker Anne Zakelj (Willoughby, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) has made an immediate impact for the Flashes this season. She currently leads the team with a .262 hitting clip and is second with 59 total blocks, including a team-best 12 solos. Zakelj has recorded double-figure kills in seven matches, tallied a season-high seven blocks Oct. 8 and represented Kent State on the TIS Bookstore Invitational All-Tournament Team earlier this year. Senior right side hitter Ruth Ladurner-Schnitzer (Lana, Italy/Franz Kafka), who dons uniform No. 10 on the court, has been one of Kent States top offensive players all season long due to the fact that she has tallied 10 or more kills in 11 matches, including nine straight. In that nine-match stretch, she hit better than .300 and registered a season-high .542 percent against Central Michigan Sept. 25. On the season, she currently ranks second on the team with 2.98 kills per game and recently cracked the schools top-10 in career aces with 117, which ranks eighth.In 16 matches, Kent State is 5-11 in the opening set and is 2-9 when dropping the first game ... Freshman right side hitter Ashley Feutz (Muskegon, Mich,/Muskegon) saw her first collegiate action in a series against Western Michigan Oct. 16 and recorded an assist and a dig ... Kent States losses have been close ones. Last weekends pair of losses came by an average of 3.86 points per game and drops to 2.83 points per game when excluding the game two score of 30-20 against Eastern Michigan.
Scouting the RedHawks
Scouting the Zips
Scouting the Bobcats
Up Next
Flashes Falter in Michigan Road Trip
Head Coach Mora Kanim
Kent State in the MAC
Several Flashes Among MAC Active Career Leaders
Jensen Digging Her Way into the Record Books
Holt Adds More to Her Resume
Wilber Blocks the Competition
Anne 3,000
Zakelj Hits the Mark
10 For No. 10
News & Notes
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