The Michigan Daily -- Sports Monday - September 18, 1989 - Page 5
Michigan Volleyball Preview:
Can
they
improve?
The Wolverines o
escape the baseme
by Theodore Cox
Daily Sports Writer
Ultimately, the Michigan
women's volleyball team's goal is
to win the Big Ten conference.
But that will be a huge task
considering the Wolverines have
not finished higher than eighth in
the last four years. So an
. improvement over last season's
basement finish would satisfy head
coach Joyce Davis.
"Right now it's still possible
for us to win the conference, so
that's really what
we're shooting for,
but our team will
feel a sense of
progress if we ~s
improve over our
previous years'
finishes," Davis
said.
The first area Clover
the team worked
on over the summer was
communication on the floor.
Better court communication has
resulted in more intensity and a
higher hitting percentage.
Although the team's hitting
percentage is still in the lower end
ly w
mt, as
Ton one league game last season. Now,
Joyce Davis leads her team into confer
they try to
ence play.
of the Big Ten, it has improved by
nearly fifty points.
MICHIGAN'S strongest
point has been it's blocking and
front court defense behind Kim
Clover, Julia Sturm, and Carla
Hunter. Before Wednesday's match
against Michigan State, the
Wolverines led the Big Ten in
blocking with an average of 3.22
blocks per game.
"Our blocking has been
impressive," Davis said. "But we
had a complete breakdown against
Michigan State.
We had only three
blocks the entire
match."
S till, th e
squad's comm-
unication willk
completely break
down every so
often, a key area Sturm
that Davis is
always trying to improve.
One Wolverine consistency is
the play of last year's Most
Valuable Player Karen Marshall.
Michigan's strongest spiker led
the team last year with 322 kills,
and she is expected to exceed that
mark this year.
THE WOLVERINE'S
serving has shown some sparks of
improvement behind the service
aces senior Clover has been
striking across the net. Last week
Clover was atop the conference
with an impressive .889 accuracy
mark.
"I'm really happy for her,"
Davis said. "She was one of the
team's worst servers when she
came to Michigan. But she put in
a lot of extra practice."
Another
difference from last
year's squad is the
new Varsity
Arena, where
Michigan will
play its home
games.
The new arena
has plenty of space Marshall
between the edge
of the court and the stands, giving
the players room to pursue the ball.
But the biggest advantage is the
crowdnoise. When the team played
at Crisler last season, the arena
sounded likea morgue. The arena
was so large that the sound of the
crowd would not reverberate. The
smaller Varsity Arena should create
a more exciting atmosphere.
"THE ARENA just lends to a
much more positive and compet-
itive environment," Davis said.
If the Wolverines are going to
capture the Big Ten Title, they will
have to first knock off heavily
favored Illinois. For the last few
seasons the Fighting Illini have
swept the Big Ten, maintaining its
record for most consecutive Big Ten
wins in any sport. Challenging
Illinois will be a chore as ten of
their letterwinners are returning.
"The conference is going to be
pretty even competitively, but
Illinois is definitely on top," Davis
said. "They have a really tough
program that continues to get a
little stronger every year. Other
teams are closing the gap, but the
standard is pretty high."
It is hard to forecast where the
rest of the conference will finish as
several teams are evenly matched.
Iowa, who tied for second with
Minnesota and Northwestern last
year, has their entire squad
returning. The Hawkeyes biggest
transition will be adjusting to their
new coach, Ruth Nelson.
/Sports Information
Joyce Davis is looking for improvement in this year's volleyball squad.
NORTHWESTERN is work-
ing two first-year students into their
starting line-up.
"Depending on how much co-
hesiveness they can develop be-
tween their center and middle hitter,
will determine how well they
(Northwestern) will progress
through the year," said Davis.
Minnesota's returning com-
bination of outside hitter Chris
Schaefer and middle player Dawn
Thompson will be Michigan's
biggest concern when they face the
Gophers.
Getting past Michigan State
will be another difficulty. The
Spartans have improved the most
this season, boasting an 8-0 record
thus far. State easily swept
Michigan in their conference opener
Wednesday.
"Their program has steadily
improved over the last four or five
years as the administration has put
more emphasis and more money
into the program," Davis said. "It's
a championship conference that can
compete at the conference level. We
have to continue to be happy with
making progress, however big or
small it comes."
French Delight: Josee Charvet sparks the
Wolverine field hockey team
by David Schechter
Daily Sports Contributor
Josee Charvet walks softly but
carries a big stick.
In practice last Friday, Charvet
stretched, dove, slid, and tumbled to
make certain that no offender would
penetrate her midfield stronghold.
Burning opponents seems to be
Charvet's pastime.
Charvet adds an intense work
ethic, an element of fun, but most
of all, a highly competitive spirit.
"When people see me working hard
it just rubs off and helps everyone
else," she said. "I just believe in
working hard."
THAT MIGHT be an under-
statement.
In high school Charvet was a
highly recruited senior from Great
Neck, NY. Besides Michigan -
Iowa, Michigan State, Rutgers, and
Boston University were knocking
on her door.
Although the Wolverines did not
boast the finest team, Charvet
found Ann Arbor to be, "a nice
combination of being dedicated,
academically as well as athletically.
The players also had a social life
and were very down to earth."
BORN IN Marseille, France,
Charvet moved to the United States
at 4, and has yet to gain American
citizenship. Her mother, Jeannette
Charvet, tells the story of how field
hockey actually kept her from
becoming a citizen. In high school
she was so busy playing that she
couldn't find time to drive to New
York City and file for citizenship.
That's been cleared up, and in
roughly six months she will
__ become an American.
Charvet
Last year, as a sophomore,
Charvet received Academic All-Big
Ten honors. Hoping to repeat the
feat as a junior, Charvet studies
dutifully and maintains a 3.5 GPA.
She feels that her tenacity in field
hockey carries over to her studies.
"Being on an athletic team gives
you great discipline," she said
softly.
Charvet might best be explained
by percentages. She believes in
giving her all. Teammate Sandie
Marotti thinks Charvet is "always
giving 100%." Fellow Wolverine
Margaret Kundtz says she, "always
gives 110%."
THAT'S A lot of giving.
But, it's all true. Draining
every last drop of energy from her
muscular legs, Charvet leads by
example.
Wolverine field hockey is a true
team effort. As Charvet says,
"When someone scores a goal, we
all score a goal."
Even coach Patti Smith will not
promote one player over another.
She will say however, "Josee is a
spark to the team. She is a leader
on the field because of what she
does day in and day out."
FIELD HOCKEY for most
players ends after college. Charvet
knows this and has a tentative life
plan already laid out. Criminal law
is her passion, although she still
feels allegiance to the old family
tradition-the restaurant business.
It's been in the family blood since
her grandmother opened a restaurant
in France.
Whatever path she chooses,
Charvet knows that the lessons of
hockey will stay with her. "Field
hockey sets standards as far as
carrying out your desires, making
them something you need to do and
inside you have to do," she said.
Charvet may seem a bit reserved
around strangers, but she's actually
something of a team clown. During
water breaks it is not uncommon to
see her splashing the members of
the backfield. While waiting her
turn to run through a drill she's
been known to throw a friendly
shoulder, or a chummy elbow. She
laughs with friends and makes the
team fun to be part of.
But when she's serious, she'll
let you know.
CHARVET DOESN'T feel
women's sports are treated with the
equality they deserve. "Women, just
as much as men, put in the time
and effort. The U of M field hockey
team works just as hard as any
other men's team or women's team.
The only way that women's sports
are going to gain any respect is
when they (women) gain respect in
society of being capable," she said.
In recent months, rumors have
surfaced that the field hockey
program might be cut as a varsity
sport. Players' feelings differ
regarding the fate of the team.
Charvet still wonders, "There
was a great fear last year when
Notre Dame and Purdue were
dropped. We were really worried
about that, but we were reassured
by (assistant athletic director) Jack
Weidenbach that the program would
remain for another two years."
'When people see me
working hard it just rubs
off and helps everyone
else. I just believe in
working hard.'
- Josee Charvet
This season being one of her
remaining two years, Charvet will
graduate from the program before it
could be dropped. Still, she is
concerned over the future of
younger players who may be around
when the hammer falls.
Charvet points to her mother as
the driving force behind her
collegiate success. "She's the
hardest working person I know in
my life. My mother taught me to
be very determined in anything that
I do. She taught me to rely on
myself."
And what does mom think? "I
feel honored by that," said Jeannette
Charvet. "I'm a fighter, in the sense
of reaching a goal and knowing that
nothing is impossible in life. I told
her always to fight."
Like mother, like daughter.
PREVIEW
Continued from Page 1
the (goal) cage. I'd like to see us
take some chances between the
thirty (yard line) and the end line
we're attacking."
An experienced midfield will
help take some of the scoring
burden off the front line. Sharon
Cantor, another All-Big Ten player,
is the key to this talented group of
s mm -a,
line of senior Patti Farley, juniors
Patricia Maran and Mary Peters,
and sophomore Hilary Hughes.
Senior goaltender Joanne Green
puts the finishing touches on a
defense that surrendered only six
goals in its first six games.
Smith said the success of the
team will depend on "instinct,
aggressiveness, and desire. We have
to make all loose balls Michigan
balls. It's the difference between
winning and losing."
F..
A'4~ r~ ,A
Tigers lose, 4-2, to drop 99th
CLASSIFIED ADSI Call 764-0557
DETROIT (AP) -Wade Boggs
got two hits and scored two runs
yesterday as the Boston Red Sox
beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2, at
Tiger Stadium.
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd (3-2)
got his first career win in six
decisions in Detroit. Lee Smith
pitched three innings for his 24th
save.
Jack Morris (6-13) gave up 11
hits in pitching the entire way. He
struck out six and walked four.
The Red Sox scored twice off
Morris to take a 2-1 lead in the
second. Mike Greenwell drew a
leadoff walk, Nick Esasky singled,
Danny Heep hit an RBI double and
Lou Gehrig is the only other
player to accomplish the feat three
consecutive years.
Gary Pettis opened the Detroit
first with a walk, stole his 40th and
41st bases and scored on Dave
Bergman's single. The Tigers
scored in the fourth on Mike
Heath's RBI grounder.
Detroit lost its 99th game, the
most since the Tigers went 57-102
in 1975.
"Every night I go out to the
dugout I expect to win," said
Detroit manager Sparky Anderson,
who had never managed a team with
more than 83 losses in a season
before this year. "That's all we can
V
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