Page 6- The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 5, 1992
Spikers hold
off Wisconsin
in five games
by Rich Mitvalsky
Daily Sports Writer
In its second five-game match of
the three-match-old Big Ten season,
the Michigan women's volleyball
team recovered from a lapse in con-
centration to thwart a furious
Wisconsin comeback and win in
Madison Saturday.
The Wolverines took the first two
games of the match, 15-11 and 15-9,
and Qeemed to be on the verge of
collecting a straight game sweep of
the Badgers.
"We went into the match for the
first time since I have been at
Michigan thinking that we could
beat Wisconsin," senior Hayley
Lorenzen said. "Before the match,
we talked about it a lot in the locker
room. We were pretty excited about
it."
The Badgers, not complacent
with their play in the first two
games, gained momentum in the
third game and conquered the
Wolverines, 15-5.
"I think more than anything we
lost our focus and concentration,"
Lorenzen said. "We weren't over-
confident but we just didn't play
with the same level of confidence we
did in the first two games."
Michigan's lack of confidence
and focus persisted in the fourth set,
as the Badgers evened the score at
two games apiece, with a tightly
contested 15-13 victory.
"Definitely in the third and fourth
games we stopped executing those
things which we were able to do in
the first two," junior Fiona Davidson
said. "Our serving was tough and we
also blocked well, but in the third
and fourth games, they broke down."
The Badgers unexpectedly saw a
completely rejuvenated Wolverine
squad take the floor in the fifth
game, however. Michigan returned
to it's powerful serving game, tai-
lored especially for the weak Badger
backcourt.
"They had one good setter, but
we felt that if we could serve tough,
we could make it difficult for her to
get the ball to her best hitters up
front," Davidson said.
Combining well placed serves
with renewed intensity up front,
Michigan held off the pesky
Badgers, 15-11 in the fifth, before a
crowd of nearly 2,200.
"At the end of the third and
fourth games, the crowd started to
get into it, but they were silent as
soon as we did something positive,"
Davidson added.
Individually, senior standout
Tarnisha Thompson starred, break-
ing the Michigan career assist
record, formerly held by 1987 grad-
uate Lisa Vahi. Coming into the
contest, Thompson needed only 29
assists to surpass Vahi's mark, but
recorded a total of 53.
Leading the Wolverines in kills
was senior Michelle Horrigan with
19. Junior Joanna Collias collected a
game-high 22 digs, which compli-
mented her 14 kills.
Michigan upped it's record to 12-
3 overall, and 3-0 in conference
play. While the team is comprised of
plentiful talent for the 1992-93 cam-
paign, Lorenzen attributes much of
the team's success to first-year head
coach Greg Giovanazzi.
"We haven't started 3-0 since I
have been here. This year he has
taught us we can come back from
being two sets down in a match. He
has really increased our confidence
level, and that is why we have
played so well. When we are down,
'We went into the
match for the first
time since I have been
at Michigan thinking
that we could beat
Wisconsin.'
- Hayley Lorenzen
he tries to keep us calm and tell us
what we need to improve on, instead
of being negative.
"I think our schedule has been an
advantage for us, because we have
built up to better teams throughout
the season. We have been able to
build our game up along the way and
now we have a chance to win some
big games against Ohio State and
Penn State."
Presently, Michigan is ranked
seventh in a region which includes
perennial powerhouses Ohio State,
Penn State, and Illinois. Up next for
the Wolverines are both the
Buckeyes in Columbus, and the
Nittany Lions in State College. At
the season's end, the top eight teams
from the region qualify for the na-
tional championships.
Softball
sweeps
Irish in
exhibtion
by Jesse Brouhard
Notre Dame just could not tie thi
game, even though it probably'
wanted to. The Michigan softball
team broke a 1-1 deadlock in a sixth-
inning tiebreaker yesterday morning
to beat Notre Dame, 2-1, and comK'
plete a two-game sweep at Alumni
Field.
Michigan scored its first run,
when senior Patti Benedict led off.
with a triple over the center fielder's
head. Sophomore cleanup hitter
Michelle Silver immediately fol-.
lowed the blast with a RBI single to
put the Wolverines ahead 1-0.
Notre Dame struck back in the
fifth with a leadoff double followed
by an RBI single to tie the game
until the sixth.
In the tiebreaker format both"
teams start with a runner on second
base in order to promote quick scor-
ing. The Irish immediately shot'
themselves in the foot when a wild'
pitch put the go ahead run 60 feet'
away from home plate. Benedict-
then cashed in on the opportunity
with a deep sacrifice fly putting the
Wolverines ahead.
Notre Dame was unable to score
their runner from third with one out
thus giving Michigan the victory.
Michigan softball coach Carol
Hutchins had nothing but praise for 0
captain Patti Benedict who comple-
mented her offensive contributions
with clutch play in left field.
"Patti Benedict came to play,.
Hutchins said. "She showed today,,
that she is an all-around player."
In the first game, Silver provided
all the offense the Wolverines would
need by blasting a grand slam over
the fence, with winds gusting di
rectly into the diamond. Benedict
and Silver combined for eight of the
nine Wolverine RBIs.
One of the major adjustments to,
be made this year is to the new
NCAA softball. The revised ball is
lighter and harder making it more-
lively off the bat. It is also abnormal
in that it is chartreuse so as not to
blend in with the hurler's white
pants. Not everyone is convincedi
that the change is for the better.
"It takes awhile to adjust to the
new ball," Hutchins commented.
"I'm afraid that people will get hurt
due to the liveliness of the balloff
the bat."
MOLLY SIEVENSUally
The Michigan women's volleyball team defeated Wisconsin, 3-2, Saturday in Madison. Joanna Collias, seen here in
action against Indiana earlier this season, helped lead the Wolverines to victory with 22 digs and 14 kills. The
Wolverines are undefeated in thier first four conference games under new coach Greg Giovanazzi.
LINDROS
Continued from page 3
All that changed the morning of
June 30, 1992 when arbitrator Larry
Bertuzzi approved the trade of Eric
Lindros from the Quebec Nordiques
to the Philadelphia Flyers in ex-
change for the paltry sum of Ron
Hextall, Mike Ricci, Steve
Duschene, Kerry Huffman, Petr
Forsberg, the Flyers' 1993 first-
round draft pick and $15 million.
Bertuzzi said his decision was,
"black and white and orange."
Lindros, 19, was the most-highly
touted junior hockey prospect since
Mario Lemieux. He was drafted No.
1 overall by Quebec in the 1991
entry draft but did not sign with the
team. He sat out the 1991-92 NHL
season to force the Nordiques to
make a trade. A 6-foot-5, 225-pound
talented goal-scorer, Lindros is as
much of a franchise player as there
ever was. His rare combination of
physical play and scoring touch
should make him a dominant figure
in his new league.
"There hasn't been a player who
moves and hits like him in a long
time," Flyers general manager Russ
Farwell said. "He injured players
from Sweden and Czechoslovakia
with body checks and no more.
Little kids across the country are go-
ing to want to hit again. Just like
Gretzky and Lemieux made kids
want to pivot, he might make kids
want to run over people again."
Pierre Page, general manager of
the Nordiques, was disappointed in
not being able to sign Lindros but
still concurred with Farwell.
"Where do you find a 6-5 guy
with hockey sense and a mean
streak? He does things that others
can't do," he said.
The Flyers then had to sign
Lindros to a contract. This did not
prove to be problematic. Lindros,
who said he had turned down a 10-
year, $55 million contract from
Quebec, signed quickly with the
Flyers. The six-year contract is
worth $3 million per season with a
$3 million signing bonus spread out
evenly over the term of the pact.
This $3.5 million sum makes
Lindros, at 19, the highest-paid
player in the NHL without ever
having played one game - talk
about pressure.
Bob Clarke, Hall of Famer and
senior vice president of the Flyers,
was probably the happiest of all ex-
ecutives when the trade was final-
ized. For over 20 years, he has epit-
omized what the Flyers would most
like to be. Clarke, a player who
signed his first Flyers contract "on
the trunk of a car," knows about
pressure and has faith in Lindros.
"There's going to be way more
pressure on him than any other
player," Clarke said. "(Wayne)
Gretzky and (Mario) Lemieux didn't
have the pressure this kid's going to
have coming in, but I think this kid
has been under tremendous pressure
his whole career - ever since he
was 14, 15, 16 years old. He's been
able to handle it all the way along.
"The expectations on him have
always been high, and he's always
responded. He was one of the best
One would be hard-pressed to
find a Philadelphia native who is not
in favor of the trade. The Flyers
were a desperate team four months
ago. Certainly, the team gave up
many of their key players. However,
'There hasn't been a player who moves and hits
like him in a long time. Just like Gretzky and
Lemieux made kids want to pivot, he might
make kids want to run over people again.'
- Russ Farwell
Flyers general manager
a large question mark currently re-
sides in the goal crease.
Also, this band of players is nol
yet a team. Few of them have played
together for any length of time.
Leaders will rise to the forefront in
due time, but teammates are still get-
ting acquainted. Coach Bill Dineen
has even said he may not choose a
captain for the 1992-93 tilt.
Certainly, this year's Flyers team
will be more intoxicating than those
of the past few seasons. The team it-
self may not be as talented as squads
of years past, but it will have those
all-important intangibles within their
grasp - youth, anticipation,
optimism and excitement.
With the acquisition of Lindros,
the Flyers franchise is starting anew}
wiping the slate clean. At this point,
it is too soon to tell if Eric Lindros 1
the chosen warrior to lead
Philadelphia to hockey valhalla.
He does, however, have ex-
ceedingly broad shoulders. If these
shoulders are stacked with the right
collection of players, Lindros just
might be able to bull his team to the
pinnacle of his profession. Perhaps,
even, the franchise's vaunted creed
of altruism will again mean more
players on the Canada Cup team as a
19-year-old, and you have to be
mentally tough to play for that team.
The people here are going to love
him."
Lindros has his eyes wide open,
and if he has wild expectations for
himself, he is not telling anyone.
"It's not a matter of me going out
and scoring 50 goals or scoring 100
points," Lindros said. "I'll go out
and do the best job I can.
"I think if we can improve by 15
points, that's a great start. If we can
do even better than that and get into
the playoffs and go a little ways and
eventually keep building and build-
ing, we can go a long way. As long
as the team keeps going, that's
what's important."
they now have a marquee name and
what will surely be a top-drawing
team.
The Spectrum II, the
organization's new 21,000-seat
stadium, is currently under
construction as well. Lindros, thus,
has become a key figure in the
Flyers' general popularity and finan-
cial prosperity in the new era of the
NHL.
One cannot expect the Flyers to
become champions directly.
Philadelphia's team was not a great
one before the trade, and now that
the franchise has given up four
proven NHL players for just one in
return, it is evident that time is the
key for the Flyers. The defense is, at
once, porous and inexperienced and
U
MO
Jonathon B Pub
Presents:
IN NIGHT KARAOKE
than mere words can.
Eric Lindros, for one, is salivat-
ing over the prospect of finally be-
ginning his professional hockey ca-
reer. It has been a long journey in
getting to this point. If Lindros haA
his druthers, he and his Flyers wilt
imbibe from Lord Stanley's Cup
before his sojourn is complete.
0 L-. - L:
0
FOOTBALL
NIGHT
Featuring:
I hnttc
0r1 .
Come be the star
you'd love to be!
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