The Michigan Daily- Friday, October 23, 1992 -Page 11 'M' LOOKS TO REBOUND AGAINST ILLINI, WILDCATS Volleyball travels to Illinois by Rich Mitvalsky Daily Sports Writer Heading into the weekend ranked fourth in the Big Ten, the Michigan women's volleyball team travels to one of the most difficult venues for competition, Champaign, hoping to upset nationally-ranked Illinois to- night. The trip concludes at North- western tomorrow. The Illini, who hold a 15-4 series lead versus the Wolverines , enjoy a No. 8 national ranking, and are sec- ond in the Big Ten to Penn State. Led by junior Kirsten Gleis and sophomore Tina Rodgers, Illinois boasts a 7-1 record in conference play and is 17-3 overall,. The Wolverines, however, hold a vivid recollection in their minds of the last two seasons, when highly- touted Illini squads suffered convincing defeats at the hands of the Michigan. Last year, Illinois entered Cliff Keen Arena ranked as one the country's finest teams and lost in four games, with Michigan pulverizing the Illini by scores of 15- 11, 15-6, and 15-2. "I think Illinois must be a little wary of playing Michigan, since the last two years we have upset them," Wolverine sophomore middle block- er Aimee Smith said. "We've just got to go down there and play our kind of volleyball." In last year's game against the Illini in Ann Arbor, several new Wolverine faces got into the rotation and saw considerable playing time. This season, and especially in recent matches, that trend has continued, with the increased court presence of senior Chris White and junior Marita McCahill in particular. "Marita, statistically, is the team's best server," coach Greg Gio- vanazzi said. "And Chris is a senior who can hit the ball very well. She is one of the most experienced players on the team, and is a real leader on the floor." Michigan will try to rebound against Illinois from a lackluster performance- during the previous weekend against conference foes Iowa and Minnesota. While captur- ing the match against the Hawkeyes, the Wolverines blew a one-game lead against the Gophers and dropped that contest. In his post- game analysis, Giovanazzi said that Michigan's record wasn't the only aspect of its game necessitating a remedy. "This weekend our level of play was low, there's no doubt about it," he said. "That is the one area where we will have to look this week in practice." Smith testifies to Giovanazzi's prognostication of what the week held in store for the team. "Our level of play was down, es- pecially defensively," Smith said. " But this week in practice we played hard and with a lot of intensity. I expect us to come out and play defense out of our mind at Illinois." But the Wolverines will have more than the Illini team to contend with tonight. One year ago, after Michigan's upset victory in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines played in front of 1,300 angry Illini fans in Champaign, boosted by one of the country's few volleyball pep bands. "This has got to be one of the hardest places to play in the coun- try," Smith said. "Before the game, they turn out the lights and put a spotlight on each one of their play- ers. Then, with all of those people ... it's pretty amazing. "In practice, Coach has really been stressing to us that volleyball is it , just a process, and that we should just remain focused. It's all in our minds. But we aren't intimidated about playing Illinois, because we have beat them before. They aren't as intimidating for us as playing Penn State." Tomorrow, the Wolverines will drive just up the road to duke it out with the Wildcats, a team in the throes of a four-match losing streak. Northwestern (1-7, 6-13) finished in eighth place in the conference last season, and has dropped a place since then. The Wolverines trounced the Wildcats twice in three games last season, and expect similar fortune this time around. "They are about as good as many of the teams in the middle of the Big Ten," Smith said. "We really should MOLLY STEVENS/Daily handle them, but just like Illinois, Outside hitter JoAnna Collias hits into a pair of Indiana blockers earlier this you never know." year. The Wolverines take to the road to face Ilinois and Northwestern. -< - MATCHUPS Continued from page 10 f..LINEBACKERS: Marcus Walker - and Steve Morrison continue to lead 4 the linebacking corps from the middle. Morrison leads the team with 55 tack- les. Outside linebackers Matt Dyson / - and Chris Hutchinson have spear- headed the pass rush. Hutchinson is - scod n heleague with 7?sacks. scn t Minnesota linebacker Andre Davis MINIMleads the defense with 53 tackles. Advantage: Michigan SECONDARY: Michigan's second- ary continues its hard-hitting ways. The Wolverines are No. 2 in the con- ference in pass defense, but will be tested by Minnesota's passing attack. Cornerback Alfie Burch is out with a sprained foot, so freshman Ty Law will start. Dweayne Ware will also likely be on the field as a fifthgdefen- sive back. The Gophers' secondary was hit hard by graduation, and will be forced to help stop the run. Last year, Orbac found his receivers wide open on deep routes several times. Advantage: Michigan SPECIAL TEAMS: Alexander is de- veloping a habit of returning punts for touchdowns. Wheatley is a threat on kickoffs. Meanwhile, Chris Stapleton has entrenched himself as the starting punter with consecutive impressive performances. Peter Elezovic still hasn't clicked as the kicker, though. Lewis leads the conference in kick- off returns, averaging 27.7 yards each time. Dean Kaufman is second in the conference in punting. Kicker Aaron Piepkorn is also second in the Big Ten, converting 13 of 20 field goal attempts, including a 50-yarder. A Advantage: Minnesota This is your last chance of the week to earn that $15 gift certificate to O'Sullivan's Eatery & Pub. Drop off your picks at 420 Maynard by 5 p.m. today. .3 N o t w s e r1t a K a n s a. . . 4, Wic rns r t iio:..:rta 14 ..To c : at .:i r ::"::..::.::... TcatNCapnKK.2HaaratPict .on tt 104 V"31 ::4e...a.::::::n:es::::at:::::>gan Total oint% RESTAUJRANT " BAR & GATHERING PLACE OPENING SOON - -- - IN -- MICHELLE GUY/Daily Derrick Alexander has already returned two punts for touchdowns this season, including this one against Iowa. The junior will try to lead the Michigan special teams against Minnesota this weekend in Ann Arbor. GOPHERS Continued from page 10 MSU's backup quarterback. The demoralization of the loss could give the Golden Gophers some attitude. But no matter what Moeller's thoughts or how much motivation- Minnesota may muster, this season can still be termed a rebuilding one for the Gophers. Minnesota wel- comed new coach Jim Wacker from TCU this season and with him, a pass-oriented offense. At the helm of the new system is senior quarterback Marquel Fleet- wood. Fleetwood has adjusted rela- tively well; he now leads the Big Ten in total offense. He has com- pleted 136 of 272 attempts for 1,522 passing yards this season. The Golden Gophers expressed concern before the start of the season about who would be at the receiving end of Fleetwood's throws, but Omar Douglas has quelled most worries. Douglas leads the confer- ence in receiving yardage. But along with Minnesota's in- creased yardage through the air comes more turnovers. Fleetwood threw for three interceptions against the Spartans and has 12 on the year. 5TH AVE. AT LIBERTY 711-700 "The interceptions have been a problem," Wacker said. "And then we're not coming up with our fair share. We're minus-six in giveaway and takeaway." The Gophers biggest problem this weekend will be the Michigan defense. The Wolverines have proved their ability on the pass rush, especially against Houston's run and shoot earlier in the year. Michigan stifled the Cougars' offense through the air and could prove lethal to the Gophers as well. A saving grace for Minnesota is Fleetwood's ability to scramble and avoid the rush, often gaining yardage on the ground. Also, if the Golden Gophers are forced to look more to the ground game, they can rely on Antonio Carter, who stands fourth in the league in rushing yardage. In addition to keeping its passing game afloat, Minnesota's other tough task remains to halt Mich- igan's running game, something all other Big Ten teams that have faced the Wolverines have failed to do. The Spartans mustered only 69 yards rushing against the Gophers, but their number-one running gun, Tico Duckett, had to leave the contest because of injury. Michigan, on the other hand, em- ploys the skills of running backs Tyrone Wheatley, Jesse Johnson, and Ed Davis. Plus fullback Burnie Leggette will return this weekend while Ricky Powers is probable to play, furthering the Wolverines' strength and depth in the backfield. _ _ _ --- i i A j T-SHIRT PRINTERY " Als MULTI-COLOR PRINTING CHAMPS! " STAFF ARTIST SUPPORT. * 2-DAY RUSH SERVICE AVAILABLE. * U-M P.O. #'s ACCEPTED. * LOCATED ACROSS THE BRIDGE FROM GANDY DANCER. 5% DISCOUNT 994-1367 . MINIMUM ORDEF WITH THIS AD 1002 PONTIAC TRAIL ANN ARBOR 12 SHIRTS TAKE IT TO THE MAX! MAXIMUM OPPORTUNITY AWAITS YOU AT OUR NEW RESTAURANT! Our Managers are professionals at making sure... The Atmosphere is always fun, The Food is always fresh, The Service is always good, The Schedule is always set and The Training is designed to let you shine! 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