The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 22, 1993 - 11
'M' men
spikers
attack
preseason
By MELINDA ROCO
FOR THE DAILY
It's never too early to get a head
start on things.
For the Michigan men's volleyball
team, this means getting a jump on
the competition tomorrow at the Big
Ten Invitational hosted by Ohio State.
After last season's disappointing fin-
ish, Michigan has added more experi-
enced players and power hitters to its
roster and expects to make a big im-
pact on the volleyball scene this year.
Coach Pam Griffin has dedicated
weeks of practice to skill develop-
ment and said she is confident with
her team's capabilities.
"We hope to do well, but it is pre-
season," Griffin said. "We're not go-
ing in with any set lineups, and we
haven't spent a lot of time in game
situations. But the players are excel-
lent athletes, and each one is so good
in any given rotation,
we have a solid front
line and two powerful
back row hitters. This
leaves me plenty of
options.'
. Stan Lee
Michigan setter
in his individual position that it should
only take a few tournaments before
everything clicks."
The Wolverines will look to junior
setter Stan Lee to lead the 5-1 offense.
Lee, who begins his third year as a
starter, said he plans to take advan-
tage of Michigan's new talent.
"In any given rotation, we have a
solid front line and two powerful back
row hitters," Lee said. "This leaves
me plenty of options, and I'll be able
to run more play combinations."
Senior transfer Bill Seely should
*be a major force behind the outside
attack. Seely brings his experience
from the coasts, having played two
years of club volleyball at Berkeley
and two years at Brown.
"He'll be the go-to man on the
outside," Lee said. "He's our smart-
est hitter. His analytic ability and ex-
plosive hitting style make him a valu-
able asset on the strong side."
Sophomore Gun Unluer and fresh-
man Emesto Rodriguez, international
phenoms from Turkey and Puerto Rico
respectively, also possess killer arm
swings that will put the defense on
edge. On the serve receive, Michigan
will be relying on junior Chad Engel
for his passing ability.
With senior middle hitter Chad
Stielstra out of preseason play due to
a sprained ankle, Lee will work with
junior Todd Coffey, sophomore Andy
Spitser and freshman Brad Yeager to
connect in the middle for the quick
hits on Michigan's "fast break" of-
fense.
"We're a little inconsistent in mak-
ing the middle contact," Lee said.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to work the
middle attackers more into the of-
fense as our passing and timing im-
*prove."
Griffin said Michigan expects to
finish second in pool play where they
will meet Illinois, Purdue and Ohio
State. Overall, Griffin predicts a third
place finish.
"Ohio State and Penn State have
the benefits of varsity status, with
practices everyday and players on
scholarship," Griffin said. "Club play-
ers just aren't able to commit as much
*time to the sport."
However, she said the players'
dedication works to counteract that.
"They don't get down on each
other," Griffin said. "They are a very
positive group."
Stickers hope to
rock to victory
over Bucks, 'Cats
ELIZABETH UPPMAN/Da#!y
Michigan senior forward Kalli Hose (12) and the rest of the Wolverines play Ohio State tonight and Northwesterm
Saturday afternoon.
Blue cross country preps for Big Tens
Men rest top runners, attempt to solidify lineup at Eastern Michigan
By RYAN WHITE
FOR THE DAILY
If the Michigan field hockey team
were a song it would be "Finish What
Ya Started" by the rock group Van
Halen. Until earlier this week the
Wolverines hadn't been finishing off
their scoring chances.
Last weekend Michigan scored
just once over a span of two games
against Ohio State and Iowa. How-
ever, the Wolverines rebounded
against Central Michigan on Tuesday
night when they exploded for six goals
against the Chippewas.
It's that offensive momentum that
the Wolverines (1-4 Big Ten, 9-4
overall) hope to take to Columbus
this weekend where they play Ohio
State tonight Northwestern tomorrow.
"You kno, you know, you know
you can do it (score goals), so when
you finally do, you expect it to con-
tinue," Michigan coach Patti Smith
said.
Forward Aaleya Koreishi, who led
the Wolverines' offensive charge
against the Chippewas, said that it is
important for the team to pick up
where it left off Tuesday night.
"We are going to have to keep up
the passing game and continue to fin-
ish what we start (on the offensive
end)," Koreishi said.
The Ohio State game tonight at
7:30 p.m. is a rematch of a game
exactly one week ago in which the
Buckeyes (2-3, 7-8) beat the Wolver-
ines, 2-1, in overtime.
One might get the idea that Michi-
gan may be out for a bit of revenge
this weekend, but that's not the case,
according to Smith.
"We don't feel that we owe them
one," Smith said. "There's not a re-
venge factor. It's a great chance to
play the team again and hopefully
improve on the outcome."
Saturday afternoon the Wolver-
ines will face the No. 2 ranked North-
western Wildcats (4-1, 9-2-1). This
will be the fourth time this month that
Michigan will face a top three team.
The Wolverines haven't recorded
a win in either of the three previous
games - two against No. 3 Iowa and
one against No. 1 Penn State.
"I expect a tight and close game,"
Smith said. "They have a couple of
key people on offense and their goalie
hasn't been tested."
The key players that Smith refers
to are forwards Gretchen Scheuer-
mann and Catherine Shin.
Scheuermann leads the 'Cats with
26 points, Shin is second with 11, but
she has only two goals..
"We have to just play hard," Smith
said. "Play hard field hockey and leave
the past behind us."
By BARRY SOLLENBERGER
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
Today's meet at Eastern Michi-
gan marks the final regular season
tune-up for the No.17 Michigan men's
cross country team in preparation for
the Big Ten Championships held next
Saturday in East Lansing.
As was the case two weeks ago at
the Michigan Intercollegiates, win-
ning today's meet is not necessarily a
top priority - the Wolverines top
seven runners will not make the trip to
Ypsilanti. Instead, Michigan will look
to round out the team that will com-
pete next weekend for the conference
championship.
Each conference team is allowed
to race nine runners at the Big Ten
Championships. Wolverine coach
Ron Warhurst will use today to select
the team's final two participants.
"I still have some evaluating to do
but, more or less, (today) gives us a
chance to evaluate our No. 8 and 9
runners," Warhurst said.
The Wolverines will try to rebound
from their disappointing finish last
Sunday at the Michigan Interregional.
Running at home, the Wolverines fin-
ished fifth in a meet that featured
seven teams ranked in the NCAA top
25 poll.
Even though the Wolverines'
nucleus will not make the trip to
Ypsilanti today, everyone Warhurst
will run has seen action in at least one
meet this season.
Junior Ian Forsyth is a favorite to
capture one of the team's two open
spots for the Big Ten Championships.
Forsyth struggled last weekend at the
Michigan Interregional but has run
well in the past, as proved by his
fourth-place finish on the team at the
NCAA Championships a year ago.
Senior Jay Schemanske, hampered
by a groin injury early this season,
should be at full strength today. Like
Forsyth, Schemanske struggled last
Saturday.
Four redshirt freshmen - David
Barnett, Ryan Burt, Andrew Hayes
and Chad Tibbetts - will run for
Michigan today.
"This meet gives us a chance to let
some younger guys get some experi-
ence and to see how they respond in
competing with other team's top run-
ners," Warhurst said.
Looking ahead to next week,
Warhurst said he is confident that the
team can get back on track after last
week's disappointment.
"We started out the season ranked
No. 5 or 6 and have dropped all the
way to 17, which should take some
pressure off us," Warhurst said.
However, he was quick to point
out that rankings don't mean much
until the season's over.
"Last year, we were ranked twelfth
entering the NCAA Championships
and finished fifth (in the meet),"
Warhurst said.
No. 3 women leave starting nine home, give
rest of team valuable experience for future
By DOUG STEVENS
FOR THE DAILY
While the marquee runners on the
No. 3 Michigan women's cross coun-
try team are getting geared up for next
week's Big Ten Championships,
some of the less-experienced racers
will be participating in the Eastern
Michigan Open today at 4 p.m.
Since all nine women slated to run
in the conference championships will
not be travelling to EMU, this meet
will give some other team members a
chance to run.
"This is an opportunity to put
people in the lineup who have worked
hard all year," Wolverine coach Mike
McGuire said.
The Wolverines have six runners
slated to run today, including seniors
Kristi Wink and Kristie Westerby,
sophomores Jackie Concaugh and
Christie Wilson, and rookies Mara
Guillemette and Emily Shively. In-
terestingly, Westerby qualified for the
NCAA 1992 Track & Field Champi-
onships in the 800 meters.
"In this meet, you can see where
you are in training from the past two
months," Westerby said.
Unlike last week's meet at the
hilly University Golf Course, today's
'We are going to help
each other out and just
try to do our best.
We'll try to make a
bigger contribution
next season.'
- Mara Guillemette
Michigan cross-country
rookie
race will be on a relatively flat course
which makes for faster times.
This meet will also give Wolver-
ine fans a taste of what they have in
store for them in the future. Four of
today's runners are in their first sea-
son for the Maize and Blue.
"We are going to help each other
out and just try to do our best," said
Guillemette, who will be running her
first race for Michigan today. "We'll
try to make a bigger contribution next
season."
The Michigan men's cross-country team faces Easter Michigan today.
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Michigan Music Festival
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