The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 27, 1994 - Spikers begin conference with losses By RODERICK BEARD Daily Sports Writer After a mediocre non-conference season, the Michigan women's vol- leyball team was hoping to start the Big Ten season off well, because three of its injured players were returning. 0 So much for dreams. The Wolverines (4-8) opened the conference season with a pair of road losses at Northwestern and Wiscon- sin. The Wildcats (10-3) stopped Michigan with a 15-6, 16-14, 15-8 victory, stretching their winning streak to nine games. Going into the confer- ence opener, the Wolverines had a in streak of their own, having won our of their last five matches. "As a young team, we have the tendency to come out and play ner- vous and tight," coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "We did not do a good job keeping pressure on when we had the lead." Giovanazzi was referring to the second game, when Michigan led Northwestern by eight points, but let em come back to win the game. The Wildcats overpowered the Wolverines, blasting 12 service aces in the match. Northwestern's senior middle blocker, Molly Maloney, led the way with five aces, 16 kills, and 11 digs. Senior Alison Krumbein added 15 kills and 20 digs, pacing five Northwestern players with 10 or more digs. While the Wildcats succeeded at the service line, the Wolverines struggled, committing 13 serving er- rors. Sophomore outside hitter Shareen Luze made four miscues. Outside hitter Collen Miniuk led Michigan with 13 kills, while Luze and junior middle blocker Suzy O'Donnell chipped in 11 kills apiece. At Madison, in front of 2,336 fans in Wisconsin Field House, the 25th- ranked Badgers (12-2) extended their home winning streak to 14 after de- feating Michigan State and Michi- gan. After Friday's 16-14, 15-10, 14- 16, 15-8 victory over the Spartans, Wisconsin overcame a slow start and dispatched the Wolverines, 5-15, 15- 8, 15-2, 15-10, Saturday night. Michigan began the match quickly, jumping out to a 13-1 lead before winning the first game. The Badgers recovered in the second game, taking a 7-0 lead, and coasted for the remain- der of the match. The Wolverines had no answer for Wisconsin's senior outside hitter, Joanna Grotenhuis. Grotenhuis, who was tied for the Big Ten lead in kills last season, pounded 22 kills and un- earthed a career-high 17 digs. Giovanazzi was happy about his team's play, even after the loss. "We played much better than we did at Northwestern," he said. "If we had played at this level Friday, the outcome would have been different." Junior middle blocker Shannon Brownlee continued her outstanding play so far this season by blasting 18 kills - one short of her career high - and picking up 13 digs. Luze had 13 kills and Miniuk added 11. Giovanazzi was encouraged by the sterling play of freshman middle blocker Sarah Jackson. "Sarah came in during game four and played fabulous, sparking us at a critical point in the game," he said. Giovanazzi must now help his team bounce back from the two losses and concentrate on the next two con- ference matches this weekend. Here is how the top 25 te end. First place votes are Team 1. Nebraska (34) 2. Florida (22) 3. Florida State (2) 4. Penn State (3) 5. Colorado (1) 6. Arizona 7. Notre Dame 8. Michigan 9. Alabama 10. Virginia Tech 11. Texas 12. Miami (Fla.) 13. Ohio State 14. Wisconsin 15. Washington State 16. Kansas State 17. Oklahoma 18. North Carolina 19. Southern Cal 20. North Carolina St. 21. Colorado State 22, Syracuse 23. Utah 24 Illinois 25. Brigham Young parentheses. Record 4-0-0 3-0-0 4-0-0 4-0-0. 3-0-0 3-0-0 3-140 2-1-0 4-0-0 4-0-0 3-0-0 2-1-0 3-1-0 2-1-0 - 3-0-0 3-0-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 3-0-0 4-0-0 3-1-0 4-0-0 2-1-0 3-1-0 Total Points 1510 1498 1405 1373 1333 1216 1097 1088 1061 894 876 863 742 735 668 569 533 526 449 413 252 149 122 119 105 JONATHAN LURIE/Daily The Michigan volleyball team opened the conference with two road losses. "We'll refocus at practice," he said. "We must get better defen- sively and we need to start scoring points." The Wolverines don't have too much time to prepare, as they host Illinois Friday and Purdue Saturday night at Cliff Keen Arena. What will you be doing in the year 2000? prepare for career success with... CAR EER CHALLENGE 2000 Activities include. .Work with other students of color Workshops .Explore career options *Develop essential workplace skills Mock Interviews *Network with professionals andmore. /Fall term registration deadline: extended to lhursda, September 29,5:00 pm /First session begins September 29 ./Contact Debbie Taylor at CP&P~ for more information Accept the Challenge! Get the edge for career success! Ca3ree~r PlanningIPlacement H iindd ) Women golfers making strides SUSAN DANN For The Daily The Michigan women's golf team is riding a wave of success. The Wol- verines are cruising back to Ann Ar- bor after a seventh place finish at the Lady Spartan Invitational in East Lan- sing last weekend. Wisconsin won the tournament with a team score of 612. Illinois and Ohio State tied at 621. Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Purdue all finished in the 630's just strokes below the Wolverines. Michigan posted rounds of 321- 319 for a 36-hole total of 640. "We accomplished our goal," sophomore Molly Vandenbark said f the team's low score for the tourna- ent. "We wanted to have a score of 320 or lower on the average and we ended up averaging exactly 320." Vandenbark shot the lowest score for the Wolverines, shooting a 10- over-par 156 (77-79), tying for 10th place. "I knew that if I stayed focused and concentrated on each shot indi- vidually, a good score would follow," Vandenbark said. Other top finishers for Michigan were sophomore Wendy Westfall and junior Shannon McDonald. Westfall finished 20th, scoring a two round total of 159. McDonald placed 30th with a score of 81 both rounds. Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said she was satisfied with the show- ing of the entire squad. "We have to be happy with our individual performances," Teichert said. "Our scores are getting lower and our average is a lot lower than it has been. "We were getting the ball a lot closer to the hole. I just hope we start capitalizing on some of our putts." Vandenbark also said the team needs to work on its putting. "It wasn't necessarily a problem at Michigan State, but this week I'm really going to concentrate on my chipping," Vandenbark said. The Wolverines traveled with a young squad to the Michigan State golf course. Freshmen Laura Tzakis and Nicole Green joined Vandenbark and Westfall. McDonald and senior Jenny Zimmerman were the only two upperclassmen. Vandenbark was pleased with the finish of the young team, but sensed a bit of uncertainty. "One thing we need to work on is confidence," she said. "I think the whole team in general gets intimi- dated too easily. "A lot of the time, people suggest that teams are so much better and it gets to our heads," Vandenbark said. "We know that we are just as good as they are. We just have to prove it." Daily Sports. We're there when you need us. r U MICHIGAN i SToVE 1A O t _ HOURS' *F0A:A-II- IA? I. [d ? ,-.u - Includes: Hook. Runaround. fly, and The Mountains Win Again. ---or less! 10.' 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