The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 19, 1996- 13 Spikers take altered lineup to nationals Blue activates Lee for championship run Indiana ace Ugo to test Blue hitters By Mark Snyder Daily Sports Writer Volleyball is all about timing, and lis is Michigan's time. The men's volleyball team is com- peting at the national championships this weekend with one thought in mind - to make some waves. After defeating Michigan State in an exhibition match last weekend, the Wol- verines believe they are good enough to compete with the nation's best. The Spartans had given Michigan National volleyball championships Today through Saturday, Toledo, Ohio trouble all year until the Wolverines woke up. Now, after beating Michigan State twice in the last four weeks, the Wol- verines are brimming with confidence. "If you ask a lot of people around our *rea, they don't want to play us right now,"Michigan captain Jamie Reynolds said. The Wolverines have not played against atop-ranked foe since the Michi- gan Intercollegiate Volleyball Associa- tion regionals three weeks ago. They took a three-set victory from Eastern Michigan on April 6. Michigan dominated the game against the Eagles, almost toying with Eastern at times. All of the Wolverines dressed *nd played in their final home match of theyear, which Michigan won in straight sets. Toledo is hosting the national cham- pionships Thursday through Saturday. As with most club championships, the team's that can afford the trip are the ones that will compete. The tournament will begin as most volleyball tourneys do with pool play. Although the Wolverines are seeded 25th, they are expecting to begin as a No. 3 seed within their group. Four teams from each pool advance to the tournament round. Reynolds sees this weekend as a chance to show the rest of the nation how talented this Wolverine squad is. "We're looking to surprise a bunch of teams," he said. The Wolverines have not had the same lineup all season and this week- end should be no different. Ernesto Rodriguez, who joined the team in the middle of the season, has a torn rotator cuff and may not play in the tournament. "(Rodriguez) is definitely a loss, but we have enough people to fill in," Reynolds said. Justin Biebel also has missed the last couple weeks of practice and, conse- quently, a newcomer will share playing time with him. Stan Lee, a Medical student who has not played for the Wolverines all sea- son, will set along with Biebel. As a club team, Michigan is able to insert anyone into its lineup who is taking classes currently at the University. "Stan's been our setter for the last four years," Reynolds said. "He's prac- ticed with us a lot but just hasn't played (this season.)" The team has been refining its game to peak this weekend and Reynolds thinks all of the problems have been solved. "We've worked out a lot of the in- consistency problems," Reynolds said. "We're looking to advance." By Mark Snyder Daily Sports Writer This season, the Michigan softball team's batting has kept it in games. This weekend, the Wolverines' bats must con- tinue their hot hitting against Indiana's pitching to stay in the race for the Big Ten title. The Hoosierstaffis anchoredby senior Gina Ugo, the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for April 8-15. Ugo pitched every inning for Indiana last week, recording four victories while walking only five. Her 34 innings pitched gave her five complete games for the week, vaulting her into first place in the conference in both categories. Ugo's dominance extends to other cat- egories as well. As the Big Ten leader in strikeouts and earned run average, she has established herself as a threat to any team that faces her. This weekend, the Wolverines will take on that task, led by Ugo's opposite num- ber, Sara Griffin. While Griffin is a star pitcher in her own right, her wizardry with the bat is what could make the difference against Ugo. Michigan (13-2 Big Ten, 36-10 over- all) is led by Griffin, who tops the Wol- verines with 34 RBI. She is among the league's top 10in batting average as well as ERA - the only player able to claim that distinction. Theabilitytoseethingsfrom apitcher's perspective should help her against Ugo. Her.386 average is only good enough for second best in Michigan's lineup, however. Centerfielder Kellyn Tate, com- ing off a 3-for-8 performance against Purdue, is hitting .396 to lead the team. The Wolverines are the second-ranked hitting squad in the conference, which gives them confidence when facing Ugo. Indiana (9-3, 29-15) is well ahead of last season's .500 Big Ten finish and currently resides in third place in the conference. After a Wednesday sweep of Ohio State, the Hoosiers are looking to con- tinue their rise in the league. Indiana beat the Buckeyes 4-1 in the first game and closed them out with a 2-0 victory in the second. Michigan had a successful Wednesday of its own. The Wolverines knocked off Purdue in two games to remain 1 1/2 games behind conference-leading Min- nesota. In the most recent national poll, Michi- gan climbed to its highest ranking this season. As the No. 8 team in the USA Today/ NCSA Coaches poll, the Wolverines are ranked above all other Big Ten teams, with Minnesota, Iowa and Indiana among the top 25. With wins over No. 6 Southwestern Louisiana and No. 15 Iowa, the Hoosiers are not a team to be taken lightly. Conse- quently, the Wolverines must continue their heavy hitting to overcome Ugo and the Hoosiers. Michigan pitcher Kelly Holmes will throw in one the Wolverines' three games at Indiana this weekend. The Hoosiers will counter with their own star on the mound, Gina Ugo, who was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week last week. Senior Days Giveaways As part of the third annual Senior Days, the University Athletic Department and Nike will co- sponsor free giveaways at Sunday's baseball doubleheader against Penn State. Senior Days continues through May 4, ending in a commencement brunch at the Michigan Union. Berringer killed in plane crash EAGLES Continued from Page 12 teammates with his results. "(Steketee) has really proved that he could throw well after having been off for two months," Michigan short- stop Kelly Dransfeldt said. "He is really going to help us in the Big Ten (season)." In order for the pitchers to produce, the Wolverine sluggers must provide runs for the hurlers. In the past two games, Michigan's run support has tailed away like Eastern Michigan's win-blown double in the fifth inning. Half of the Wolverines' eight hits against Eastern Michigan came with two outs. And their lone run came in the first inning on Dransfeldt's RBI single. Thereafter, Michigan reached second base only twice for the rest of the game. The Wolverines account this lack of runs to their passive hitting style at the plate. "We're not hitting the ball sharp because we aren't aggressively going after the pitchers," Zahn said. "Dransfeldt hit a couple of a balls today and Derek Besco had a good one but other than that, it's like we're waiting back and we're not being ag- gressive with the bats like we have been." Dransfeldt and Derek Besco went a combined I-for-8 at the plate. The Eagles' pitchers threw breaking balIs to the duo all day. Besco and Dransfeldt were fooled and either popped the ball up or grounded weakly to the infield. All the Wolverines had trouble get- ting wood on the ball. And then some just sat back in their batting stance and didn't attack. "We've lost a lot of aggressiveness at the plate," Wolverine second- baseman Mike Cervenak said."We're taking a lot of strikes and we're not going after guys. That's something we have to work on heading into this weekend's games against Penn State." For the Wolverines to succeed against the Nittany Lions (17-19-1 overall, 10-5 Big Ten) this weekend, they must regain their hitting stroke that contributed to their first-place conference record. They must also contain third baseman Carl Albrecht. He leads the team with seven homers and 24 RBI and is batting .307. Penn State is coming off a two- game sweep of Cornell Wednesday that gives it I1 wins in its last 13 games. The Nittany Lions trail the Wolverines by two games and are in third place in the conference. Michigan will start J.J. Putz (3-3) and Mark Temple (6-3) tomorrow, while Brian Steinbach (3-2) and Bryan Besco (1-0) will take the hill on Sun- day. The Associated Press RAYMOND, Neb. - Brook Berringer, the backup quarterback who helped Nebraska win the 1994 national titles was killed yesterday when the small plane he was piloting crashed in a farm field. Plane owner Harry Barr said the other person in the two-seat plane was killed. Barr identified the other victim as Toby Lake, the brother of Berringer's girlfriend. Barr said he has owned the plane for about 15 years. He said Berringer, 22, often flew the aircraft and had flown it earlier this week. The small plane struggledto aheight of 250 feet before crashing in a field near this east-central Nebraska village min- utes after takeoff from a grass airstrip. "We could tell it was going slow," said Jim Jeffers, who lives about a mile from the crash site 11 miles northwest of Lin- coin. "After takeoff, when the wing dropped, I knew it was going to hit the ground." Lancaster County SheriffTerry Wagner said the bodies were removed from the crash site about 6:25 p.m. and were taken to a Lincoln hospital for official identifi- cation. The sheriff said dental records would be used The plane crashed about one-eighth of a mile from the airstrip. Wagner said he was told the two-seat aircraft took off, then began to shake. He said the left wing dropped as the plane attempted to turn around and strong winds slammed the plane into the ground, where it burst into flames. Berringer was 7-0 as a starter during the 1994 season when Tommie Frazier was sidelined with blood clots in his leg. Berringer was expected to be selected in this weekend's NFL draft. STEKETEE Continued from Page 12 Barrett to score and tie the game. Steketee got the next batter to pop up to short, and the fifth inning was over - but so was Steketee's day. TherWolverines' bullpen allowed three runs - two courtesy of Mike Hribernik and one with Matt Herr on the mound - in the next three in- nings. Even though the game ended in a loss, Steketee's performance was not lost on his teammates. "I thought (Steketee) pitched very well," Michigan second baseman Mike Cervenak said. "For his first (starting) outing of the year - he pitched very well." Had Steketee received a little more support from the Wolverines' offense, he might not be receiving praise for making his first start - but for lead- ing the Wolverines to another win. J h. ,i 916 A. A. f. 90 1 r Ar is--4w dr r F ~ A Adult Lifestyle Program --. $ s MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Eastern Michigan first baseman Greg Ryan is congratulated by teammates after snagging the winning out in yesterday's 4-1 victory over Michigan. Read the last SPO RT Monda *f the year. The issue viibe big enough to Ilast you the entire exam period. Sorr t the crossword will I sadr ent. stanrdW lenth 1 INTERNET CAREER OPPORTUNITIES with The Internet Factory Inc. http://www.netfactory.com Receive details via infobot: iobsgoblue@netfactory.com C* CosEN R t Resume Service. S Fax Servic :::. BooKTORE ACCURATE * FAST PROFESSIONAL ! .. Receive $2 otff a resume package with this ad. One per customer. Grade A Notes at Ulrich's Bookstore Second Floor * 549 E. 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