1 PRO Dallas 4, HOCKEY WASHINGTON 3 DETROIT , CHICAGO 3, San Jose 3 Vancouver 0 NY. Islanders 5. Phoenix at MONTREAL 2 EDMONTON, inc. St. Louis 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 Ottawa 5, TAMPA BAY 2 PRO BASKETBALL NEW Y ORf 93. Dalias 74 Ne; ter - k127, TORONTO 104 UTAH 98. Phoenix 89 Thursday October 33, 1997 M' spikers trounce 'Cats,- bounce back from slump Blue uses strong attack to stop small Northwestern squad By Josh Kleinbaum Daily Sports Writer The term "must-win game" is used often in sports, probably too often. But it wouldn't have been an exag- geration to call last night's match against Northwestern a must-win situation for the Michigan volleyball team. And the Wolverines (8-3 Big Ten, 15-7 overall) responded, spanking the Wildcats, 15-9, 15-5, 15-3. Just three days earlier, the Wolverines suffered a heart- breaking loss to Ohio State. After starting the season with the best conference record in history of the program, the Wolverines had lost two of their last four games before facing Northwestern, and they were not playing anywhere near the top of their game. To make matters worse, they were facing a hungry Northwestern team that has shown improvement lately. Despite winning only two conference games, Northwestern took No. 1 Penn State to five games just last week, marking the first time all year the Nittany Lions faced a decisive game. "If we had come out flat after the Ohio State loss, it could have started a tailspin" Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "This was a very significant win." Led by an even .400 attack-percentage, the Wolverines' front line dominated a smaller Northwestern (2-9, 11-1l) squad. 2To hit .400in a match is pretty incredible," Giovanazzi said. "if you hit that well, you'll almost always win." Outside hitters Karen Chase and Sarah Behnke paced the offense, combining for 21 kills. Chase added an ace and five blocks, with an attack percentage of .381. Middle blocker Sarah Jackson had another 11 kills and ' five blocks. Jackson's attack percentage of .438 was second only to setter Linnea Mendoza. Although Mendoza's job is to pace the offense with her setting - she also had 41 JOHN KRAFT/Dalyassists - she added a helpful offensive punch with her help the Wolverines coast past perfect 4-for-4 kills. "Wc controlled the net, and we hit and blocked so Men's cross country favored at Big Tens well," Giovanazzi said. "if we continue that kind of pl we'll be in real good shape." Middle blocker Linsey Ebert was a big part of the Wolverines' efforts to control the net. Although she only recorded three blocks, her size intimidated the smaller Wildcats. "Ebert was a huge force blocking," Giovanazzi said. "They were falling all over her." Jeanine Sczcesniak pulled off an incredible feat, giv- ing the Wildcats more trouble on the court than they would have had pronouncing her last name. The outside hitter turned in a balanced performance, combining thr service aces with eight defensive digs and a .417 attacY percentage. Going into the match, the Wolverines did not focus on their sideout game but rather worked on serving and blocking, so they could exploit a Northwestern team with only one player over six-feet tall on the roster. The strat- egy resulted in nine total blocks, eight more than their purple-clad counterparts. The Wildcats relied on outside hitter Melissa Doan. The Kalamazoo native did her part, recording an astounding .625 attack percentage, but no one else hit better than .300. Northwestern's overall attack percentage of .194 was dismal. Couple that with 20 errors, and the Wildcats did- n't have a chance., ButNorthwestern's biggest problem was its service game. Michigan netted nine sideouts without even having to touch the ball, thanks to service errors by the Wildcats. Northwestern did not record a single ace. For the Wolverines, the match marked the start of their second swing through the Big Ten schedule. Michiga swept the Wildcats in Ann Arbor on Oct. 1.1The previo W experience aided Giovanazzi and his staff - they only had two days to prepare for Northwestern this time. "One of our strengths as a staff is our ability to pre- pare," Giovanazzi said. "We didn't have much time to prepare for this match, so it helped that we had already seen them." man outside hitter Sarah Behnke used 10 kills and a .350 attack percentage to rthwestern,15-,15-5,15-3. By Chad Kujala Daily Sports Writer Momentum. That is something the Michigan men's cross country team possesses heading into Saturday's Big Ten championships. The. Wolverines are riding an undefeated season into Columbus as they face their conference foes. Not only has Michigan won every event it has entered, its average winning score is a mere 34 points. Frustration. That is something Michigan has felt the past three seasons - an effect of finishing as Big Ten runner- up. As a result, the Wolverines have come back this year with the mental attitude and desire to improve. The two together make the third- ranked Wolverines the favorite head- ing into this weekend. Senior Kevin Sullivan is the only member on the team to have experi- enced a team Big Ten championship. As a freshman in 1993, Sullivan and his teammates finished first. Sullivan, along with junior John Mortimer, are another reason why the Wolverines are favored this week. "I don't think there will be anyone at Big Tens who can touch them," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said. Although Mortimer has never been on a Big Ten championship team, he knows how to deal with being the favorite. "I think that if we run with the same intensity and focus we've had all year, we will be successful," Mortimer said. Another factor to the Wolverines' success all season has been their depth. Sophomores Steve Lawrence and Jay Cantin, junior Todd Snyder and senior Don McLaughlin have consistently placed in the top 15 fin- ishers in races. High finishes by this foursome is what keeps their team See BIG TENS, Page IA LOUIS BROWN/tDaity The Michigan men's cross country team is running into Columbus for the 1997 Big Ten championships this weekend. u I I7~I, 1o mr FREE (0Lfi N(ovember tat and 2nd Aind Specia( biscountm on anin Pckge I I