The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 8, 1998 - 17A 'M' volleyball sweeps into season By Uma Subramanian Daily Sports Writer Last year the Michigan women's vol- leyball team had its most successful season in history, earning its first NCAA tournament bid and finishing with a record of 21-12. Entering the 1998 campaign, the Wolverines think they can keep the fire burning. "We're a better team than we were last year," Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "We are in a position ,to have an even better year." If senior Karen Chase's recent play is any indication of the team, the winning streak could continue. To open the season, the Wolverines were in Washington, D.C., where they won the Georgetown Acumen Classic by defeating Temple, Georgetown and Maryland. The Wolverines defeated Temple in four games (15-8, 15-10, 14-16, 15-4) to improve their record to 3-0. They were led by Chase, who had 23 kills (and seven errors) in 37 attempts for a .432 attack percentage in the match. "Chase is a pretty amazing player," Giovanazzi said. "She was on fire this weekend. She is the person we had to go to in each pivotal situation and she really came through." In the tournament, Chase also had a lot of help from her teammates espe- cially fellow senior Jeanine Szczesniak who was named the tournament MVP. "The match against Temple this year was much different from last season," Giovanazzi said. "They lost four or five seniors, and they were really tentative when they came out." While Temple was an important match in capturing the crown, the Wolverines were more concerned with their previous two matches. In an earlier game Saturday, the Wolverines defeated host Georgetown in four games (9-15, 15-7, 15-7, 15-6). Szczesniak had a .409 attack percent- age in the match. The Wolverines out-hit the Hoyas, 45-39 and out-blocked them 12-7.5. Recently graduated setter Linnea Mendoza, Michigan's all-time career assists leader, will be replaced by freshman Shannon Melka and sopho- more Alija Pittenger, who combined for 63 assists against Temple and 36 against Georgetown. "I'm not surprised by their perfor- mance," Giovanazzi said. "Together they formed a team which allows us to improve over last year. They've done a really great job. It's always difficult to replace a senior, but they have come together.' Prior to this weekend, the Wolverines' primary focus had been the match against Maryland. The Terrapins lost only twice last year - never during the regular season. Friday's lone contest saw the Wolverines rise to the challenge. They recorded 69 kills as well as 10 blocks in the four games. The weekend was a confidence. builder for Michigan, but Giovanazzi is more focused on keeping things in bal- ance. "At the end of the tournament we dis- cussed how important it was to keep things in balance," he said. "It's only one of the many weekends, but we will use it for the momentum it provides." For the past several years the volley- ball program has been trying to estab- lish itself. But this year, things could be different. "It's going to be kind of an unusual season because we have to get used to being one of the top teams in the con- ference instead of an underdog," Giovanazzi said. "It will be interesting to see how the team adjusts to that posi- tion. So far they seem to be doing well." The Michigan volleyball team opened their sea- son by sweeping to the Georgetown Acumen Classic title. FILE PHOTO '14"etccine Beitel, 'M' soccer dismantle weekend foes 9- Wecome6BackStuents! Qet Started on the I qht 9\Note. By Vaughn R. KMug Daily Sports Writer Keeping pace with the success of the '97 season, the No. 17 Michigan soccer team remained undefeated after open- ing the season with a pair of road games this weekend. Playing in Indianapolis on Sunday, Michigan (2-0) defeated Butler, 2-1. In the first half, Michigan took the lead thanks to a blast from. senior Jessica kimauro at 37:30, her third *point of the season. The assist came from sophomore standout Kacy Beitel who dismantled the pressing Bulldogs by serving Limauro a pass over the head of the defenders. Beitel also made major con- tributions in the season opener against Dayton where she scored twice en route to a 3-1 victory. After the break, the Wolverines struck again as iunior Amber Berendowsky found the back of the net at the 57 minute-mark. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Jones's, four saves, coupled with the rest of the defense's efforts, also were key ingredi- ents to Michigan's victorv, Belkin said. "I can count on them to fight hard the entire game regardless of the situation or score." Belkin said. As for last season, the Wolverines finished 18-4-1 and boasted a Big Ten tournament title which led to the young program's first berth in the NCAA tour- nament. With eight starters returning from the '97 squad, the expectations are higher than ever before. "We definitely feel we have the talent for a Big Ten Championship," fifth-year head coach Debbie Belkin said in a written statement. "Now that we have been to the NCAA's, we do not just want to get there, we want to continue to advance." Success will be especially challeng- ing for the Wolverines this season in light of six matchups with fellow '97 NCAA tournament qualifiers. Three of those teams, Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin, will also be bidding for the Big Ten crown - while Massachusetts, Brigham Young and national semifinalist Notre Dame rep- resent non-conference threats. For now, the Wolverines are prepar- ing to host the Michigan. Challenge Cup, which will be held at the Michigan Soccer Field on Friday and Sunday. Riding the confidence of two road wins, Michigan is optimistic about the Challenge Cup yet aware of the threat of an opening game versus Massachusetts. "We will go into the game confident and excited but certainly respecting the strong tradition of Massachusetts soc- cer," Belkin said. .e i Save in September Stop in during the month of September and save 15%! The largest selection of jazz, classical, popular and piano teaching methods, books and musical gift items in southeastern Michigan. _ Pianos and Digital Keyboards * Rentals and Rent-to-Own KING S since 1961 2333 E. Stadium, Ann Arbor (2 miles east of U-M Stadium) Call 663-3381; 1-800-968-5464 Hours: M 9:30-8; T-F 9:30-7; Sa. 10-5; Su. 1-5 FILE PHOTO The Michigan soccer team took its first two contests of the season this weekend, defeating Butler, 2-1, and Dayton, 3-1. __.i Venus eclipses Pierce; Sampras also advances U NEW YORK (AP)-- On a day when thunderstorms turned the U.S. Open into Wimbledon West for 2 1/4 hours, APete Sampras had 18 aces and never 'ost his serve in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory yesterday over Marat Safin. Sampras moves into the quarterfinals of the tournament he has won four times with the victory. The top-seeded Sampras next will face the winner of a match between No. 8 Andre Agassi and No. 9 Karol Kucera. Safin, 18, who wowed crowds at this ear's French Open with a string of upsets en route to the fourth round in his Grand Slam debut, showed off plenty of power, including 10 aces. But he was no match for the steady Sampras. Sampras lost only 20 points on his serve in the match and closed out his 600th career win with three consecu- tive aces - including one at 135 mph. He won 41 of 48 points on his first serve in the match. Also winning was No. 5 Venus Williams, who celebrated her 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win over No. 12 Mary Pierce with an on-court dance that looked like an NFL end zone strut. Williams won the last six points of the tiebreaker. No. 13 Amanda Coetzer slammed a backhand passing shot down the line on match point, beating the weather and No. 7 Conchita Martinez, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. With Coetzer and Martinez engag- ing in long baseline rallies and occa- sionally hitting moonballs, the match lasted 2 hours, 39 minutes. One game had 28 points, including 11 deuces, and consumed more than 20 minutes. The victory put Coetzer, into the quarterfinals against the winner of the match between No. 2 Lindsay Davenport and No. 10 Nathalie Tauziat. There were a couple of big upsets Sunday night, Five-time champion Steffi Graf was ousted by Patty Schnyder and the second-seeded man, Marcelo Rios, lost a five-setter to Magnus Larsson. U 1 a' OVE Fitness Program F all Term September 14 - Dec. 13, 1998 TOTALLY FREE CHECKING I rxT~ .. I.,.. ~ ... 1 * Nn minimum balance requirement*