The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 15, 1998 - 15A M' volleyball hopes to spike two Big Ten rivals y Michael Shafrir Sports Writer nconsistency has plagued the Michigan volleyball team this season. The Wolverines haven't been able to mount any sort of a significant win- ning streak. It seems as though every time they win, they lose the next match. This pattern has been especially evident as of late, as the Wolverines have gone 2-2 in their past four matches, sandwiching two losses Seen wins over Northwestern and innesota. This weekend the team travels to Penn State and Ohio State, and they look to build on last week's three game drubbing of Minnesota. Happy Valley is going to be a tough place to start. The second-ranked Nitanny Lions have been dominating all their com- pators this season. e Lions recently defeated sixth ranked Wisconsin in a four game malch, 13-15, 15-9, 15-4, 15-3. That ran their record to 6-0 in the Big Ten, 16-0 overall. The win also upped their home- match win streak to a gaudy 46 match- es. Penn State is led by junior middle setter Lauren Cacciamani, who aver- ages 3.71 kills and 1.88 blocks per game. Cacciamani awarded Big Ten player of the week honors for her perfor- mances against Iowa and Wisconsin. Junior Carrie Schonveld averages 2.9 digs, also a team high. The Nittany Lions have dominated this season both offensively and defensively. Penn State has main- tained a .362 hitting percentage, while holding opponents to only .074. It won't get much easier for the Wolverines on Saturday when they play Ohio State in Columbus. Ohio State comes into the match ranked 21st in the country with a 2-4 Big Ten record and a 9-6 record overall. Four of those losses have come against teams ranked in the top 25. Ohio State's biggest win was an early-season conquest of then No. 6 Florida. The Buckeyes' offensive leader is junior outside hitter Rosie Snow, aver- aging 4.4 kills per game. She is buoyed by junior setter Jen Flynn, who averages a team high 2.06 digs and 9.04 assists per game. Defensively, sophomore middle blocker Dana Stearns has registered 41 blocks this season. Michigan has not fared well in Columbus, historically. In fact, the Wolverines are 0-17 at Ohio State and only 4-35 overall. But this is of no consequence to this year's team. Michigan won 15-9, 5- 15, '15-12, 15-13 last year in Ann Arbor, and look to draw upon that experience. The Wolverines have been ranked just outside the top 25 all season. This weekend would go a long way toward moving them into the rankings. That is, if they can get that winning streak going. The Michigan volleyball team must take to the road for a battle against two Big Ten rivals. The Wolverines need two wins for the chance of break- Ing into the top 25. DAVID R0CHKIND/Saiiy Women's tennis hosts first tournament With spanking-new outdoor courts ready, Hart and Lund look to improve By Stephanie Offen Daily Sports Writer Assistant coach Terry Ann Zawacki began her post with the Michigan women's tennis squad last year, at the same time the outdoor courts at the Varsity Tennis Center did. The Wolverines welcomed both with open arms. "The whole Michigan Athletic Department really helped me out when I first got here," Zawacki said. "Everyone here is really great." But Michigan will welcome the new courts in a different way. The outdoor courts were named after Michigan alumnus, and Detroit Lions owner and president, William Clay Ford, who started a fund-raising program for them. This weekend, the new courts will be given a proper inauguration by hosting the first annual Wolverine Invitational. The Wolverines have already attended one individual tournament, earlier in the season. The team sent two experienced players to the National Clay Court Championships, where they were upset in the first round. Juniors Brooke Hart and Danielle Lund, the eighth-ranked doubles team in the preseason polls, were defeated by South Alabama which was ranked 47th. And this will be the Wolverines' second team tournament. The team sent six players to the Eck classic at Notre Dame earlier in the year. Michigan graduated just one play- er, Sora Moon, last year, but still had several new players to send to the Classic. Included in the six they sent were three newcomers, freshman Jennifer Vaughn and walk-on sopho- mores Maya Canfield and Marya Farah. "The Eck Classic really gave the team a good start," Zawacki said. "The freshmen did really well and will be competing again this week- end." Notre Dame, which has defeated the Wolverines the two times they've met in the Classic, will be one of the teams to travel to Ann Arbor this weekend. The othet two will be North Carolina and Texas A&M. There are no preseason rankings out at this point, so it is not deter- mined yet where these teams stand against each other. "All the teams ended up in the top 50 last year, so the tournament should be pretty close," Zawacki said. The new Varsity Center courts were finished around the time school started, and are already being used by the Wolverines for tournament preparation. "Right now we are just working on getting ready for each individual game," Zawacki said. This is just the second tournament of the year, but the Wolverines are already looking toward the Big Ten Championships. Michigan, an underdog in last sea- son's tournament, was able to make it to the finals, but is hoping for a title this spring. "I really think we have a great shot at winning the Big Tens," Zawacki said. FILE PHOTO T~le Michigan women's tennis team christens its new outdoor courts this weekend in the first annual Wolverine Invitational. Brooke Hart, pictured above in action last season, and her partner Danielle Lund were beaten by South Alabama in dou- bles play, earlier in the fall.