8B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 2, 1998
Spikers two-sided in Big Ten matches
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By Jon Zemke
Daily Sports Writer
It was wear-a-costume-and-get-in-
free night as the Michigan volleyball
team beat up Northwestern in front of a
costumed crowd at Cliff Keen Arena.
The Wolverines were busy wearing
their own costume of Dr. Jekyl as they
put the Wildcats away in three straight
games after losing the first game, 15-13.
The second game was a different tale,
as Michigan rose to the occasion to win
15-8. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah
Behnke was the go-to player, providing
12 kills in the first two games, as well as
the kills to put the second and third
games away.
"I just felt really good going into the
match" Behnke said.
Game three was not even close, as
Spartans, baby!
ESPN announcer and college bas-
ketball guru Dick Vitale pro-
nounced Michigan State top five
material in his recently released
preseason rankings.
Dick Vitale's top five
NCAA teams:
1. Connecticut
2. Duke
3. Stanford
4. Kentucky
5. Michigan State
Michigan buried Northwestern, allow-
ing just three points in the game.
Northwestern refused to die, taking
Michigan down to the wire in the fourth
game. The teams traded points through
the whole game while neither team
pulled ahead by more than four points.
Sophomore setter Alija Pittenger served
the final two points, including an ace, to
finish off the Wildcats 15-13.
"I thought we played really loose,"
Behnke said. "I thought we played with
a lot of confidence, something that we
haven't necessarily done in the past.
Everybody contributed, and I think
that's what we need. We need people
doing their job when they're in there. It
was a great win."
Pittenger did all of the setting against
Northwestern, allowing the offense to
really open up. The team finished with
73 kills on a season-high 172 kill
attempts, including Behnke's 25 to lead
the team and 24 by team kill leader
Karen Chase. Chase, a senior outside
hitter, also finished with season-high
and team-leading 14 digs.
Leading the team with a career-best
56 assists, Pittenger had a career night,
playing every minute of the match. She
also contributed a personal season-high
three serving aces.
"I was just trying to get it up there so
Karen and Sara could swing at it,"
Pittenger said.
The win was the second against
Northwestern, bringing Michigan's
record to 4-8 in the Big Ten, 12-10 over-
all.
Friday night, on the other hand, was
without a doubt Devil's Night, as the
Wolverines put on their Mr. Hyde cos-
tume and were swept by visiting
Indiana.
The scene was horrific for Michigan,
as it lost 15-8 in the first game.
The Hoosiers scored eight straight
points in a second-game runaway, and
finished off Michigan 15-7 to close out
the match and series.
The difference in the game was
Michigan's 22 attack errors and .194
attack percentage. Indiana committed
just seven attack errors and posted a
.471 attack percentage.
"Some people say mental break-
downs and some people say lack of
focus, but I think it just comes down to
character," junior defensive specialist
Maggie Cooper said.
-~ t
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DAVID ROCHKIND/Daiy
Michigan's Anne Pogilts spiked this Indiana offering, but the Wolverines fell to the
Hoosiers on Friday.4
0
Cleaves leads Spartan hoops into 'virgin territory'
By Andy Latack
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan State point guard Mateen
Cleaves sighed and pushed himself
away from the table. He grabbed a piece
of candy from a nearby bowl, and
watched the departing members of the
media that had been hounding him for
the last hour.
"I'd better get used to this," Cleaves
said. "I guess this is what it's going to be
like this season."
Indeed, much of the talk at last week-
end's Big Ten media day centered
around Cleaves and the Spartans. The
media and coaches both have picked
Michigan State, last year's co-Big Ten
champion, to finish atop the conference
in their preseason pools.
And with good reason. After advanc-
ing to the Sweet Sixteen in last year's
NCAA Tournament before losing to a
stacked North Carolina team, the
Spartans return all five starters on a
dubspot.daily@umich.edu
squad that shocked the college basket-
ball world a year ago.
Picked as middle-of-the-pack confer-
ence finishers at this time last year, the
Spartans went on to amass a 13-3 Big
Ten record, tying for the conference title
with Illinois.
Cleaves was instrumental in that run,
averaging 16.1 points per game and
dishing out a conference-leading 7.2
assists per contest. The Flint native was
named Big Ten player of the year, and is
the preseason pick for that honor again
this season.
But Michigan State isn't going to
sneak up on anybody this year. With
expectations soaring both in East
Lansing and nationwide, the Spartans
must now deal with preparing for the
season under an intense spotlight.
"This is a little bit of virgin territory,
since we've never been in this position
as a team," Michigan State coach Tom
Izzo said. "And I have to admit, I've
never been in this position as a coach"
And what a position it is. Michigan
State is picked in the top 10 in virtually
every preseason publication, and the
media simply couldn't get enough of the
Spartans on that day in Chicago.
Fueling the green-and-white fever at
media day was the fact that Michigan
State almost didn't show up, making the
new-look Spartans even more of a mys-
tery. Izzo's flight was canceled, forcing
him to miss the event entirely and par-
ticipate via speakerphone. Cleaves and
teammate Antoniq Smith were late
themselves and, upon arriving, were
mobbed like the Backstreet Boys at a
junior high.
"There's a lot of excitement going
around campus," Cleaves said. "You
hear a lot of people anxiously waiting
for the season to start."
Cleaves had been playing the waiting
game himself in the months leading up
to practice, having been sidelined most
of the summer due to a series of injuries.
The Spartans' junior floor leader
sprained an ankle while practicing with
the USA Team for the World
Championships in June, and then suf-
fered a separated shoulder after falling
down a flight of stairs outside of his
apartment complex in August. Cleaves
returned to the court just more than a
month ago, having missed two crucial
months of offseason workouts.
"I was disappointed, because the sum-
mer is where you get better and work on
the things you don't have time to work
on during the season," Cleaves said.
"But I can't sulk about that, because it's
something I can't bring back."
Izzo is confident Cleaves won't be
hampered by his time off, but was look-
ing for Michigan State's captain to work
on his game in the offseason.
"I believe he is mature enough to not
let it affect him," Izzo said. "But players
are made in the summer. Before he can
be considered the best player in the
nation, he needs to improve his shooting
and consistency."
Even if Cleaves gets off to a slow start
because of his injuries, Michigan State
has plenty of other scoring threats.
Backcourt mate Charlie Bell was the
team's third-leading scorer and rebound-
er as a freshman last year. Senior swing-
man Jason Klein is a deadly shooter who
drilled a team-high 69 three pointers last
season.
With so many weapons, it's easy to
get carried away about Michigan State's
prospects this year.
But Cleaves knows that all the presea-
son hype is just that, and that the acco-
lades are about as useful as his shoulder
was a month ago.
"I'm a hard guy to satisfy, because I
believe once you're satisfied, you're in
trouble," Cleaves said. "If we're ranked
this high after the year, then I'll be very
happy."
I
Staff Picks
- all picks made
against the
spread. Correct
selections appear
in bold.
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SHARAT
RAJU
ROSE
Game (HOME TEAM IN CAPS)
Michigan (-12.5) vs. MINNESOTA
MIAMI (FLA.) (-15) vs. Boston College
PENN STATE (-36) vs. Illinois
Ohio State (-21.5) vs. INDIANA
NEBRASKA (-17.5) vs. Texas
Louisiana State (-8.5) vs. MISSISSIPPI
NOTRE DAME (-15) vs. Baylor
FLORIDA (-11.5) vs. Georgia
SOUTHERN CAL (-5) vs. Washington
UCLA (-27) vs. Stanford
FLORIDA STATE (-25) vs. North Carolina
PURDUE (-15) vs. Iowa
Best Bet
Last Week
Overall (best bet)
Minnesota
Miami
Illinois
Indiana
Nebraska
Louisiana State
Baylor
Florida
Washington
4JCLA
North'Carolina
Purdue
Washington
5-7 (0-1)
53-43-1(5-2)
Michigan
Boston College
Illinois
Indiana
Nebraska
Louisiana State
Notre Dame
Florida
Washington
UCLA
North Carolina
Purdue
Purdue
4-8 (1-0)
41-55-1(3-5)
MARK
SNYDER
Michigan
Miami
Illinois
Ohio State
Texas
Louisiana State
Notre Dame
Florida
Washington
UCLA
Florida State
Purdue
Washington
8-4(0.1)
45-51-1(4-4)
--
Guest Selector
GEORGE WASHINGTON*
Michigan
Boston College
Penn State
Indiana
Texas
Louisiana State
Baylor
Florida
Southem Cal
UCLA
North Carolina
Iowa
Michigan
2-10 (0-1)
47-49-1 (2-4)
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* Former President Washington's picks were determined during a seance via
a U.S. quarter-dollar. Heads symbolized the favorite, while tails was
interpreted as a pick for the underdog.
Previous guest selectors have been:
English Prof. Ralph Williams
History Prof. Sidney Fine
Former Michigan kicker Remy Hamilton
Radio announcer and former Michigan football player Jim Brandstatter
Daily columnist James Miller
Michigan alum and ESPN anchor Rich Eisen
Michigan men's basketball coach Brian Elierbe
We will have a guest selector each week for the staff picks. Most times it
will be someone famous, but if you think you deserve to pick, e-mail us at
dailyfootball@umich.edu and tell us why. Friends and family of Daily
staffers are not only not excluded, but are welcome to apply.
'4
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