ow No. 2,Mihgn
ry _IT, r I' '9 6
4a,""ointed with worst since
ena KrLscher
Sports 5\ rier
s hard to be humble when y otre as
working as the Michigan volleybal
In just six matches, the
erines have proven themselves
by of. if not better than their tmea-
o. 21 ranking in the 1999 USA
y AVCA top 25 poll. They've daz-
the country with a 5-1 start under
utelage of first-year coach, Mark
n, along with three sery talented
men.
e Wolverines secured runner-up
rs behind No. I1 Pepperdine at the
Sport Challenge at Cliff Keen
a last weekend.
e Wolverines beat unranked
cuse 3-0 (15-3, 15-8, 15-12). but
fell to Pepperdine in a close, three-
match 15-4, 15-11. 15-10. It
bhed its runners-up honor after a
e, four-set match, upsetting No. 16
snsas 3-1 (15-8, 15-9, 9-15, 15-10).
We're not underrated" said senior
aptain and defensise specialist,
igie Cooper. "As long as we're
ed, I'm ecstatic. It's an honor to be
:ed 25th. We've been ranked in the
Ten before, but never in the coun-
We've proven ourselves thus far, but
till have a long way to go."
'espite its one loss, the team has
sed its existence into the minds of
teams it has conquered as well as
teams it is anxiously awaiting to
pete against.
We have a strong chance to win this
,said senior co-captain and out-
hitter Sarah Behnke. "We're on a
right now, and I'm happy we're get-
the recognition we deserve. We
ked hard during pre-season, and
glad to see that the work is paying
Ste Wtslserisnes haes spi sesan,
espec ily asfter stsealits.gs a 1mat aginst
No. 7 Brsnghan Yousg st Se. 3.
'it shosss a los abort s Iha ws e ton
go out asd upset tests tia are ranked
hIgsher tan se are," sid s pbssore
outside hitter Nicole. Kteor. KRstintgs
are catinos. b ornar e o htnk
about thst. s Iaso 'a osts
hard, go )I! pa tdr
With 1en ohincste
consta i in lxr
the t.e on
effec , b11 stro f,,nd'
ie coac I itrs eucfusl"
Beltnke said been "so nit us
jusot what cw a' ss ohsmously
beenw ork its
"We're ome more bal-
anced in of ECOt just one
player" sssd ess i or s :a
be more sistint an sakes ss t ast
much i er to stop.
"fTh' is a good atmoshaere forthe
team," said junor auts e. hittcr and
serv er Alija Pttenger. "It's dsllerett
from last year \\e hants't realy set
goals yet for the rest of the season, but
as long as we keep on improving, we re
going to do well."
Michigan will travel to the Carolina
Classic for a chance to make a lot of
noise against South Carolina this Friday
and will compete in a doubleheader
against Virginia and Connecticut Ott
Saturday.
"We should do well this weekend,"
Cooper said. "We've played tough com-
petition, and we've only lost one match.
Playing tough competition makes Lis a
better team, and if we stay focused, con-
centrate, and have good ball control,
we'll be fine."
By David Mosse
S tcce.r ea tbe a crsel 'gtsme. There is
na thter stO wsee Is. fsnai soe e
IIf.ers scht as deptartureI frs ste actssal
1es ef Ithe ga'e: , Th s act issnt lost on
he Mieigas sswsten's soccer team,
ssi elsun ad itsclf on the wrong end of
sitesres mstnes the last two weeks.
t. \\Is ettmes outplayed each of
thseir last s oree pponents, yet salked of
the held ssithout a victory in two of the
three games. They also struggled might-
ily for tieir lone win.
Alr pernsnths' season with two
dominatn tn ictores. elesating their
na ional ranking to No. 15, the
Wol-etnes bean an ominous trend
aimst. MDsoel .Michigan outshot the
fT ers 14-1 aind had four more corner
kIcks, et wsz blon saway 4-1.
The Volsrines squandered countless
opporUnities early in the gate, and fin-
shed the half trailing 2-0. The Tigers
ner' loesked back, handing Michian
tIseir trst defeat of this season.
hat took place in their next game
was Itily retmarkable.
In front of a raucous crowd in the
home opetter a ,Michigan soccer fiel,
the \olserines sliced and diced their
u through An/ona State to the tune of
30 shots. Midway through the irst half
the raiste shaIould hase been sewn up, yet.
ichigan led only 1-0.
The\olserines then fell ictim to an
old soccer adage, if you don't score, you
will be scored upon. The Sun Desils
exploded for three goals in the last ten
minutes of the half Michigan hit the
post three agonizttg tames in the second
half, and fel 3-1 to \rionaSt ate.
"When you only manage one goal off
30 shots, it's hard to win games"
Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said.
The next game was against Utah, and
even as the Wolverines snapped their
two game losing streak, the disturbing
pattern continued. Michigan outshot the
Uses. 29-1I5, but ratherthan a walk in the
park. \shigass escaped with a gut
wrenching o',sertime victory.
The numbers are as astounding as
they are frustrating. Michigan outshot
its opponents 73-40 in the last three
games. managing a 1-2 record. The
Wolverines fired I18 shots to their
opponent's 57. yet have a 3-2 record to
show for it. Their worst start in three
years.
"We're getting good looks," said
Belkin. "We just have to concentrate on
our finishing."
Belkin can take solace in the fact that
her ace in the hole. Amber
Berendowsky, played in only one game
this year due to an ankle injury. If any-
one can ignite this struggling offense, it
is Berendowsky the Wolserines' all-
time leading scorer with 36 goals.
The Wolverines now head into Big
Ten season, knowing full well that if
they are to fulfill their preseason
,promise, the ball needs to find the net
more often.
"The bottom line is we have to score
more goals, if we expect to win any
games" Belkin said.
Michigan junior goalie Clarissa
Stewart notched her 20th career victory
against the Utes. Stewart is the second
Wolserine net minder to reach the 20-
win plateau and now trails Jessica Jones
by six wins on Michigan's all-time list.
While Amber Berendowsky garners
much of the spotlight, junior Kacy
Beitel continues to climb the scoring
charts. Beitel's overtime winner against
the Utes was her 21st career goal, mov-
ing her into fourth place all-time in the
Michigan scoring list.
The Wolverines two losses this season
mark the Wolverines earliest defeats
since 1996. The Wolverines opened last
year with five consecutive wins and in
1997, they were unbeaten through their
first 10 games.
MICHELLE SWELNIS/Daily
After opening the season with two convincing victories, the Michigan soccer
team heads into the Big Ten season 1-2 in its last three games.
t
Come tomorrow night.
19992000 Hockey Schedule
Date Opponent
Oct. 1 Blue/White*
Oct. 2 Wilfrid Laurer*
Oct. 7 at Notre Dame
Oct. 8 at Notre Dame
Oct. 15 UMass.-Lowell
Oct. 16 UMass-Lowell
Oct. 22 at Alaska-Fairbanks
Oct. 23 at Alaska-Fairbanks
Oct. 30 Yale
Nov. 5 Ohio State
Nov. 6 at Ohio State
Nov. 12 Miami, Ohio
Nov 13. at Miami, Ohio
Nov. 19 Lake Superior St.
Nov. 20 Lake Superior St.
Nov. 26 MinnesotaA
Nov. 27 WisconsinA
Dec. 3 ,at Bowling Green
Dec. 4 Bowling Green
Dec. 10 Nebraska-Omaha
Dec. 11 Nebraska-Omaha
Dec. 29 Lake Superior St.#
Dec. 30 Mich. Tech. or Mich. St.#
Jan. 8 at Michigan State
Jan. 14 Miami Ohio
Jan. 15 Miami (Ohio)
Jan 21 at Ohio State
Jan. 29 Ohio State
Feb. 4 at Ferris State
Feb. 5 Ferris State
Feb. 11 Western Michigan
Feb. 12 Western Michigan
Feb. 18 at Northern Michigan
Feb. 19 at Northern Michigan
Feb. 25 Michigan State
Feb. 26 Michigan State
March 3 at Bowling Green
March 4 Bowling Green
March 10-12 CCHA First Round
March 14 CCHA Play-in Game
March 17-18 CCHA Tournament
March 24-25 NCAA West Regional
March 25-26 NCAA East Regional
April 6-8 NCAA Frozen Four
*exhibition
ACollege Hockey Showcase
# Great Lakes Invitational
10
0
9)
CCHA introduces new
team, clusters in 1999
Bowling, Green, Mis
Ohio State. The Woh
Continued from Page 16 each team in their cl
make a difference competitively. It and play the rest of'
would be more interesting for the CCHA twice during
fans if we played-different teams on son.
consecutive nights." The Wolverines fir
Also new to theleague this year petition will be the B
will be Nebraska-Omaha, which will bition game on Oct
become the 12th team in the league. season opens Oct. 7
The CCHA will now be divided into
three clusters of four teams each.
Michigan's cluster will include Wit"
PUN EA$F EU
STETEA* AWlA * THmRTS ~
UN TEHEUU UL LOTIN
, ~ bav
tami (Ohio) an(
verines will pla;
uster four time
the teams in th
the regular sea
rst taste of c
lue/White exEi
. 1. The CCH
at Notre Dame
The Michigan Athletic Media Relations Department seeks
reliable work-study and volunteer students with flexible hours.
Must be availableto work evenings and weekends. Various duties
include clerical, writing, research and statistical work plus game
day activities for Michigan's 23 varsity sports. Call the Athletic
Media Relations office at 763-4423fororeformation.
studentameeting is planned-for Sep 6- 4p m ' _ S.-StateS
Champions Conf rence Room, Weade ' ' .
f
_-