10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 11, 2005
VOLLEYBALL
Reserves eyes play crucial role FOOTBAL.LATU A
By Amber Colvin
Daily Sports Writer
For some players, working hard in prac-
tice is rewarded with a chance to shine dur-
ing games. But for freshman setter Elizabeth
Raschke, hard work is all about helping her
team.
According to Michigan volleyball coach
Mark Rosen, that's exactly what Raschke is
doing, and she's doing it well.
"There's a lot of players in programs that
help the program tremendously without being
on the floor every game," Rosen said. "I think
she's one of those kind of players because she
works very hard in practice, she's very accept-
ing of whatever role she has, and she's always
trying to find a way to make the team better.
She's very involved in the game even when
she's not physically playing."
Rosen said that while most players get
frustrated when they are not making it into
games, the No. 1 thought on Raschke's mind
is to help challenge her teammates during
practice and in games.
"My role's really important because I'm
just pushing everybody every day," Raschke
said.
Rosen said Raschke keeps a careful eye on
the game from the sidelines and often sug-
gests ways to run plays differently to help the
team, providing advice that Rosen respects
and often uses.
"She's a really bright person," Rosen said.
"She sees things through very intelligent
eyes, and she's a good volleyball player. She
understands the game."
For redshirt freshman setter Mara Martin,
having Raschke on the team is like having
another pair of eyes on the court.
"In timeouts, she'll tell me what to run
sometimes or if something's open that I'm not
seeing," Martin said. "She watches for me, to
help out."
During games, Raschke holds a clipboard,
monitoring the opponent's defense, charting
out plays and giving feedback to Rosen to help
Martin and the team. Her role resembles that
of a backup quarterback in a football game.
"The backup quarterback is on the side-
line helping call the plays out, and so am I,"
Raschke said. "I feel important. I think that
can really help the team out."
As Martin and Raschke both experience
their first year of collegiate competition, they
are learning to compete with each other to
boost their level of play, beginning with set-
ters' practice before every team practice.
"We both compete pretty hard against each
other," Martin said.
Raschke said she looks up to Martin
- who has been at Michigan a year longer
- but enjoys having a setter learning at the
same time with her.
"They want to beat each other, and, at the
same time, they both want Michigan to win,"
Rosen said.
The biggest highlight of Raschke's colle-
giate career so far was when Rosen decided
to shake up the lineup and give Raschke her
first and only start against Northwestern.
That match ended in a loss for Michigan, but
it gave Raschke an experience she will never
forget.
"I was trying to calm myself down all day,
and I felt really prepared for it," Raschke said.
"I stepped out on the court for the first point,
and the first ball that I touched I set it a little
bit inside the net. But (sophomore tri-captain)
Katie Bruzdzinski just came in there and got
a kill off it. After that, everything was fine.
All my nerves went away. It was so fun."
By the end of the night, Raschke had
notched two kills, three digs and 14 assists.
Raschke came to Michigan - the only
school she applied to - from Portage Cen-
tral High School, where she led her team as a
captain. Academics were a top priority in her
college choice, and the engineering student
plans to someday switch into the Stephen M.
Ross School of Business.
According to Raschke, adjusting to college
life has been fairly easy so far, especially
because she has found comfort in the support
and structure that comes from being a student
athlete.
And as the team continues to benefit from
Raschke's work ethic, it seems as if the ben-
efits are mutual.
01
WILDCATS
Continued from page 9
to go against a hot goaltender.
"We need to create traffic and get
rebound, because a good goalie will
always make the first save," alternate
captain Matt Hunwick said. "We
need to bury our chances because
you don't get many chances on the
road."
Unlike past seasons, Michigan's
goaltending situation is not so cer-
tain. Berenson has not named the
starting goalie for this weekend. The
last two weeks have only made the
question over who will be the perma-
nent starter between the pipes more
confusing.
Two weeks ago in Alaska, Sauer
allowed four goals in the Wolverines'
lone loss this seasn. The next night,
senior Noah Ruden played quite well,
posting a shutout with 23 saves.
Last weekend against Notre Dame,
Ruden allowed five goals in the
opener of the home-and-home series.
The next night, Sauer rebounded by
allowing just two goals, while sav-
ing 27 shots. A good performance in
the upcoming series by either of the
two netminders could go a long way
toward deciding who will be the per-
manent fixture in goal.
"Billy Sauer is our goalie of the
future, but whether he can handle
that now, we don't know," Berenson
said. "But with Billy and Noah, I like
our goalie situation right now."
DAILY SPORTS:
WILL MICHIGAN
EARN THE
BIG TEN'S
BCS BID?
MAGIC 8
BALL: DO NOT
COUNT ON IT.
DS: WILL THE
BASKETBALL
TEAM MAKE
THE NCAA
TOURNAMENT?
M8B: IT IS
DECIDEDLY SO.
DS: WILL BILLY
SAUER START IN
GOAL TONIGHT?
M8B: IT IS
UNCLEAR.
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