Volleyball Heads to Desert to Take on Arizona, Arizona State
October 27, 1998
THIS WEEKEND'S ACTION: The Beavers (11-11, 1-10 Pac-10) continue Pacific-10 play with a trip to the desert this weekend. OSU will take on Arizona State (8-10, 5-6) in Tempe at 6:00 p.m. PST on Friday, October 30, and the Beavers will meet No. 16 Arizona (17-3, 8-3) at noon PST on Sunday, November 1 in Tucson. The Beavers must win at least one of the two matches to avoid falling below .500 for the first time this season. Oregon State went 10-1 in non-conference action but has lost nine of its last 10 matches now that league play has started.
OREGON STATE VS. THE ARIZONA SCHOOLS: Oregon State is just 7-19 all-time against Arizona State, but the Beavers have won four of the last six matches -- including a 3-1 victory in Tempe last season. OSU is 10-16 against Arizona, and the Wildcats have won the last four contests.
THE FIRST TIME AROUND: Oregon State lost to Arizona (3-1) and Arizona State (3-0) in Corvallis earlier this season. Sarah Bjeldanes hit .304 with a career-high 21 kills against the Wildcats, and Angie Shirley led the Beavers with 10 kills and a .429 hitting percentage against the Sun Devils.
SCOBLE JUST OFF RECORD PACE: Selina Scoble has 129 blocks so far this season, just off pace to break OSU's single-season blocking record of 184, held by Tanya Lifa ('92) and Staci Hintze ('95). Scoble has averaged 5.86 blocks per match in 22 matches. If she keeps up her average through the seven remaining matches, she will finish with 170 blocks -- which would be the third best single-season mark at OSU, behind only Lifa and Hintze's totals. Scoble needs to average 7.86 blocks per game to tie the record. She has had at least six blocks in 14 of the 22 matches, and she has had three matches with double-figure blocking totals.
SHIRLEY SHINES WITH 10 OR MORE: Angie Shirley's .327 hitting percentage on the season is fairly good -- seventh best in the Pac-10, in fact. But she's hitting even better in matches when she gets at least 10 kills. Shirley has had double-figure kills in 12 out of 20 matches this season, and she's hit an impressive .422 in those matches. In her most recent 10-kill outing, Shirley hit .350 with 10 kills against No. 7 Stanford on October 16. She set a school record for hitting percentage in a five-game match when she hit .656 with 23 kills against Portland on September 22.
KOUKOU BREAKS OUT OF SLUMP: Eleftheria Koukou, who had been struggling offensively the entire Pac-10 season, broke out of a slump to hit .333 against No. 25 UCLA on October 23. She came in off the bench and tallied 13 kills -- all in the last two games. It was the first Pac-10 match she had double-figures after posting double figures in seven of 11 non-conference matches. In OSU's match with No. 11 USC on October 25, she hit .143 with five kills. Prior to the UCLA and USC matches, Koukou had hit -.042 in Pac-10 matches. She also served her first two aces in Pac-10 action against the Bruins after a team-high 22 in non-conference play.
HUDDLESTON TIES CAREER BEST: Defensive specialist Jacki Huddleston registered nine digs against No. 11 USC last week to lead the Beavers for the first time in her career. Her nine digs marked a season-high for her, and it tied her career high as well. She also had nine digs against UCLA and Arizona State last year.
THREE BEAVERS MAKING THEIR WAY UP RECORD BOOK: Angie Shirley had four blocks last week to push her career totals to 214, which puts her in ninth place on OSU's career blocking chart. She is also ninth on the career block assists list with 155, and she needs three more block solos to tie for the 10th spot on that career chart. Additionally, Shirley and Selina Scoble are among OSU's Top 10 in career hitting percentage. Shirley has hit .290 (345-118-784) in her career so far, which is fifth on the list. Scoble is at .257 (169-63-412), to rank ninth. If Shirley keeps up her .327 percentage this season, she would stand sixth on the single-season hitting percentage list as well. Brandi Bonnarens is the fifth OSU setter to record 1,000 career assists. She has 935 so far this season to give her 1,326 assists for her career, which ranks fourth all-time.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils (8-10, 5-6 Pac-10) snapped a five-match losing skid with a 3-2 win over Cal on October 25. Sophomore Amanda Burbridge leads ASU with 333 kills and is fourth in the league with 4.63 kills per game. Jami Coughlin leads the team and the league in digs (252/3.50 dpg), and she ranks second on the Sun Devil squad with 225 kills. Of ASU's five conference wins, only one has come at home.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA: The No. 16 Wildcats (17-3, 8-3 Pac-10) have four players with 200+ kills. Keisha Johnson-Demps leads the team with 270, followed by Raelene Elam with 252. Marisa DaLee is hitting .379, second best in the league, with 224 kills. DaLee leads the team with 82 blocks, followed closely by Demps' 81.
SCOBLE RANKED NATIONALLY: In matches through October 18, Selina Scoble is tied for seventh in the nation in blocking with 1.71 blocks per game. As a team, the Beavers are seventh in the nation in blocking (3.54 bpg). New rankings will be available Tuesday evening.
LEAGUE PLAY TAKES IT TOLL ON THE BEAVERS: After going 10-1 in non-conference action, Oregon State has gone just 1-10 in Pac-10 play, posting its only win against Washington on October 11. The Beavers dropped statistically in every category in league play compared to what they did their non-conference matches: hitting percentage (.140/.264), kills (14.06kpg/15.88), digs (12.09 dpg/14.05) and blocks (3.09bpg/3.78). In OSU's one Pac-10 win, the Beavers' statistics were more similar to those in non-conference play than those in other league matches. OSU hit .263 with 52 kills (17.33 kpg), 42 digs (14 dpg) and 14 blocks (4.67 bpg) in three games against Washington.
BEAVERS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: Several Oregon State players rank among the league's top 10 in various statistical categories. Selina Scoble is second in the conference in blocking, with 1.70 blocks per game, and she is ninth in serving with 0.28 aces per game. Sarah Bjeldanes is fifth in serving (0.35 apg) and 10th in digs with 2.75 per game. Eleftheria Koukou is third in the Pac-10 in serving, averaging 0.42 aces per game, while Brandi Bonnarens is sixth in assists with 12.30 per game. Angie Shirley is seventh in hitting percentage (.327). As a team, the Beavers are second in the league in blocking (3.46 blocks per game) and serving (1.57 aces per game). Statistics are through October 25.
SHIRLEY JOINS BJELDANES WITH 200: Angie Shirley became the second OSU player to record 200 kills this season after picking up nine kills last week. Shirley now has 207 kills on the season, second only to Sarah Bjeldanes' team-best 227 kills. Two other players could join them surpassing the 200-kill mark this weekend. Krista Kinsman has 197 and Gina Schmidt has 185, and both could reach 200 with strong performances in Arizona. Bjeldanes will look to become the first Beaver to collect 200 digs this weekend; she leads the team 190 so far. Schmidt is second on the squad with 162 digs.
THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB: Six Oregon State players have posted "double-doubles" so far this season, but no one had one against either UCLA or USC last week. Sarah Bjeldanes leads the team with nine double-double outings, followed by Krista Kinsman with four. Gina Schmidt has three, and Selina Scoble and Brandi Bonnarens each have two. Eleftheria Koukou has one. While the majority of OSU's double-doubles have come with kills and digs, both of Bonnarens' involved assists and digs, and one of Scoble's was a combination of kills and blocks.
MOZZOCHI NEARING 100 WINS: Jeff Mozzochi, in his sixth season as head coach of the Oregon State volleyball program, needs six more wins to pick up his 100th victory at OSU. His OSU squads have compiled a 94-87 record (52.9 percent) during his tenure, including a 19-12 mark in 96 for the programs best finish since 1990. His 1993 and 1994 Beaver teams advanced to the NIVC post-season tournament. Prior to joining the OSU program, he served as head coach at Portland State for nine seasons and guided his teams to a 287-75 record (79.3 percent) and four Division II National Championships. His overall coaching record stands at an impressive 381-162 (70.2 percent) in more than 14 years as a head coach. Mozzochi is a 1980 graduate of California.
2,217 RANKS FOURTH ALL-TIME: 2,217 fans came out to watch the Oregon State/Stanford match on October 16. It was the fourth highest crowd in OSU volleyball history, and the fifth match with 2,000 fans. The school record was set in 1996, when 2,559 fans showed up for the Civil War match between the Beavers and Oregon.
