While it might not have the punch of the football rivalries, the Ohio State women's volleyball team will attempt to remain perfect with home matches against Michigan State and Michigan. The No. 8 Buckeyes (16-0, 6-0) hope to continue the team record undefeated streak as the Big Ten season hits the midway point.
The Buckeyes host the Spartans tonight at St. John's Arena at 7:00 p.m. The Spartans have been somewhat of a disappointment this season after being picked to finish No. 4 in the preseason Big Ten rankings.
Michigan State (6-8, 1-5) is struggling to find victories that could pose a problem for the Buckeyes. Last week OSU defeated another seemingly desperate team at Indiana.
The Spartans are trying to bounce back after setbacks last weekend against Michigan and Illinois. Similar to the Buckeyes, Michigan State is a team filled with young players.
Last season the Spartans swept the season against the Buckeyes winning both matches 3-1, however OSU leads 31-24 in the all-time match-up.
The Buckeyes aim to use a balanced attack against the taller Spartan squad.
"We need to try and pass well," OSU coach Jim Stone said. "We need to get everyone involved in the offense."
The Spartans are led by outside hitter Kim Schram, a senior from London, Ontario who is just the sixth player in school history to have over 1,500 kills. Schram, nominated to the 2003 All Big-Ten team, also leads the team in both kills and points.
The challenge doesn't stop there; tomorrow night, the Buckeyes will host Michigan at 7:00 p.m.
The Wolverines (14-3, 4-2) are one of the better teams in the Big Ten and are led by senior Jennifer Gandolph who is the school's record holder with 1,385 kills.
Similar to the situation OSU faces with Michigan State, the Buckeyes know they cannot look solely at Michigan's team record or ranking.
"I think they should be ranked in the top-20," said Stone. "We will have to play very well against them."
OSU is trying hard to focus simply on the matches this weekend rather than get involved in the heated rivalries, specifically with Michigan.
"It is an extra incentive to beat Michigan," said senior middle blocker Maya Mapp. "But it's just another opportunity to get a win."
Freshman middle blocker Danielle Meyer agreed.
"Every game in the Big Ten is important, there is no extra incentive to beat Michigan," Meyer said.
The Wolverines defeated the Buckeyes 3-0 and 3-1 last season but OSU has a 39-12 lead in the series including a 20-3 edge in matches played in Columbus. The Wolverines had not won a match in Columbus for over 20 years until last year's victory.
It appears that OSU, while a young team, has found a way to deflect the pressure that each match brings. As the team continues to win and stay undefeated, the players have gotten stronger and look forward to each challenge.
"We like to focus on ourselves rather than the other team," Mapp said. "We focus on the things we need to improve on because if we are successful at those than we are unstoppable."
While the players are trying to downplay the meaning of the rivalry, coach Stone recognizes the importance of rivalries such as OSU versus Michigan.
"You want to play well against Michigan. They won last year at St. John's last year for the first time in over 20 years," Stone said. "That was not very pleasant and we want to try and maintain home court."
This weekend's match-ups will be another occasion where the Buckeyes will have to overcome one of their weaknesses from early in the season. Consistency from night to night has been an issue for OSU but they have improved recently. As Michigan State has been a struggling team, OSU will have to play better against the stronger Wolverine squad.
The Buckeyes have recognized this weakness and have taken steps to improve.
"Our practices have been getting better," Stone said. "Our goal is to have each outing be very close to the outing before and what the next outing will be. We have been getting better with that."
Though the Buckeyes have not been satisfied with their consistency, they have yet to allow a match to reach a fifth game. The team has been able to lean on a solid offense to build early leads. The offense has been so potent that OSU leads, or is close to leading, the Big Ten in many offensive categories.
Individually, some Buckeyes are leading the conference. Senior outside hitter Stacey Gordon leads the conference in kills and ranks second in service aces and hitting percentage. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Marisa Main leads the conference in assists.
As the victories pile up, the Buckeyes have to work hard to keep their focus on each match. With success thus far, some teams would find themselves looking ahead to bigger matches or even postseason play, especially a team with as many young players as OSU. Coach Stone and the older players have to keep the team's focus squarely on each match.
"The coaches do a good job of keeping us focused," Meyer said. "Every day at practice we are reminded of what needs to be done."
Mapp understands why the team must remained focused.
"Of course we're anxious and excited," Mapp said. "But we can't look so far ahead that we lose track of the game tomorrow or we'll never move forward. We have to look at the here and now."
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