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Volleyball avenges loss, falls to #14 Michigan

Musketeers have mixed weekend, end road trip 1-2

Paul Moeller
Associate Sports Editor   

Coming off of a frustrating first loss of the season, the Xavier volleyball team looked to redeem themselves last Tuesday as they “thundered” into Huntington, W. Va. to face the Marshall Thundering Herd.

The Herd had other plans, unfortunately, and with the help of the Marshall faithful in the Cam Henderson Center handed the Musketeers their second loss of the season.

Xavier kept the first two games close, losing 30-28 and 30-24 respectively.

The third game was all Marshall, however, as the Thundering Herd took the game 30-16, and with it, the match.
The Muskies were led by senior Jill Quayle, who had just been named the Atlantic 10 Volleyball Player of the Week for her performance in the Aussie Xavier Invitational.

In this contest, Quayle notched 12 kills to go along with seven total blocks.

Aiding in the effort was sophomore Kelly Ruth who recorded seven digs and seven kills.

In an attempt to put the previous two matches behind them, the team traveled on Friday to Ann Arbor, Mich. with plans to contribute to the University of Michigan’s recent athletic sorrows.

The occasion was the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, which was a one-day tournament.

For the first match of the event, Xavier faced none other than Eastern Michigan University in a rematch of the Aussie Xavier Invitational final.
In Cincinnati, EMU got the better of XU, winning the match 3-1.

But in Ann Arbor, with an attendance of just 104 fans, the Xavier squad trounced the Eagles 3-0, by the scores of 30-23, 30-20, and 30-21.

Ruth and Quayle continued to shine for the Musketeers, with Ruth plastering 13 kills and Quayle recording another seven blocks.

Freshman Katie Russell added three service aces and senior Jenni Horvath contributed a team-high 15 digs.

Sophomore hitter Hillary Otte put together an impressive .588 hitting percentage over three games.

The evening matches of the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge set the Muskies against the #14 Michigan Wolverines.

This was Xavier’s first match against a nationally-ranked opponent this season, but the Musketeers certainly didn’t play like it.

The Musketeers won the first two games of the match and found themselves tied with the Wolverines 30-30 in the third, a mere two points from a match and tournament victory.

But the Wolverines rallied and used their home court advantage to hold off Xavier in the third, winning the game 32-30.

UM kept the momentum going in the fourth game, winning 30-19.

In the deciding fifth game, which is played to 15 points instead of 30, the Wolverines were just too strong. They won the game 15-6, and thus the match 3-2.

Quayle achieved a new career high with 23 kills, Ruth led the squad with 12 digs, and Russell recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.

All three were named to the All-Tournament team.

Now sitting with an 8-3 record, the Musketeer netters will take their game to the Golden State this weekend for the San Francisco Invitational.

Xavier is slated to play #17 Cal-Poly on Friday and Sacramento State and San Francisco on Saturday.

The team will return to action in Cincinnati when they face the Duquesne University Dukes at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, in Cintas Center, officially opening the conference season for the Musketeers.

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The Spectator

Weekly Commentary On the World of Sports

John LaFollette
Sports Editor

With few exceptions, sportswriters tend to favor their own views over those of anyone else’s.

Even so, the quest for truth (which transcends the personal opinion of any journalist worth his skin) often leads competent sportswriters to interview experts in their fields.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst on College GameDay, ESPN’s award-winning Saturday morning college football preview show.

A former standout quarterback at Ohio State, Herbstreit is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine. He is also a game analyst for ESPN’s Thursday night football broadcasts.

In July, Herbstreit announced his partnership with National City Bank’s “Cash For College” sweepstakes.

For every non-pin purchase madewith their check cards, students receive an automatic entry in a contest for one of 35 $2,000 scholarships.

“National City knows that college is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with different financial needs than any other time in life,” Herbstreit said. “This sweepstakes is a way for us to help students make the most of their college experience.”

The “Cash For College” mobile promotional tour will come to Xavier on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

Recently, the Newswire’s John LaFollette was pleased to welcome Kirk Herbstreit to the Spectator Interview. A sprawling conversation about varied and relevant topics in college football followed.

Xavier Newswire: What do you think about the state of college football today?
Kirk Herbstreit: When I played, you had the Big Ten and the Pac-10 on the outside looking in at the National Championship picture, because of the Rose Bowl tie-in. Washington in ’92 is a perfect example, when they shared a national championship with Miami. Instead of those two teams playing, in the way they would today, in the BCS Championship game, there was a debate about who was the best team. A lot of times you got a split poll, and I think that was really what facilitated the start of the BCS.

XN: So in that it has taken the decision away from only the media and coaches’ polls, the BCS has helped college football?
KH: As much as there are debates and arguments about the BCS and what’s right and what’s wrong, I think the game is at the best place it’s ever been. I think fans are drawn more and more to college football because of not only the passion and the rivalries, but because the games matter every single week.
It’s the only sport in our culture that you can say that. Take March Madness. I’m a college basketball fan, but who cares about college basketball in December and January? I love March Madness; those four weeks are about as good as you’ll have in sports. But it’s sad to have your whole season come down to three or four weeks.

XN: Tradition and history is a major part of programs like Southern Cal, LSU and Ohio State. But two notable tradition-rich schools, Michigan and Notre Dame, are 0-2 to start the season. To what extent do you think the focus on legacy and tradition puts unreasonable expectations on certain teams?

KH: I’ve said for years that the preseason poll should be done away with. The one thing the preseason polls do is create buzz about the sport, and that’s really about all they’re worth. I think you should wait until October first to see these teams play three or four times and then you have a much better feel for reality. People who vote might just be accustomed to putting Michigan or Notre Dame down [in the polls], when South Florida, or some other teams who don’t have the tradition, might be more deserving. It’s something that should be addressed and hopefully will be in the near future.

XN: Is the Michigan phenomenon just part of an ebb-and-flow, cyclical nature of college football?
KH: There are teams out there who have proven that they can avoid the peaks and valleys and are pretty consistent, but it’s a tough thing to do. Parity [among teams] is legitimate; that’s not just coach-talk. Also, every single player in college football thinks he’s going in the first round of the NFL Draft. Because of that, a lot of times they get caught up in themselves and their own stats and draft status. When the team loses and they have 10 catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns, they walk out of the locker room happy. On the other hand, when the team wins and they have one catch for eight yards, they look like they just lost. It’s a very common problem across the board. When you see teams go up and down, sometimes that’s a big factor.

XN: What do you think is going on with Michigan and Notre Dame?
KH: What’s happening with Michigan and what’s happening with Notre Dame are two totally different things. In Michigan’s case, I think they had an entire group of players say “We came back to beat Ohio State and to win a National Championship.” That was clearly their goal. In my opinion, they got lost in what it took to get them to that point. I think they underestimated their preparations- what they needed to do to win those non-conference games.
And now there are people saying “Lloyd Carr’s gonna be fired.” It’s becoming a major distraction, and they’re getting booed by their home fans. If they go three-and-out this Saturday and the offense jogs off the field, they’re going to be booed by 100,000 people. When you’re dealing with all of that, it’s really easy for things to go south in a hurry.

XN: And with the Irish is it more an issue of talent than attitude?
KH: With Notre Dame, as much as their head coach doesn’t want to talk about “rebuilding,” that’s the reality. Charlie Weis inherited a veteran quarterback with two years [of eligibility] remaining, with veteran receivers, a veteran offensive line and a veteran backfield for the first couple of years. Behind that, as far as experience, there was virtually nothing. It takes time to be able to recruit. It’s a rebuilding process, and because of what [Weis] inherited he’s forced to stick in a lot of new players.
Wait until he gets [wide receiver Kyle] Rudolph, out of [Cincinnati] Elder. Rudolph could start for them right now. In laymen’s terms, that’s called “rebuilding.” If we were to have a skills competition right now, Notre Dame is behind the times as far as their athletic ability.

XN: What are the top five football conferences?
KH: In order? This year I think the SEC, then the Pac-10; they’re closing the gap. After that… Conference USA? I’m kidding. I’d have to say the Big 12, because of the Big 12 South [Division], then the Big East. Then I guess the Big Ten, but I don’t think the Big Ten is very good.

XN: A lot of people are watching the Big East this year, after they silenced so many doubters last year. Who wins it?
KH: I think Rutgers is going to win the Big East. I liked them before the season. I just think people still have a problem taking them seriously. I think most people think [last season] was “one of those years”, a cute little story. I think they have a better defense, and [running back] Ray Rice and [quarterback] Mike Teel control the ball better. I think Rutgers is the team to beat.

XN: Over Louisville?
KH: Louisville’s a good team, but their defense right now is getting picked apart. People sometimes underestimate the mindset of a football team that shows up and goes through the motions. Playing teams like Middle Tennessee State and Murray State, when you show up with that kind of mindset, you can be exposed, and sometimes it’s hard to turn a switch on in the middle of the game. I think they’ll wind up being a lot better defense than the way they played.

XN: Who’s the best player in the country?
KH: Who’s going to win the Heisman and who’s the best player in the country are different. The Heisman goes to the most valuable player on one of the best teams in the country, and I think that’ll be John David Booty at USC. The best player in the country, as far as ability, is [running back] Darren McFadden at Arkansas. He’s a lot like Adrian Peterson, who I thought was the top player last year, and even has more break-away speed than what Adrian has. I think he’ll probably get drafted first [in the NFL Draft after the season].

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DePaul and Marquette too much for men’s soccer

Shane Mulvihill
Sports Writer

The Xavier men’s soccer team dropped two road games against Big East opponents this past weekend, falling to Marquette 2-1 in Milwaukee on Friday night and to DePaul in Chicago on Sunday afternoon by a count of 2-0.

The two losses evened out the Musketeers’ overall record to 2-2-0.

Against DePaul, the Musketeers were out-shot from the opening minutes.

After going down a goal early in the first half, the Musketeers managed just two shots in the first half.

A scoring opportunity came just before halftime on a corner kick by freshman Alex LaPrade, but the midfielder could not find the net.

After the half, Xavier’s woes continued.

While the Musketeers struggled to get open shots, DePaul scored again in the 58th minute.

The goal was scored off a header on a botched clear attempt by the defense.

Xavier attempted to mount a comeback with four shots and three corner kicks in the second half, but DePaul’s shooting deficit was too much for Xavier to overcome.

DePaul outshot Xavier 13-6 for the game. Junior goalkeeper Adam Sokolowski had two saves in the loss.

Last Friday night the Musketeers fell to the Marquette Golden Eagles, 2-1, in a game marred by yellow cards and missed opportunities.

Xavier played Marquette strong despite being out-shot, this time by a 16-7 margin.

Even with so few shots, the Musketeers had scoring chances early, but were unable to net them.

The first goal came in the 37th minute when the Golden Eagles scored on a header.

Xavier tied the match just three minutes later when sophomore forward Slav Ubiparipovic teamed up with senior Jon Enders for Enders’ first goal of the season, off a header from 10 yards.

The tie was short-lived, however, and three minutes later Marquette scored the eventual game-winning goal.

The second half was played evenly, with scoring chances coming and going for both sides.

The men square off next against the Cincinnati Bearcats at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Clifton.

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 Briefs

Doug Tifft  
Sports Editor

Women’s soccer coasts to first win

After difficult road games against Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., and #17 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., the Musketeers won their first game of the season by a score of 5-1 over Oral Roberts.

The game was XU’s final match of the Oklahoma State Tournament.

Senior Allison Osborne got the Musketeers started by scoring just 7:54 into the match.

The lead was extended when senior Karin Martini netted one off of an assist from junior Sara Schmidt to put the Muskies up 2-0 at the half.

Freshman Carlyann Wenzel answered Oral Roberts’ quick second half goal to put Xavier up 3-1 at the 52:45 mark.

Junior Melissa Zimmerman and senior Shannon Chambers added one insurance goal each to secure the match 5-1 in favor of the Jesuits.

Xavier had a very balanced attack, providing five different goal-scorers and five other players with at least one assist.

Though they have had some recent trouble on the road, the Musketeers will be back on it next weekend as they play at Pittsburgh on Friday and West Virginia on Sunday.

The women will play their first home match on Sunday, Sept. 23 against the Miami Redhawks.

Quick speed gleans A-10 honors

Benjamin Milroy, the 5-feet-4 senior from Columbus, Ind., had quite the outing on Saturday at the Queen City Invitational.

Milroy finished second with a time of 15:37:85 to help the Musketeer cross country squad to a third place overall finish.

The conference looked at this performance, in conjunction with last week’s 15:42 time in an 11th place finish at the Flyer 5K to give Milroy the conference honor.

The University of Notre Dame will host the National Catholic Championships this weekend, where Milroy and the rest of the Xavier team will lace ‘em up and run again.