“Upsetting” weekend for Xavier volleyball
Muskies upset no. 14 Cal Poly, then drop next two matches
Paul Moeller
Associate Sports Editor
goxavier.com
Sophomore Kelly Ruth, left, tied her career high of 20 kills in Xavier’s win over Cal Poly.
Fresh off a 1-1 outing at last weekend’s Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, the Musketeer netters looked to bump, set and spike their way through the University of San Francisco Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational.
Leaving on a Thursday morning flight to the Golden State, Xavier was set to start out the tournament against the no. 14 Cal Poly Mustangs.
This was Xavier’s second consecutive match against a ranked opponent and also the second straight match to go the distance of five games.
This time the Musketeers got the upper hand, dealing Cal Poly its fifth defeat of the season. The win, by the scores of 30-27, 26-30, 23-30, 30-28 and 15-6, was the Muskies’ first over a ranked opponent in five years.
The squad was led to victory by sophomores Lauren Kaminsky and Kelly Ruth. Each posted a double-double, with Kaminsky reaching a career high 27 digs to go along with her 14 kills.
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Senior Jill Quayle was named to her second consecutive All-Tournament Team and had 15 kills and six digs in the win.
Ruth tied her career high of 20 kills and added 16 digs of her own.
Seniors Jill Quayle and Jenni Horvath also contributed to the winning effort as Quayle notched 15 kills and six total blocks while Horvath recorded 14 digs.
After squeaking out the first game, the Musketeers dropped the next two, only to squeak out the fourth and dominate the fifth. Jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth game, the Musketeers never looked back.
A service ace by Kaminsky extended XU’s lead to seven points at 10-3. Ruth, Kaminsky and freshman Katie Russell each smashed a kill for Xavier’s final three points, securing the game and the upset.
The Muskies then looked to carry the momentum into their next contest against host school the University of San Francisco.
Unfortunately, the Musketeer’s momentum was challenged, slowed and finally stopped as the University of San Francisco Dons cruised past the Muskies in just three games.
Kaminsky had another great match in the losing effort, posting a double-double with 12 kills and 18 digs. Quayle and Ruth each blasted 13 kills while Horvath and junior Megan Hellmann scooped 11 digs each.
Looking to rebound last Saturday evening against the Sacramento State Hornets, Xavier fought hard but again came up short.
After 22 ties throughout the match the Musketeers fell in three games, 30-27, 30-28 and 31-29.
Ruth took charge for the Muskies in this contest, racking up 15 kills and 18 digs.
Jill Quayle, who smashed 12 kills in the final match, was named to the USF Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational All-Tournament team.
This continued her pattern of excellence in tournaments sponsored by big name soft drink companies, as she was also named to last week’s Michigan/Pepsi Challenge All-Tournament squad.
The Xavier netters’ record now sits at 9-5 as they return home to open their conference schedule.
The team will face Duquesne on Friday, Sept. 21 and St. Louis on Saturday, Sept. 22. Both games will be played in Cintas Center and will begin at 7 p.m.
Men’s soccer blanks third straight home foe
Jeff McMurray
Feature News Editor
hogwired.com
Freshman forward El-Hadji Dieng hooked up senior midfield Jon Enders (above) with an assist for the Musketeers’ first goal against IUPUI.
Looking to avenge a bitter cross-town defeat from last Thursday the Xavier men’s soccer team came out firing against the IUPUI Jaguars on Sunday, winning 5-0 at the Xavier University Soccer Complex.
With the win, Xavier improves to 3-3-0 on the season and remains a perfect 3-0-0 at home. IUPUI slips to 1-4-0.
Senior John Enders started the scoring at the 37:41 mark when he tucked the ball in the top right corner of the net on a free-kick pass from freshman El-Hadji Dieng.
Freshman Brandon Butcher joined the scoring action when he scored four minutes later from a feed from classmate James Getzen at 41:49 to put the Musketeers up 2-0 going into the half.
Continuing the assault in the second half, Dieng fired a high shot off his left foot, which deflected off the crossbar and into the back of the net.
This put the Musketeers up 3-0 in the 71st minute.
In the 83rd minute, sophomore Doug Dalton scored his second career goal when he took a free-kick feed from freshman Alex LaPrade and deflected it into the net.
Finally, with just 30 seconds left to play in regulation, Butcher notched his second goal of the game and career, securing a 5-0 victory for the Musketeers.
Butcher’s play was just part of a solid showing by the Musketeer freshman who netted three goals and connected on three assists.
The offensive onslaught was countered by the shutout play of junior goalie Joe Diederich, who made four saves in his first career match.
With the shutout win, XU has not allowed a goal at the Xavier Soccer Complex in three games this season and has run its home shutout streak to 368:27 minutes.
The Musketeers will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 21 when the team travels to W. Va. to take on Marshall. Xavier is set to tangle with the Thundering Herd at 7 p.m.
Men’s basketball unveils sexy schedule
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
goxavier.com
Men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller says this year’s home schedule is “one of the most attractive” in school history.
The Xavier men’s basketball team will play a record 31 regular season games this year, including a record 17 games in front of the Xavier Nation at Cintas Center.
This season’s home schedule features games against four 2007 NCAA Tournament teams, including Creighton, Virginia, George Washington and Tennessee, who reached the Sweet Sixteen in last year’s tournament.
The Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout will also return to Cintas Center this season.
“This season’s home schedule might be the most attractive in the history of our program,” said head coach Sean Miller. “If you add the (18th home) game against Kansas State at US Bank Arena, that’s a very impressive home schedule.”
The schedule also features road games against traditional opponents Miami (OH) and Dayton.
The 37 days between Nov. 28 and Jan. 3 will be a crucial stretch for the Musketeers. In those five weeks, Xavier will play quality opponents like Oakland, Crieghton, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Kansas State and Virginia, all in the City of Cincinnati.
“We attempt to put a non-conference schedule together that gives our team an opportunity to be tested and prepared for our conference season that begins in January,” Miller said.
“At Xavier we have a passionate season ticket base and I want our fans to be excited about the quality of our competition,” he said.
Xavier’s conference “partners” for this season are the George Washington Colonials and the Saint Joseph’s Hawks, who are traditionally two of the Atlantic 10’s best teams.
“Our conference will be very competitive this season. There are several programs that will be much improved from a year ago,” said Miller.
Defending Notre Dame
In response to John LaFollette’s column from the Sept. 5 edition of “the Spectator,” I would like to make a few comments. First, let me begin by saying that, having been a Domer myself, and additionally a student manager for the football team (yes, just like in “Rudy”), I have heard every anti-ND sentiment out there and then some.
While there are a number of reasons people cite for not supporting Notre Dame Football, the one that surfaces most often is the “unfairness” of Notre Dame’s treatment within the college football world.
None of these arguments, however, outweigh the fact that Notre Dame simply operates with a different—and clearly more effective —athletics business model than most other schools.
The Notre Dame brand is one of the most recognizable in American sports, and what the brand represents transcends the football part of the equation. All teams look for ways to market themselves in order to maintain their operations.
Because of the substantial national fan base and the fact that all home games are sold out without public ticket sales, the contract with NBC makes sense from a business standpoint because it allows all the fans (and dissenters) to see the games. Either way, NBC gets ratings that they might not [otherwise] be guaranteed.
Out of 1,033 active NCAA institutions, only Notre Dame and five other schools operate an athletics department without receiving university-subsidized support, which is often taken from academic programs. And speaking of academics, Notre Dame is also one of the few schools that meets the re-vamped NCAA requirements for academic progress and graduation rates for student-athletes. The entire Notre Dame mission requires that all students achieve a level of excellence and [recruits] to fulfill their obligation to earn a degree.
More to the point, however, I want to address Mr. LaFollette’s claim that Notre Dame is “effectively BCS bowl eligible every season in which the Irish win six games.” This point is simply false. The Notre Dame Clause reads such that if ND is ranked in the top eight in BCS standings, it will automatically garner a BCS bowl berth.
When was the last time a .500 team was ranked in the top eight in the BCS? Furthermore, if Notre Dame is in the top 12 in the BCS, it must have at least nine wins to be eligible for a BCS berth.
Ultimately, the division on this particular issue will remain as long as Notre Dame continues to operate a smart and effective athletics business that supports a mission requiring more out of a football program than just football. He is correct that the helmets will still be painted every week (with gold dust that does not come from NBC and the BCS as he suggests, but rather from the Golden Dome itself each time it is re-gilded) because of the thankless hours put in by students who give up their Thursday and Friday nights to do football game preparation. The alumni and team will remain in the stadium to sing the Alma Mater because at the end of the day, it is the entire Notre Dame family and the sense of belonging to something that is simultaneously expansive and close-knit that matters most. It is not “unfair.” It is Notre Dame.
Ashly Cumberworth
Notre Dame Class of 2005
Credibility lost for “dynasty?”
It has been determined that the New England Patriots were guilty of using video equipment to spy on the New York Jets’ signal-callers during the opening weekend of the NFL season. This is not the first time spying has been an issue with the Pats. It’s just the first time they’ve been caught.
[Their behavior implies that it is not] enough that they are favored to win another Super Bowl after assembling a dream team this offseason. Any fantasy football owner would gladly take their entire offense and defense.
Any reference to the New England Patriots as a credible, respectable, succesful franchise in the NFL, let alone a “dynasty,” should be accompanied by an asterisk henceforth.
[NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell has dealt with most, if not all, player disciplinary cases with swift and stern decisiveness since taking the post of commissioner.
The Patriots should forfeit their win against the Jets, be stripped of at least a first round draft pick, and Bill Belichick should be suspended for at least a week. Anything less would be a slap on the wrist.
Say what you want about substance-abuse, spousal battery, dogfighting or any other off-field behavior issues that plague professional sports. There is a difference between issues of character and cheating.
Nobody from the Patriots’ organization will go to jail or be investigated by outside agencies. The League needs to send a message that expresses concern and a desire to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.
Charles Galvin
Class of 2009
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Women’s tennis team tops in two-day tourney
goxavier.com
Junior Jeanette Feider.
The Xavier women’s tennis team traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio last weekend for the Bowling Green State University Invitational.
The squad was represented by four first-place finishes and four second-place finishes.
In singles, junior Jeanette Feider, sophomore Jill Ducro and freshman Tifanie Treece all went 3-0 to capture first-place flight recognition.
The doubles tandem of sophomores Aylin Seyalioglu and Kaitlyn Zinn finished first in Flight Three of the event.
Junior Kara Courtney and freshman Tifanie Treece finished second in Flight One doubles, while senior Annie Diedalis and sophomore Jill Ducro took second place in Flight Two doubles.
The team will travel to Terra Haute, Ind. this weekend to play in the Indiana State Invitational.
Schneider finishes 9th, named A-10 Rookie of the Week
Xavier University freshman Christina Schneider was named Atlantic 10 Conference’s Co-Rookie of the Week for cross country by the A-10 Conference office last Monday afternoon.
The honor came following Schneider’s performance at the National Catholic Championships held last Friday at the University of Notre Dame.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native completed the 5K event in 18:15, placing ninth in a field of over 300 runners.
Schneider’s finish helped the Musketeers place second in the meet, which included 37 teams.
The Xavier cross country team will return to action this Saturday, Sept. 22 at Pepperdine University.
