Saturday, October 23, 2004
Freshman Holmes dominates GLVC volleyball
Northern Ky. colleges
By Neil Schmidt
Enquirer contributor
Liz Holmes didn't want to rush things. She'd take this first volleyball season to get acclimated, she figured.
Yet after a month, she led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in hitting.
"I'm pleased with most of how the season has gone," the Northern Kentucky University freshman said. "But hopefully I can improve a lot in the offseason."
So speaks a perfectionist. The middle hitter from Mercy knows her team will lose All-American outside hitter Kristin Koralewski after this season; Holmes will be called upon to fill that leadership void.
For now, what a tandem they make. Early in the season, defenses cheated off Holmes to shadow Koralewski, and Holmes made them pay. Now teams have to play them both honest. Koralewski won GLVC player of the week honors this week - her second time - and Holmes has won it once.
Holmes entered play Fridayranked fourth in the league in hitting at .334; if she had one more kill, she'd rank second.
Holmes is the only freshman in the GLVC hitting better than .300. She also ranks fifth in the league in kills per game (3.75).
"She's got enormous talent," NKU coach Carlos Chia said. "The sky's the limit for her."
Chia coaches a high school select team in the offseason, and Holmes played for that team the past three years; they won the AAU 17-and-under national title in 2002. Holmes said she turned down some Division I offers because of her comfort level with Chia and his system, and to stay close to home.
One of NKU's outside hitters, Tristen Dye, missed 13 matches with mononucleosis, but the Norse (16-8) are now healthy and getting hot. They have won six consecutive matches, including handing Indianapolis its lone league loss.
NKU CROSS COUNTRY: The Norse host the GLVC Championships at 10 a.m. today at A.J. Jolly Park in Alexandria. NKU's Tracy Carskadon was eighth in last year's women's race.
TMC FOOTBALL: Junior safety T.J. Schmitz (Bellevue) was named to both the D3football.com team of the week and Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette team of the week. He intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles in a 30-14 victory at Kentucky Wesleyan.
TMC BASKETBALL: The women's team is picked No. 20 in preseason by Women's DIII News.
Thomas More's "Meet the Teams Night" begins at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Connor Convocation Center. Included are men's and women's players in 3-point competitions and a dunk contest for the men.
TMC VOLLEYBALL: Junior Laura Wiegele (Mercy) has 2,199 career digs, and with four matches this weekend she's expected to surpass the school record of 2,222 held by Jenny Boerger (1990-93).
TMC WOMEN'S SOCCER: Junior Cathy Santillo (Harrison), the leading scorer in school history, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Top events this week
TMC football vs. Anderson (Ind.), 2 p.m. today: After two straight wins, Saints (3-3) try to crest .500.
NKU cross country at GLVC Championships, 10 a.m. today at A.J. Jolly Park: Norse get home-course advantage.
NKU men's soccer vs. Lewis, noon today: Senior Day for NKU goalie Nate Madden; Lewis is 13-1-2.
