Michigan
12-17, 4-15Big Ten
Iowa
9-19, 3-16Big Ten
Chase's Kills Record Not Enough in Five-Game Loss at Iowa
11/27/1998 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
Result:Â Iowa 3, Michigan 2 (15-10, 15-11, 10-15, 8-15, 15-9)
Records:Â U-M (12-17, 4-15 Big Ten), Iowa (9-19, 3-16 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Saturday, Nov. 28 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 7 p.m. CST
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Senior outside hitter Karen Chase (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS) set a school record with 33 kills but it was not enough as the University of Michigan volleyball team suffered its seventh straight loss, dropping a five-game marathon at Iowa (10-15, 11-15, 15-10, 15-8, 15-9) on Friday (Nov. 27). U-M assistant coach Aimee Smith filled the role as acting head coach because head coach Greg Giovanazzi fell ill and was unable to attend.
In a match that took two and a half hours to play, Chase was nearly unstoppable as she hit .429 (33-6-63) and slammed 33 kills to break Shannon Brownlee's Michigan record of 30 kills in a match (10/14/95 vs. Wisconsin). Chase added a match-high three service aces.
Michigan jumped out strong in game one and led 10-6 behind solid setting from sophomore Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS). However, the Hawkeyes hit .364 (23-7-44) for the game and rallied to register a 15-11 win.
The momentum from its game one win sent Iowa out to a 10-3 lead early in game two. The Wolverines eventually fell behind 14-7 before cutting the lead to 14-11. Michigan senior middle blocker Linsey Ebert (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville HS) sparked the Wolverine comeback with a pair of block assists. Michigan's rally ended right there as Iowa went up two games to none with a 15-11 win.
The Maize and Blue changed the momentum with a 15-10 victory in game three, paced by eight kills from Chase. Ebert continued to be a force at the net with three total blocks for the game. In addition, Ebert's six block assists for the match give her 305 for her career, which is the new all-time career mark at Michigan.
Chase received 11 of Pittenger's career-high 80 assists in game four as the Wolverines hit .338 (29-6-68) to win 15-8 and force a decisive game five.
Michigan could not quite finish off the comeback and lost game five 15-9. Iowa regained the momentum and hit a scorching .579 (12-1-19) in game five and finally put the Wolverines away.
Also providing one of her finest nights as a Wolverine was sophomore Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), who hit .484 (16-1-31) with a career-high 16 kills for the match.
The Wolverines will close out their 1998 schedule on Saturday (Nov. 28) by facing No. 8 Wisconsin at 7Â p.m. CST in Madison, Wis.
MATCH BESTS
Kills:Â U-M 91 (Karen Chase 33); Iowa 95 (Julie Williams 30)
Assists:Â U-M 87 (Alija Pittenger 80); Iowa 87 (Barbara Zvonek 72)
Service Aces:Â U-M 7 (Karen Chase 3); Iowa 4 (Four players with 1)
Digs:Â U-M 54 (Alija Pittenger 20); Iowa 53 (Katie Panhorst 18)
Blocks:Â U-M 10 (Linsey Ebert 7); Iowa 8 (Katie O'Brien 6)
NOTES
• Michigan set team season highs in kills (91), kill attempts (230) and assists (87). Pittenger's 80 assists, Chase's 33 kills and Sarah Behnke's (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS) 72 kill attempts are each individual Michigan season bests.
• Michigan is now 0-3 in five-game matches on the season.
