Michigan
10-6, 2-5Big Ten
Michigan State
12-7, 2-5Big Ten
Michigan Volleyball Swept in "State Pride" Match I
10/13/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â East Lansing, Mich. (Jenison Fieldhouse)
Result:Â Michigan State 3, Michigan 0 (15-9, 15-6, 15-5)
Records:Â U-M (10-6, 2-5 Big Ten), MSU (12-7, 2-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Saturday, Oct. 16 -- vs. Northwestern (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- In the first of the two annual "State Pride" matches, the University of Michigan volleyball team dropped a three-game decision at Michigan State on Wednesday (Oct. 13) at MSU's Jenison Fieldhouse. The Spartans limited Michigan to a season-low -.017 team hitting percentage in the 15-9, 15-6, 15-5 win.
Michigan started the match slow as Michigan State gained an early 5-1 advantage. However, Michigan charged back behind the service game of Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) to cut the Spartan lead to 5-4. Michigan State regained the momentum and went on a 8-0 run to lead 13-5. Michigan attempted a late comeback led by two straight service aces from Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS), however, the Wolverines could only cut the lead to 13-9 before losing 15-9. Michigan hit just -.073 (8-11-41) for game one.
Like game one, Michigan State started strong and took control of game two with an 8-2 lead. Michigan cut the lead to 8-4 after Kacor's third service ace of the match, but Michigan never got any closer and the Spartans went on for a 15-6 game-two win and a two-game lead heading into intermission. The story of the match continued to be Michigan's struggles attacking as the Wolverines again hit in the negative -- -.077 (11-14-39) -- for a game. Michigan's bright spot in game two came from freshman middle blocker Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS), who hit .833 (5-0-6).
Game three began as a much tighter tilt with the score knotted at 4-4 after each team had enjoyed an early lead. Two block assists apiece by Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) kept Michigan in game three before Michigan State took a commanding 10-4 lead by scoring the next six points. After Michigan broke the six-point streak, the Spartans rattled off the next five points for 15-5 win and a three-game match victory.
The Wolverines return home to host Northwestern on Saturday (Oct. 16) in a 7 p.m. match at Cliff Keen Arena.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 30 (Katrina Lehman 7); MSU 49 (Erin Hartley 16)
Assists: U-M 26 (Shannon Melka 24); MSU 47 (Vicki Basil 43)
Service Aces: U-M 5 (Nicole Kacor 3); MSU 2 (Maren Witzel, Sarah Gustin 1)
Digs: U-M 46 (Kacor 13); MSU 47 (Witzel 13)
Blocks: U-M 7 (Joanna Fielder 4); MSU 10 (Angela Morley 4)
NOTES
• Sarah Behnke registered the 500th dig of her career with eight digs tonight.
• Katrina Lehman led Michigan in kills (seven) for the first time in her career.
• Alija Pittenger recorded double-digit digs (10) for the 10th time in 15 matches played.
• Michigan's hitting percentage of -.017 (30-32-118) was its lowest of the season.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the play of Katrina Lehman ... "Katrina had a solid match for us in terms of her attacking. Eventually, she is going to be a good player in this league because of her physical ability. However, she is just a freshman and has some work to do."
