Michigan
12-9, 4-8Big Ten
Minnesota
19-5, 10-2Big Ten
Michigan Drops Three-Game Match at Minnesota
10/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Minneapolis, Minn. (Sports Pavilion)
Result:Â #23 Minnesota 3, Michigan 0 (15-3, 15-3, 15-9)
Records:Â U-M (12-9, 4-8 Big Ten), Minnesota (19-5, 10-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Nov. 5 -- vs. Purdue (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team settled for a split of its weekend Big Ten Conference road trip after losing to 23rd-ranked University of Minnesota 3-0 (15-3, 15-3, 15-9) at the Golden Gophers' Sports Pavilion.
The Wolverines struggled throughout game one and found themselves down 9-1 before sophomore setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) connected with middle blocker Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) for a kill. Melka followed that up with a kill of her own to cut the Michigan deficit to six at 9-3. However, Minnesota answered that by scoring the final six points of the game for a 15-3 win and a one-game lead in the match. Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS) was Michigan's top offensive option with five kills, but the Maize and Blue could not contain Minnesota, which hit at a clip of .389 (17-3-36).
Michigan grabbed its first lead of the match with a Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) serve to open game two. After Minnesota took a 2-1 margin, each team traded several sideouts before Minnesota ran off the next four consecutive points for a 6-1 lead and forced Michigan to call a timeout. Michigan scored the first point out of the timeout, but Minnesota took over from there by scoring the next seven points before an ace from Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) stopped Minnesota's run. Minnesota finished off the game with the final two points for a 15-3 win and a 2-0 match lead.
In game three, Minnesota jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Michigan rattled off four straight points behind solid blocking. Melka, who registered a block assist and a solo block back-to-back, keyed the Michigan rally and gave the Wolverines a 5-3 lead. Minnesota came back with five straight points for an 8-5 lead. Minnesota's lead was short-lived, however, as Michigan tied the match at eight after a key block from Fielder. Minnesota then ran off four of the next five points for a 12-9 lead, prompting a Michigan timeout. Out of the timeout Minnesota rattled off the final three points of the match for a 15-9 game-three win and a three-game match victory.
Michigan returns home from its current four-match Big Ten road trip for a pair of weekend matches on Friday (Nov. 5, 7 p.m.) vs. Purdue University and Saturday (Nov. 6, 7 p.m.) vs. the University of Wisconsin.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 31 (Sarah Behnke 10); Minn. 50 (Nicole Branagh 17)
Assists: U-M 29 (Shannon Melka 26); Minn. 45 (Linsey Berg 42)
Service Aces: U-M 2 (Alija Pittenger, Nicole Kacor 1); Minn. 6 (Berg 3)
Digs: U-M 35 (Pittenger 12); Minn. 39 (Yvonne Wichert 10)
Blocks: U-M 6 (Melka, Joanna Fielder 3); Minnesota 8 (Stephanie Hagen, Charnette Fair 4)
NOTES
• Shannon Melka recorded the 1,500th assist of her career.
• Sarah Behnke compiled double-digit kills for the 10th time in her last 11 matches.
• Nicole Kacor, who leads the Big Ten in digs, registered six digs, breaking her string of six consecutive matches with at least 12 digs.
