Michigan
12-13, 4-12Big Ten
Ohio State
14-9, 8-8Big Ten
Michigan Spikers Fall in Three Games at Ohio State
11/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
Result:Â Ohio State 3, Michigan 0 (15-6, 15-6, 15-8)
Records:Â U-M (12-13, 4-12 Big Ten), OSU (14-9, 8-8 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Nov. 19 -- vs. Illinois (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan volleyball squad could not make it a season sweep of Big Ten rival Ohio State as the Wolverines fell to the Buckeyes 0-3 (6-15, 6-15, 8-15) on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 14) in St. John Arena. Sophomore setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) notched five kills on a hitting percentage of 1.000 (5-0-5) and had 22 assists for the Maize and Blue.
Michigan came out of the gate slowly and found itself down 6-1 before head coach Mark Rosen called a timeout. After the Buckeyes stretched their lead to 9-2, strong serves from Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) forced a pair of Ohio State attacking errors as Michigan closed the gap to five (9-4). Ohio State came back and scored four of the next five points to push its lead to eight (13-5). A block from Fielder brought Michigan as close as 13-6 before Ohio State finished the game off for a 15-6 win and one-game match lead. Junior outside hitter Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS) led the Wolverines with five game-one kills and hit .300 (5-2-10).
A pair of Michigan points from Alija Pittenger's (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) serve tied game two at 2-2 before the Buckeyes went on a four-point run to lead 6-2. After a Michigan point, Ohio State continued its run by notching the next eight points for a 14-3 lead. A Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) ace stopped the Ohio State run and keyed a three-point rally by the Wolverines to cut the deficit to 14-6. Ohio State ended any thoughts of a Michigan game-two comeback by scoring the next point to again record a 15-6 win and take a two-game match lead. Melka came alive in the game with three kills and hit 1.000 (4-0-4) through the first two games of the match.
Michigan jumped out to a 2-0 lead, its first of the match, early in game three behind the service game of Pittenger and a block from freshman outside hitter and Ohio native Dana Chapman (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg HS). Michigan pushed its lead to 4-1 before Ohio State ran off three straight points to tie the contest at four. A Chapman kill and a point on her serve ended the Ohio State run as Michigan reclaimed the lead 5-4. However, Ohio State rattled off seven consecutive points to take control, 11-5. Michigan stopped the run on a kill from Pittenger and an ace from freshman Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS) and eventually cut the deficit to three 11-8. Ohio State answered with the final four points of the game for a 15-8 win and a 3-0 match victory.
The Wolverines return home to begin their final homestand of 1999 with a match vs. Illinois on Friday (Nov. 19, 7 p.m.) at Cliff Keen Arena.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 35 (Sarah Behnke 9); OSU 51 (Jen Flynn 12)
Assists: U-M 29 (Shannon Melka 22); OSU 45 (Katie Virtue 42)
Digs: U-M 26 (Behnke, Nicole Kacor 7); OSU 49 (Anne Botica 11)
Service Aces: U-M 2 (Kacor, Katrina Lehman 1); OSU 2 (Shelly Draeger, Botica 1)
Blocks: U-M 5 (Three with 2); OSU 9 (Suzie Stiling 7)
NOTES
• Nicole Kacor notched her sixth solo block of 1999.
• The Wolverines' best attacking game of the match was game three when they hit .237 (35-24-119).
• Sarah Behnke, who shared team-high honors in digs (7) with Kacor, paced the Wolverines in digs for the second time this season.
