Michigan
Illinois
Wolverines Topple Fourth-Place Illinois in Four Games
11/19/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: Michigan 3, Illinois 1 (15-10, 7-15, 15-12, 15-11)
Records:Â U-M (13-13, 5-12 Big Ten), Illinois (14-9, 10-7 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Saturday, Nov. 20 -- vs. Indiana (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team delivered its best hitting percentage (.310, 81-24-184) against a Big Ten Conference foe this season as the Wolverines dumped Illinois 3-1 (15-10, 7-15, 15-12, 15-11) on Friday (Nov. 19) in front of the home crowd at Cliff Keen Arena. Junior middle blocker Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) paced the Michigan offense with a hitting percentage of .472 (20-3-36) to go along with six blocks.
Michigan came out of the gate quickly in game one and led 5-2 after a block by Fielder and sophomore setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS). An Illinois point to make it 5-3 could not slow down the Wolverine rally as the Maize and Blue rattled off the next six points to take command of the first game, 11-3. The Michigan run was paced by junior outside hitter Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS), who hit an amazing .857 (6-0-7) in game one. A late Illinois run was not enough as Michigan won the first game 15-10 on a service ace from Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) for the final point. Michigan registered a team hitting percentage of .304 (20-6-46) for game one.
Game two was a different story after Illinois broke a tight game open with a four-point run to turn a 3-2 lead into a 7-2 edge before a Michigan timeout. Michigan settled down out of the timeout and ran off four straight points, three coming off the strong serve of freshman Katrina Lehman (West Bloomfield, Mich./Marian HS). Illinois, however, answered the Wolverine run with an 8-1 run of its own to win the game 15-7 and knot the match at a game apiece heading into the intermission. Despite the game-two loss, Michigan's strong attacking continued as the Wolverines actually hit a match-best .423 (15-4-26) for the game. Illinois, however, hit .448 (16-3-29) to answer Michigan's challenge.
Illinois came out of the intermission strong and led 9-1 before the momentum of the match began to swing Michigan's way. Michigan slowly chipped away at Illinois' lead behind five game-three kills apiece from Fielder and Behnke. A solo block from Behnke, one of two by Behnke in game three, cut the deficit to two at 11-9. After Illinois pushed its lead back up to three at 12-9, Michigan came back with two more points, including a service ace from Melka, to trail by only one, 12-11. The two teams traded four sideouts before Lehman stepped up and served the final four points of the game, including kills from Fielder, Kacor and Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) as Michigan took a one-game match lead with a 15-12 win.
Game four was back and forth from the outset as the two teams exchanged leads on seven different occasions. In fact, neither team led by more than one until a kill from Kacor gave Michigan a 13-11 lead. Kacor came alive in game four and produced seven kills and nine digs in that game alone. An Illinois timeout ensued the Kacor kill, but Kacor came right back after the timeout with another kill to push Michigan to match point. Lehman, who served well throughout the match, came up another solid serve and forced an attack error from the Fighting Illini to close out the match. Michigan pulled out the victory 3-1 and split its season series with Illinois.
The Wolverines continue their homestand with a match vs. Indiana on Saturday (Nov. 20) at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 81 (Sarah Behnke 21); UI 76 (Jen Flynn 12)
Assists: U-M 68 (Shannon Melka 62); UI 71 (Melissa Beitz 60)
Digs: U-M 56 (Nicole Kacor 18); UI 63 (Sue Webber 15)
Service Aces: U-M 5 (Melka, Alija Pittenger 2); UI 8 (Betsy Spicer 5)
Blocks: U-M 13 (Joanna Fielder 6); UI 9 (Spicer 6)
NOTES
• Joanna Fielder, who recorded a team-high six blocks, has now surpassed the 200-block mark for her career.
• Sarah Behnke's hitting percentage of .400 (21-5-40) was a season high, and her two solo blocks matched a career high and a team season best.
• Katrina Lehman's five total blocks are a career high for the freshman middle blocker. Her previous high of four was set in the first start of her career, vs. Notre Dame (Oct. 5).
• Michigan's 81 kills and 13 blocks are both season highs for a four-game match.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On beating an upper echelon team in the Big Ten ... "It feels good, especially to win in front of our fans at home. The reality is that this team has been improving and playing pretty good volleyball for a while now. With the exception of a couple of matches, we have been playing top teams in this league tough for a month or so, as our five-game match with Wisconsin attests to. Our improved play has not shown up in our won-lost record, but this team has continued to work and play over its frustrations, which makes me really proud of them."
On the key to victory over Illinois ... "I thought our passing was tremendous. (Alija) Pittenger and (Nicole) Kacor did a great job with serve reception and allowed Shannon (Melka) to mix up setting. Any time you put up the type of attacking numbers we did tonight, you had to have passed the ball well to set all that up."
