Michigan
12-11, 4-10Big Ten
Wisconsin
16-8, 9-5Big Ten
Michigan Drops Second Straight Five-Game Thriller
11/6/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result:Â Wisconsin 3, Michigan 2 (4-15, 11-15, 15-10, 15-8, 9-15)
Records:Â U-M (12-11, 4-10 Big Ten), UW (16-8, 9-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Nov. 12 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the second consecutive night, the University of Michigan volleyball team pushed a top-notch conference foe to the limit only to fall just short in a five-game thriller. U-M fell behind two games to none and came virtually all the way back before losing to Wisconsin 3-2 (4-15, 11-15, 15-10, 15-8, 9-15) on Saturday (Nov. 6) in Cliff Keen Arena. Junior co-captain Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS) paced the Michigan comeback and tallied a team-high 18 kills for the match.
Michigan and Wisconsin traded the first four points of game one, before Wisconsin rattled off the next six straight points for an 8-2 lead. After Michigan cut the lead to four at 8-4, Wisconsin delivered seven consecutive points for a 15-4 game one victory. Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) and Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) tried to keep the Wolverines in it with four kills apiece in game one, but the Maize and Blue was out-blocked 4-0 in the game-one loss.
Just like game one, Michigan and Wisconsin traded the first four points of game two as well. This time, however, it was Michigan which went on the run as the Wolverines scored the next seven points of the game for a 9-2 lead. Michigan's run was paced by setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS), who delivered four straight points off her serve, including an ace. Wisconsin answered that with a 10-0 run of its own to reclaim the lead 12-9. Another Melka ace and a Wisconsin hitting error cut the Badger lead to one at 12-11 as Melka began connecting with outside hitter Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS), who hit .429 (4-1-7) for game two. Wisconsin held off the Michigan rally and scored the final three points of the game for a 15-11 win and a two-game lead in the match.
Once again Michigan got out to a quick start and led game three early 3-0 behind a strong service game from Pittenger. Michigan maintained its three-point lead through much of the game until Wisconsin registered three straight points to knot game three at nine apiece. Michigan came right back with a three-point run of its own to regain the lead 12-9. Katrina Lehman (West Bloomfield, Mich./Marian HS) proceeded to serve the final three points, including a big kill from Behnke to give Michigan a 15-10 game-three win. Behnke came alive throughout game three, delivering eight kills to pace the Wolverines.
Michigan maintained its momentum in game three by jumping out early to a 5-2 lead. From there Michigan took over game four completely by going on a 9-2 run for a 14-4 lead. Fielder took control during Michigan's run and led all attackers in that game with seven kills and hit .600 (7-1-10). After Wisconsin came back with four points to cut the Michigan lead to 14-8, Fielder finished the game she owned with a kill to give Michigan a 15-8 game-four win which tied the match at two games apiece.
For the fourth game in a row the Wolverines grabbed the early momentum and carried the play to a 4-1 game-five lead. Wisconsin, which hit .222 (8-2-27) for the game, fought back and went on a 9-2 run to take the lead, 10-6. Michigan, which hit -.034 (6-7-29) in the game, never got any closer and dropped game five 15-8 and the match 3-2.
Michigan returns to the road for a pair of tough matchups next weekend at Penn State and Ohio State. The Wolverines travel to State College, Pa., on Friday, Nov. 12 (7 p.m.), for a contest against No. 1 Penn State. After having Saturday off, Michigan travels to Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, Nov. 14 (2 p.m.), to face the Buckeyes in a contest televised on FoxSports Chicago. The match will air on a tape-delay basis.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 65 (Sarah Behnke 18); UW 79 (Sherisa Livingston 21)
Assists: U-M 60 (Shannon Melka 26); UW 70 (Lizzy Fitzgerald 53)
Service Aces: U-M 6 (Melka, Alija Pittenger 2); UW 5 (Jenny Maastricht 3)
Digs: U-M 74 (Melka, Nicole Kacor 15); UW 79 (Erin Byrd 20)
Blocks: U-M 7 (Joanna Fielder 3); UW 14.5 (Livingston, Kelly Kennedy 6)
NOTES
• Shannon Melka matched her career-best with 15 digs.
• Alija Pittenger, who shared setting duties with Melka a year ago, delivered a season-high eight assists. Pittenger also collected eight kills and 12 digs, almost giving her the first triple-double of her career.
• Nicole Kacor, who registered 14 kills and 15 digs, surpassed the 300 career mark in each of those categories.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the five-game loss to Wisconsin ... "As I said last night, I love the fight and the character of this team because they just keep coming back. All we need to do is find a way to start out better and we can start winning these tight matches."
On his team in general ... "I am very happy with how hard they work in practice and that is beginning to translate into good play in our matches. The frustrating part is that although this team has improved greatly over the past month it does not necessarily show in our record because of how tough the conference is. Although we are not into moral victories here at Michigan, these two matches this weekend show me we are getting closer to being a team that can compete with upper echelon in the Big Ten."
