Michigan
4-1
Pepperdine
4-0
U-M Falls to No. 11 Waves, Suffers First Loss of Season
9/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: #11 Pepperdine 3, #25 Michigan 0 (15-4, 15-11, 15-10)
Records:Â U-M (4-1), Pepperdine (4-0)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, Sept. 11 -- vs. Arkansas at All Sport® Challenge (Cliff Keen Arena), 8 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team ran into a top-15 opponent for the second time in as many weekends but could not pull off its second major upset as the Wolverines lost their first match of the season in three games (15-4, 15-11, 15-10) to No. 11 Pepperdine Friday night (Sept. 10) in the All Sport Challenge.
Michigan opened up game one struggling with its passing, which resulted in a attack percentage of just .150 (13-7-40) for the Wolverines. In direct contrast, Pepperdine started game one on fire, with a hitting percentage of .457 (18-2-35), and took control with 10 straight points to open the match. Michigan settled down late in the game, but it was too late as Pepperdine took the early one-game lead with a 15-4 win.
The Wolverines carried over their strong play late in game one to a 5-1 lead early in game two. Michigan's resurgence was paced by junior outside hitter Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS), who contributed a team-high five kills and four digs in game two. However, Pepperdine came back to knot the game at 6-6 and turned game two into a back-and-forth affair. After Pepperdine secured a 12-11 lead, it took control and went up two games to none with a 15-11 win.
Game three proved to be much like game two with the lead changing hands five times as Pepperdine took a 8-7 lead. Michigan fought back to tie the game at 10 behind more solid play from Pittenger, who finished the match with a team-high 12 kills. Also keeping Michigan alive was sophomore setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS), who led the Maize and Blue with a hitting percentage of .286 (3-1-7) for the match. Michigan played much tougher at the net, holding Pepperdine to a hitting percentage of .190 (25-13-63) and keeping game three tight. However, Pepperdine ran off the final five points to win the game (15-10) as well as the match.
Michigan continues its non-conference schedule vs. top-25 foes against No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m. in the finale of the All Sport Challenge.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 45 (Alija Pittenger 12); PU 64 (Jamie Hill 21)
Assists: U-M 40 (Shannon Melka 33); PU 57 (Melissa Plass 51)
Service Aces: U-M 2 (Joanna Fielder, Nicole Kacor 1); PU 4 (Rima Rackauskas, Paola Rodriquez 2)
Digs: U-M 45 (Pittenger 15); PU 61 (Melissa Snow 17)
Blocks: U-M 4 (Annie Maxwell 3); PU 6 (Hill 5)
NOTES
• Alija Pittenger registered the first double-double for kills (12) and digs (15) in her career.
• Shannon Melka's three kills matched her career high.
• Michigan is now 1-1 against top-25 teams in 1999.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the key against a team like Pepperdine ... "I told our team that against an excellent team like Pepperdine, we would have to be patient and try to side-out with them. They are too good for us to run off a string of five or more points against in a row. In order to side-out well you have to pass the ball and we did not do that early in game one. After that 10-0 start by Pepperdine, we got our passing back in control a little bit and that allowed us to compete for the majority of games two and three."
