Michigan
8-2, 1-1Big Ten
Penn State
12-1, 2-0Big Ten
U-M Spikers Swept by No. 2 Penn State in Big Ten Play
9/25/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result:Â #2 Penn State 3, #20 Michigan 0 (15-1, 15-5, 15-3)
Records:Â U-M (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten), PSU (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Oct. 1 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 7 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- No. 2 Penn State handed the 20th-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team its first Big Ten Conference loss of the season, sweeping the Wolverines in straight games (15-1, 15-5, 15-3) Saturday night (Sept. 25) at Cliff Keen Arena.
Penn State was unstoppable as it took a commanding lead of the match from the first serve until the final point 54 minutes later. The win was the Nittany Lions' seventh straight vs. Michigan and put PSU into the conference lead after the opening weekend of play.
In game one, Penn State scored six consecutive points before Michigan forced a sideout with a kill by Anne Poglits (West Bloomfield, Mich./Livonia Ladywood HS). PSU ran to an 11-0 advantage before the Wolverines scored their first and only game point on a Shannon Melka (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) kill through the block. Penn State's frontcourt responded with a sideout and the last four points in the 15-1 win.
Michigan made a solid start in game two, coming from behind to tie the score at 4-4 on a Poglits kill. The Nittany Lions responded again, swinging the momentum in their favor with an 11-1 run to close out game two. Lauren Cacciamani, who finished the match with 19 kills behind a .667 hitting percentage, used her 13th kill of the night and a Wolverine communication error to score the final two points in the 15-5 game victory for Penn State.
Another fast start in the third game propelled Penn State in the sweep. PSU ran to a 10-0 lead before the Wolverines ended the shutout with three points. Miska Levy's kill finished off a five-point run and the Wolverines, 15-3.
Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) topped the Michigan offense with 10 kills. Melka totaled 21 assists and a team-high eight digs.
Michigan will open its Big Ten road schedule with matches at Wisconsin (Friday, Oct. 1) and Purdue (Saturday, Oct. 2).
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 25 (Nicole Kacor 10); Penn State 43 (Lauren Cacciamani 19)
Assists: U-M 59 (Shannon Melka 46); Penn State 35 (Bonnie Bremner 32)
Service Aces: U-M 0; Penn State 3 (Three with 1)
Digs: U-M 30 (Melka 8); Penn State 40 (Amanda Rome 14)
Blocks: U-M 3 (Anne Poglits 2); Penn State 8 (Mishka Levy 7)
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
"I think Penn State is a very good team. They are as good as advertised. They do some things that force teams to commit errors and that is what happened to us today. There are things we can learn about ourselves as we go through the game tape, if we want to learn from tonight's match. We need to remember that is is not how you start the season, but how you play at the end."
"Certainly this [Michigan] team and this program have very high goals to develop into one of the top programs in the nation. It doesn't happen in a month, month and a half or a season -- it takes time. This team is headed there, but it is going to take time."
