Michigan
11-5, 2-4Big Ten
Penn State
14-4, 3-3Big Ten
Defending National Champs Survive Upset Scare at U-M
10/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: #12 Penn State 3, Michigan 2 (15-17, 12-15, 15-3, 15-13, 15-10)
Records:Â U-M (11-5, 2-4 Big Ten), PSU (14-4, 3-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Oct. 13 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team jumped out to a 2-0 game lead but could not finish off its upset bid of 12th-ranked Penn State on Saturday night (Oct. 7) at Cliff Keen Arena. The Nittany Lions, defending national champions and unbeaten against Michigan since Nov. 18, 1995, recovered to win in five games (15-17, 12-15, 15-3, 15-13, 15-10) and hand the Wolverines their first home loss of the season. Senior outside hitter Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS) led Michigan with a team season-best 26 kills.
Game one proved to be a back-and-forth contest with neither team leading by more than three at any point in the game. Led by middle blocker Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), who had seven game-one kills and hit .308 (7-3-13) for the game, Michigan enjoyed three-point advantages at 5-2 and 7-4. Trailing 7-4, Penn State, which outblocked Michigan 5-2 in game one, went on a 7-1 run to take an 11-8 lead and force a Michigan timeout.
After Penn State pushed its lead to 13-10, Michigan went on a 4-1 run to knot the game at 14. The Michigan run was keyed by an ace from junior outside hitter Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS), who hit .400 (7-1-15) for game one. Penn State regained the lead 15-14, but Michigan rattled off the final three points of the game, with a Fielder kill giving Michigan a 17-15 game-one win. Fielder led Michigan with a .382 (19-6-34) hitting percentage for the match.
Much like game one, neither team really took control in game two. However, a 3-2 Michigan lead was short-lived as Penn State put together a 6-1 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 8-4. Following a Michigan timeout, the Wolverines regrouped and went on a 7-2 run of their own, keyed by timely hitting. The Wolverines game-two hitting percentage of .260 (22-9-50) was its best of the match and was paced by Behnke, who had eight kills and hit .353 (8-2-17) for the game. Penn State regained the lead at 12-11, but Michigan junior setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) served out the final four points of the game, with the final two points coming off kills from Behnke and middle blocker Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS). Michigan won game two 15-12 and took a 2-0 game lead heading into intermission.
Penn State, however, served notice in game three that this match was far from over as the Nittany Lions dominated from the outset, scoring the first 11 points. Penn State hit .531 (19-2-32) in game three, with Michigan's bright spot coming from Kacor, who hit .636 (7-0-11) for the game. A kill from Kacor put Michigan on the board at 11-1, but the Wolverines could only manage two more points in the game and Penn State grabbed a 15-3 win.
Game four proved to be the pivotal game of the match as Michigan appeared to take control during an 8-3 run which turned a 5-5 deadlock into a 13-8 Wolverine advantage. Michigan's run was led by Behnke, who registered eight kills on .500 (8-2-12) hitting in game four. Penn State, however, continued to come back as it had all night and cut the lead to two at 13-11 to prompt a Michigan timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Michigan delivered a pair of critical reception errors that helped propel Penn State to a 15-13 game-four win to set up the deciding fifth game.
Michigan gained the early advantage in game five after a Behnke kill and an attack error from Penn State gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead. Again Penn State, which hit .389 (8-1-18) in game five, responded and took off on a 6-1 run to take control of the final game. Melka connected with outside hitters Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) and Kacor as the Wolverines cut the deficit to one (6-5), but that was as close as they would get. As it had for much of the match Penn State controlled the net, finishing with 22 blocks compared to just eight for Michigan, and eventually pulled out a 15-10 game-five victory and a 3-2 match win.
Michigan returns to the road in Big Ten Conference action on Friday (Oct. 13, 7 p.m. CDT) with a matchup at Northwestern.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 89 (Sarah Behnke 26); PSU 76 (Mishka Levy 30)
Assists: U-M 84 (Shannon Melka 66); PSU 71 (Shannon Bortner 61)
Service Aces: U-M 2 (Alija Pittenger, Nicole Kacor 1); PSU 7 (Levy, Leilani Schlottfeldt 2)
Digs: U-M 75 (Three players with 16); PSU 71 (Three players with 11)
Blocks: U-M 8 (Katrina Lehman 7); PSU 22 (Robyn Goukas 15)
NOTES
• Michigan is now 2-2 in five-game matches this season.
• Shannon Melka's 16 digs mark a new career high for the junior setter.
• Alija Pittenger registered a personal season best with 14 assists. She was just one kill shy of recording the first triple-double of her career in kills (9), assists (14) and digs (16).
• Penn State's 22 blocks is the most given up by Michigan this season.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match in general ... "It is frustrating to have a great chance to beat the defending national champions and come up just a little short. I really like the way the kids competed tonight and I was especially happy to see us bounce back in game four with very solid play. Now we need to learn how to put teams away when we have them on the ropes and also to play with more consistency."
U-M Senior Outside Hitter Sarah Behnke
On where Michigan needs to go from here ... "We need to stay together and come in the gym on Monday ready to work. We know we can play with anybody in the country, and if we keep working like we have been, we can get over the hump against some of these teams."
