Michigan
16-10, 6-9Big Ten
Michigan State
14-10, 7-8Big Ten
Pittenger's Triple-Double Paces Wolverines Over Spartans
11/8/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result:Â Michigan 3, #25 Michigan State 2 (15-13, 9-15, 15-13, 7-15, 15-10)
Records:Â U-M (16-10, 6-9 Big Ten), MSU (15-10, 7-8 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Nov. 10 -- vs. Ohio State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team won its third straight Big Ten Conference match with a thrilling 3-2 (15-13, 9-15, 15-13, 7-15, 15-10) victory over instate rival Michigan State tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 8) in front of the home fans at Cliff Keen Arena.
Senior outside hitter Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) registered her first career triple-double and Michigan's first of 2000 with 17 kills, 13 assists and 13 digs as the Wolverines downed No. 25 Michigan State for their second victory of the season over a ranked foe.
Game one proved to be a tight contest throughout with neither team leading by more than three at any point. Michigan, in fact, twice fought back from three-point deficits paced by sophomore Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS), who hit .333 (5-1-12) for the game. With the Wolverines trailing 10-7, Lehman began a 5-1 run with a service ace and was followed by kills from freshmen Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove HS) and Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS).
Back-to-back kills from a third freshmen, Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS), gave Michigan its first lead at 12-11. The two teams traded the next four points before a kill from Lehman gave Michigan a 15-13 win, despite being out-hit .316 (23-5-57) to .234 (25-10-64) for the game.
Michigan used the momentum from its game one win to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the second game. Michigan State, however, answered with a 8-0 run to take control. The Spartans' run was buoyed by an 8-1 advantage in the blocking department in game two. Moore gave the Wolverines life with a .700 (8-1-10) hitting mark for game two and helped Michigan cut the lead to two at 9-7. Michigan State once again answered the Michigan run and ran off the next five points en route to a 15-9 game-two win, which knotted the match at a game apiece heading into intermission.
Game three began as a back-and-forth affair as the instate rivals traded the first 14 points, with neither team holding a lead of more than two points. With the score knotted at seven, Michigan State went on a 5-0 run that seemingly gave the Spartans control of the match. The service game of Michigan junior Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) breathed life into the Wolverines and led Michigan to four consecutive points that included one of senior Sarah Behnke's (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS) five game-three kills. From there kills from Reedus and Moore gave Michigan a 13-12 lead and led to Reedus' final kill of the game to give Michigan a 15-13 game-three win.
The Wolverines gave the Spartans an early 3-0 lead in game four before rallying for four consecutive points of their own to take the lead. MSU, however, scored the game's next seven points, thanks in part to Sarah Gustin, who eventually would have six kills for the game. The momentum looked to swing in the favor of U-M, which took the next three points as Behnke killed, blocked and aced her way to getting Michigan within three points, but the Spartans finished off the game with five unanswered points. Michigan had its lowest hitting percentage of the night (.116, 12-7-43) in the game, with MSU winning both the kills (18) and digs categories (18).
With the team's splitting the first four games, Michigan went to a decisive fifth game for the seventh time this season. The Wolverines put their game-five experience to proper use as they went on a 4-0 run to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead after one of Behnke's four game-five kills. Three of those four Wolverine points during the run came off the strong serve of Melka, who connected on three aces for the match.
Michigan State was able to stay within reach of the Wolverines until another 4-0 Maize and Blue run turned a one-point game into a 12-7 Michigan lead, prompting a Spartan timeout. The timeout did not cool down the Michigan attack, which hit a match-best .429 (11-2-21), and the Wolverines rode two more Behnke kills, including the one for match point, to a 15-10 game-five win and a 3-2 match victory.
The Wolverines return to Big Ten action this Friday (Nov. 10, 7 p.m.) vs. 13th-ranked Ohio State at Cliff Keen Arena.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 90 (Erin Moore 19) MSU 87 (Sarah Gustin 23)
Assists: U-M 76 (Shannon Melka 59); MSU 83 (Christie Landry 73)
Service Aces: U-M 7 (Melka 3); MSU 7 (Erin Hartley 4)
Digs: U-M 78 (Sarah Behnke 19); MSU 94 Gustin, Jenny Rood 18)
Blocks: U-M 4 (Katrina Lehman 3); MSU 21 (Angela Morley 12)
NOTES
• Sarah Behnke's 19 digs is a season best for the senior outside hitter. -- Michigan was not able to retain the "State Pride" flag for 2000. Michigan and Michigan State split the season series, with each team winning on its home floor in five games. However, Michigan State won the total points tiebreaker 128-120.
• Michigan is now 4-3 this season in matches decided by a fifth game.
• Michigan has won three matches in a row for the first time since beating Houston (Sept. 15), Virginia (Sept. 16) and Arkansas (Sept. 16) in succession earlier this season.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match in general ... "This was a huge gut check for us and I am really proud of the heart our team showed tonight. Particularly in game five, when it is very easy to get tight, we just stayed steady and played with pretty good confidence."
On the play of freshman Erin Moore ... "She is part of the reason we are playing with so much confidence. It sounds funny to say that about a freshman, but Moore is actually one of the most confident players in our gym and the other players feed off that. She brings an energy and an excitement to our lineup that is a great intangible."
