Michigan
11-10, 7-7Big Ten
Iowa
4-13, 2-12Big Ten
Michigan Drops to .500 in Big Ten with Loss at Iowa
11/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
Result:Â Iowa 3, Michigan 1 (23-30, 30-23, 30-22, 30-25)
Records:Â U-M (11-10, 7-7 Big Ten), Iowa (4-13, 2-12 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Nov. 9 -- vs. Wisconsin (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The road-weary University of Michigan volleyball team dropped its second road match of the weekend Saturday (Nov. 3), falling 3-1 (23-30, 30-23, 30-22, 30-25) to the Iowa Hawkeyes before 565 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Freshman Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS)Â led the Wolverines offensively with 14 kills, and sophomore Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS)Â paced the team defensively with a career-high 15 digs.
Michigan (11-10, 7-7 Big Ten) started game one strong on kills by junior Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS) and Gandolph to take a 3-1 lead. Michigan was able to overcome the offense of Hawkeyes junior Sara Meyermann, who rattled off eight kills in the game, to keep expanding the lead. With the score 18-13, the Wolverines scored seven of the next 10 points on service series by Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS), Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) and Gandolph to make the score 25-16 and take the game out of reach for Iowa. Michigan won the game 30-23 on a service error by the Hawkeyes.
Things changed in game two. After hitting .333 (19-5-42) in the first game, U-M struggled offensively with an attack percentage of -.068 (12-15-44) in the second game. The Wolverines kept it close at the beginning and tied the game 5-5. From there, Iowa made a run that included two service aces and two Michigan attack errors to take a 13-7 lead. Michigan battled back and even found itself within three points at 25-22, but could not gain any further ground. After running the score to 27-22, Michigan committed two unforced attack errors to give Iowa game point. The Hawkeyes closed out the game at 30-23 and evened the match at a game apiece.
With the momentum on its side, Iowa (4-13, 2-12 Big Ten) jumped out to a 5-0 lead by blocking three Wolverine attacks to open the third game. Michigan improved its attacking to .156 (14-7-45) and freshman Carrie Ritchie (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive HS) recorded two of her career-high four kills in the game. After the Hawkeyes extended their lead to 12-6, freshman setter Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) entered the game and recorded nine assists, five digs and a block. Iowa slowly expanded its lead and won the game 30-22 on Meyermann's eighth kill of the game.
The fourth game started much like the third, with Iowa grabbing a 5-1 lead at the start. Again, the Hawkeyes maintained the five-point lead as the teams exchanged sideouts. Michigan struggled to put together any rhythm as Iowa recorded six blocks in the game, including one on the final Wolverine attack to win the game 30-25 and the match 3-1.
Michigan returns home to host No. 7 Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 9) in Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines close out the weekend series with a match against Northwestern at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 10).
NOTES
• Michigan has lost its last three road games -- at Michigan State, at No. 24 Minnesota and at Iowa.
• Sophomore Dana Chapman (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg HS) recorded a career-high three digs.
• Michigan returns home next weekend to Cliff Keen Arena, where it holds a 9-1 record this season and has won 13 of its last 14 matches.
