Michigan
11-11, 7-8Big Ten
Wisconsin
20-3, 14-1Big Ten
Michigan Upset Bid Falls Just Shy Against Wisconsin
11/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: #6 Wisconsin 3, Michigan 2 (28-30, 30-32, 30-21, 30-26, 16-14)
Records:Â U-M (11-11, 7-8 Big Ten), UW (20-3, 14-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Saturday, Nov. 10 -- vs. Northwestern (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It took five back-and-forth games and then some before the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers narrowly defeated the University of Michigan volleyball team 3-2 (28-30, 30-32, 30-21, 30-26, 16-14) tonight (Friday, Nov. 9) in front of a season-high 1,229 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines became the first Big Ten Conference team this season to sweep the Badgers in the first two games of a match and just the second team overall to "out-kill" Wisconsin (82-76), paced by a career-high 22 kills by freshman standout Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS); however, it wasn't enough to hold off the top team in the Big Ten.
After the Wolverines won the first two games, the Badgers came back to tie the match at two games each and force a fifth game. The first four games were close, but the fifth game was even closer. The teams traded points and neither team led by more than one point until a U-M attack error gave Wisconsin a 16-14 victory in the game and a 3-2 victory in the match.
Michigan (11-11, 7-8 Big Ten) opened the match by taking a 5-3 lead in game one. After battling back to tie the game at 11-11, Wisconsin scored five consecutive points with Erin Byrd back to serve and took a 16-11 lead. The Badgers held the lead until U-M cut the margin to one point at 25-24. After getting the serve back, sophomore Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) fired two consecutive service aces to give Michigan a 29-28 lead. A block by Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) and Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS) put the game away 30-28.
Wisconsin (20-3, 14-1 Big Ten) appeared to have found its rhythm in game two and quickly established a 9-3 lead. The Badger lead grew to 18-8 before Michigan called a timeout. Following the break in action, the Wolverines rattled off seven consecutive points to draw within three at 18-15. After trading sideouts, Michigan capped off its run of 11 out of 12 points to tie the game at 19-19 by forcing two attack errors on the Badgers. A kill by freshman standout Gandolph gave Michigan a 22-21 lead and helped swing the momentum as U-M took a 26-22 lead. Wisconsin found a way to come back and tied the match at 29-29 before taking a one-point lead at 30-29 on a U-M attack error. However, the Wolverines corrected the mistake and Gandolph recorded two kills to give U-M a 31-30 lead. Lehman finished the game with a kill down the middle to give the Wolverines a 32-30 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
After the intermission, Wisconsin stepped up its offense and its defense. Michigan stayed with the Badgers and the game was tied at 6-6 before they scored 10 out of the next 11 points to establish a 16-7 lead. Michigan stayed with Wisconsin and was within six points at 23-17 after Gandolph scored back-to-back kills, but the Badgers just kept extending their lead. Again Michigan closed the gap slightly with three kills by Lehman. With the score 28-21, Wisconsin put the game away with consecutive kills.
Game four started much the same and was also tied at 6-6. This time, it was the Wolverines who took the lead and had a three-point advantage at 14-11. Wisconsin stayed tough and came back to tie the game at 16-16 before taking the lead for good on one of its four blocks in the game. Service series by Marian Weidner and Byrd gave the Badgers a 22-19 lead. The Wolverines stayed close and even put together a late run on three kills by freshman Carrie Ritchie (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive HS) but it wasn't enough. The Badger won the game 30-26 and forced the fifth and deciding game.
Michigan returns to the court tomorrow night (Saturday, Nov. 10) with a match against Northwestern at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena. Fans who show their ticket stub from the football game against Minnesota receive free admission to the match.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "We knew we needed to play a good match. We knew Sherisa Livingston would have some success, so we tried to shut down their other players. As it turned out, we played good defense and were able to side out consistently. We played very steady the entire match. We knew that the longer the match went, the better it was for us. You don't sweep the No. 6 team in the nation in three games. It was going to take more than that."
On the 10-point comeback in game two ... "I didn't really say much in the timeout, but we needed to step up our play. We came back out and gave them some tough serves. We played clean and forced them into errors. I am really proud of our team to come back from 18-8; that is a huge comeback."
On the offense ... "We were very balanced tonight. I thought Shannon Melka set very well, and Katrina Lehman provided a ton of speed tonight. She has just been getting faster and faster in the middle. Erin Moore's competitiveness really helped us out there tonight. I thought Jennifer Gandolph played a smart match, and Carrie Ritchie really stepped into the front row and played well when we needed her tonight."
U-M Freshman Outside Hitter Jennifer Gandolph
On coming so close to upsetting No. 6 Wisconsin ... "It is so hard to lose a match like that. It's hard to be disappointed, though. We worked so hard all week in practice and to lose by basically one point at the end is tough. After last week, this was such a huge step for us. It's just too bad we had to lose."
On the fifth game ... "We were really ready for the fifth game. Before tonight, we had only lost one other game five (Northwestern, Sept. 21). We really push right to the very end, especially the fifth game. Whether were up by two games or down by two games, like the Michigan State match (Oct. 3). We just fell a little short tonight."
NOTES
• Freshman Carrie Ritchie posted a career high in kills with five and tied her career high in digs with 17 in tonight's match.
• Setter Shannon Melka mixed in six kills to tie her career high in the category.
• Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) and Jennifer Gandolph each tied her career high in assists with two, while Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) tied her career high in service aces with two.
• Tonight marked the seventh time in 22 matches this year that the Wolverines have had four or more players reach double-digit kills.
• Michigan's only two home losses this season have been to ranked teams. In addition to tonight's loss to No. 6 Wisconsin, the Wolverines fell to then-No. 10 Ohio State on Oct. 19.
