Michigan
12-8, 6-4Big Ten
Purdue
9-13, 0-10Big Ten
U-M Sweeps Purdue for 100th Victory at Cliff Keen Arena
10/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: Michigan 3, Purdue 0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-24)
Records: U-M (12-8, 6-4 Big Ten), Purdue (9-13, 0-10 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Wednesday, Oct. 30 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior captain Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) tallied her second consecutive double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs to lead the University of Michigan volleyball team to a 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-24) victory over Purdue tonight (Saturday, Oct. 26) at Cliff Keen Arena. The win, U-M's second consecutive three-game sweep, gives the team a 6-4 conference record midway through the 20-game Big Ten season and marks the program's 100th victory at Cliff Keen Arena.
Sophomore Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) joined Moore in the double-double column with 15 kills and and a team-high 14 digs against the Boilermakers. Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS), with 16 kills, led the team on offense for the fourth time in the last seven matches.
Michigan (12-8, 6-4 Big Ten) started the night with an impressive first game. U-M began the game by notching the first four points and extended the lead to 10 points at 21-11 before closing out the game with a 30-19 victory. Outside hitters Gandolph and Reedus were errorless, posting nine kills with no errors in 14 attempts for a .643 hitting percentage in game one.
The Boilermakers (9-13, 0-10 Big Ten) forced the Wolverines into a slower pace in game two and gave U-M all it could handle. Purdue's defense outdug Michigan 31-26 and held the Wolverines to a match-low .246 hitting percentage. The game was much closer, with Michigan unable to establish more than a four-point lead at any time. The Boilermakers fought tough at the end to tie the game at 27-27 and 28-28 before a kill by Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) forced game point, and Reedus closed it out at 30-28 with her ninth kill of the game.
Purdue came out in game three and quickly took a 4-1 lead. Michigan struggled to keep up and found itself down 10-3 minutes into the game. At that point, Alicia Boswell (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS) entered the lineup to serve and started U-M off on a 14-3 run. The Wolverines extended its lead to six at 21-15, forcing the Boilermakers to call timeout in an attempt to stop the momentum. Purdue was able to hang in for a few more points until Moore slammed home an attack for a 26-21 Michigan lead. Poquette finished off the Boilermakers with a service ace to give U-M a 30-24 victory in the game and a 3-0 victory in the match.
Michigan starts the second half of the Big Ten season against Michigan State at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 30) at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Mich. The contest is the second match of the annual State Pride Series, which Michigan leads after sweeping the first meeting 3-0 (30-25, 30-20, 30-24) on Oct. 9 at Cliff Keen Arena.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the winning matches in three games ... "It's kind of nice when we win in three because it kind of takes some of the pressure away. We don't get into battles where it could go either way. It's also nice this week especially because we have a Wednesday match at Michigan State. The more rested we can be going into that, the better. Now we can take tomorrow off, come in and have a good practice on Monday and be ready for State."
On the importance of winning the first game ... "I think it helps, but we have had matches where we didn't win the first game. At Iowa, we didn't win the first game, but we came out and won the next three. There's only five games, so if you can get one out of the way early that helps. I don't see it as a huge factor though. I think our team is pretty good about not panicking if we don't win the first one; they'll be coming back for the next one."
On the adjustments made by Purdue in game two ... "There were a couple of things. In the first game, I though we just played really well. We dug 21 balls and really got into a good rhythm. I think we kept our style of play. They play kind of a slow, off-balance style of play. I thought in games two and three, we kind of slipped into what they do. We were trying to play a similar style to what they play, and that's not what we do. We needed to stay more with our style of play."
NOTES
• Michigan volleyball has posted a record of 100-79 (.559) in 14 years at Cliff Keen Arena. The team reached the century mark against Purdue and improved to 8-0 at home this season.
• Tonight's three-game sweep is the fourth consecutive three-game victory for Michigan at Cliff Keen Arena. The team has won six of its eight home matches in three games.
