Michigan
15-11, 9-7Big Ten
Iowa
8-18, 2-14Big Ten
Wolverines Trounce Iowa at Home in Televised Match
11/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: Michigan 3, Iowa 0 (30-23, 30-23, 30-25)
Records: U-M (15-11, 9-7 Big Ten), Iowa (8-18, 2-14 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Nov. 22 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team put on a show tonight (Saturday, Nov. 16) against the Iowa Hawkeyes in a match that was taped for broadcast at 4 p.m. EST tomorrow on Fox Sports Chicago. Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) each recorded double-digit kills and hit over .400, leading the Wolverines to a three-game sweep (30-23, 30-23, 30-25) over the Hawkeyes in front of 1,005 fans at Cliff Keen Arena.
Gandolph led all attackers with 14 kills and completed her 14th double-double of the season with 10 digs, tying teammate Carrie Ritchie (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive HS) and Iowa's Pam Kavadas for the match high in the category. Gandolph, who hit .423 (14-3-26), also tied Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield, Hills, Mich./Marian HS) and Moore for the match high in blocks with four. Moore posted a season-high hitting percentage of .500 (12-2-20) and tied her career high with three service aces in the match.
Michigan (15-11, 9-7 Big Ten) took a quick lead in game one on an Iowa service error and a service ace by Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS). The Wolverines took a two-point lead at 8-6 and expanded it to six at 12-6 on the strength of a service rotation by Alicia Boswell (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS). The Hawkeyes and Wolverines traded points the rest of the way until another Iowa service error gave Michigan a 30-23 victory. Gandolph dominated the game, recording seven kills and just one error in 11 attempts for a .545 hitting percentage.
Game two was more balanced for the Wolverines, as five players tallied at least three kills. Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) joined Gandolph to help U-M to its best hitting game of the evening (.444, 18-2-36). The pair combined to hit .636 (7-0-11) while adding nine digs and two blocks to the team effort. Despite the stats, Michigan actually trailed 8-4 early in the game and was forced to call a timeout. The team returned to the court and rattled off 11 of the next 13 points to take a 15-10 lead. Michigan never looked back and went on to a second consecutive 30-23 victory and a two-games-to-none lead in the match.
Game three was a much different battle, as both teams struggled on offense. Iowa (8-18, 2-14 Big Ten) took an early lead at 6-3 and Michigan tied the game at 6-6, but eight of the first 12 total points were scored on errors. It did not get much better as the game wore on, but the Wolverines managed to fight through their trouble to win the game 30-25 and win the match 3-0.
Michigan takes to the road next weekend for its final set of regular-season away matches. The Wolverines visit Purdue at 6 p.m. Friday (Nov. 22) at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility in West Lafayette, Ind. The following evening (Saturday, Nov. 16), U-M visits Illinois for a 7 p.m. CST match at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill.
QUOTES
U-M Head Coach Mark Rosen
On Iowa ... "Iowa has a very different tempo. Everything is kind of unorthodox and it's a much slower tempo, so it's really hard to get into a rhythm with a team like that. At the same time, I thought that physically, we outmatched them. We were really focused on just trying to play well on our side of the court, maintain our system and maintain our style of play. We really though that would be enough to be successful."
On the strengths of Iowa ... "I think they do a nice job, and they play hard. They put a lot of enthusiasm into the (match). I think it's a testament to our conference that the team which is in 10th place and only has two wins is still a pretty darn good team. They could go into any other conference, and they are going to do pretty well. It really speaks for our conference. It's the battle we face every night -- whether you are facing one of the better teams or one of the [teams lower in the standings], they are going to be good."
On the match ... "Early in the match, I thought we were just trying to get a feel for the game and get comfortable. Certainly we have been off our rhythm a little bit in the last three matches and a little bit fragile as a team, so I just wanted to get comfortable and get into a rhythm. I thought we did that well in game one. We started off back and forth, back and forth, but then we were able to push them away a little bit."
