Michigan
1-0
South Florida
0-1
Michigan Opens Season with Victory Over South Florida
8/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Malibu, Calif. (Firestone Fieldhouse)
Event: Howdy's Pepperdine Classic (Day 1)
Result: Michigan 3, South Florida 1 (27-30, 30-23, 30-22, 30-27)
Records: U-M (1-0), USF (0-1)
Next U-M Matches: Saturday, Aug. 31 -- vs. Clemson (Noon PDT), at Pepperdine (5 p.m. PDT) at Howdy's Pepperdine Classic (Malibu, Calif.)
MALIBU, Calif. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team started the 2002 season off right with a 3-1 (27-30, 30-22, 30-23, 30-27) win over South Florida tonight (Friday, Aug. 30) in the Howdy's Pepperdine Classic. Junior captain Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) led the Wolverines with 15 kills, while sophomore Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) posted a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs. Junior setter Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) recorded career highs of 53 assists and four blocks in the match.
U-M used a balanced attack and strong defense at the net to defeat the Bulls. In addition to Moore and Gandolph, Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS) and Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) both killed 12 attacks to give the Wolverines four players with double-digit kills. Lehman also found success on the other side of the ball with seven blocks. Junior Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS), who tied her career high with two service aces, added five blocks to help the squad to 11 team blocks in the match.
Michigan and South Florida played a tightly contested first game. Neither team had more than a three-point lead at any point, and the game was tied as late as 25-25 before the Bulls won 30-27. The second game started the same way and was tied 10-10 when U-M ran the score to 18-12 on the strength of five kills and three USF errors. Michigan forced the Bulls, who hit just .026 in the second game, into five more errors on the way to a 30-23 victory to tie the match at one game each.
The third game belonged to Lehman, as she was a perfect three-for-three in kills, served up three aces and posted three blocks. She served up one of her aces in the first service rotation to help the Wolverines take a 2-0 lead right from the start. U-M extended the lead to seven points at 12-5 and held the margin until the score was 22-15. The Bulls put up three unanswered points before the service rotation retuned to Lehman. She stopped any chance for USF to get back in the game with back-to-back service aces to run the score to 26-18 before winning 30-22.
The fourth game was much like the first two, with the scored tied at 10-10 and then 20-20. Michigan took a small lead at 22-21 on consecutive kills by Poquette and Reedus following a Michigan timeout, but it was three USF errors that gave the Wolverines a 25-22 lead and push to the end. The Bulls were able to close the gap to 28-27, but another USF error and a kill by Lehman gave Michigan a 30-27 victory in the game and a 3-1 win in the match.
Michigan concludes the Howdy's Pepperdine Classic tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 31) with a noon PDT match against Clemson and a 5 p.m. PDT match against No. 8 Pepperdine, the host of the tournament.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "We played really well with a balanced offense. They are a good team that played great defense and controlled the ball well. They are really fast offensively and put a lot of pressure on us. I thought we did a great job of adjusting to them. We blocked really well and played good defense. I am really pleased with the match tonight. It's a good first match for us because they really tested us. They forced us to make plays and to not make mistakes, and I thought we responded very well."
