Michigan
5-1
Alabama
6-2
U-M Opens Nebraska Classic with Win Over Crimson Tide
9/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (Nebraska Coliseum)
Event: Nebraska U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic
Result: Michigan 3, Alabama 1 (30-22, 30-23, 28-30, 30-16)
Records: U-M (5-1), Alabama (6-2)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, Sept. 14 -- vs. Santa Clara (10 a.m. CDT), at Nebraska (5 p.m.) in Nebraska U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic (Lincoln, Neb.)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A record night at the net helped the University of Michigan volleyball team defeat Alabama 3-1 (30-22, 30-23, 28-30, 30-16) today (Friday, Sept. 13) in the first match of the Nebraska U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic. Junior captain Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs and barely missed a triple-double, finishing the match with a career-best nine blocks. Sophomores Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) and Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) also posted career highs in total blocks with six and five, respectively, and helped U-M to a season-high 19.5 team blocks.
The Wolverines continued their trend of spreading the ball around on offense and finished with a season-high five players recording double-digit kills against the Crimson Tide. Gandolph killed 13 attacks, leading U-M in the category for the second time this season. Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS) and Moore each put up 12 kills, Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) finished with 11 kills, and Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) posted a season-high 10 kills.
Michigan (5-1) started slow and fell behind 11-7 in game one, but a service rotation by Gandolph straightened things out and had U-M quickly leading 14-11. Michigan, which hit .316 (15-3-38) in the game, never looked back and put away Alabama 30-22. In game two, the Wolverines started out strong and led the entire match. Moore tallied six of her 12 kills in the match, helping the team to a 30-23 victory.
After the intermission, Alabama (6-2) had its best hitting game of the night with an attack percentage of .250 (15-6-36), while Michigan struggled on offense, committing 12 attack errors. Still, the game was close throughout. Each team went on small runs for the first half of the game until things tightened up near the end. Michigan had the game tied at 24-24, but a service ace and a trio of kills gave Alabama the match 30-28.
The Wolverines came out with a vengeance in game four and shut down the Tide. Michigan posted a season-high seven team blocks in the game, forcing Alabama to an attack percentage of -.079 (7-10-38). The Crimson Tide started the game with back-to-back attack errors, and then four quick kills by Gandolph drove the score up to 14-6. Gandolph added three more kills for a total of seven in the game, and the Wolverines cruised to a 30-16 victory to win the match.
Michigan returns to the court tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 14) for one of the toughest days of the season. The Wolverines face No. 22 Santa Clara at 10 a.m. CDT and No. 4 Nebraska at 5 p.m. CDT in the second and final day of the tournament.
NOTES
• With six blocks tonight, Katrina Lehman has 347 career blocks. She needs 28 more to tie Julia Sturm (1987-90) for the school record of 375 total blocks.
