Michigan
5-3
Nebraska
7-1
Michigan Falls in Three Games at Fourth-Ranked Nebraska
9/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (Nebraska Coliseum)
Event: Nebraska U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic
Result: #4 Nebraska 3, Michigan 0 (30-20, 30-28, 30-23)
Records: U-M (5-3), Nebraska (7-1)
Next U-M Match: Thursday, Sept. 19 -- vs. Toledo (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A valiant effort kept the games close, but No. 4 Nebraska was too much for the University of Michigan volleyball team Saturday (Sept. 14) as the Wolverines fell to the Huskers 3-0 (30-20, 30-28, 30-23) before a standing-room-only crowd of 4,091 at Nebraska Coliseum in U-M's final match of the U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic. Sophomore Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) led the Wolverines in kills (12) and earned a kill-dig double-double for the second consecutive match with 11 digs.
Junior captain Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio, Columbian HS) was the only other Wolverine with double-digit kills, recording 11 in the match. She also led the team in blocks with four. Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) led the way on defense with a match-high 12 digs.
Michigan (5-3) fell behind early and was down 11-2 at the start of game one. Nebraska (7-1) continued to press, but the Wolverines gained their composure and matched the Huskers for the remainder of the game, falling 30-20. Nebraska was nearly perfect in the game, posting 19 kills on 36 attempts with just one error (.500 attack percentage).
The second game started out much the same. Michigan fell behind 10-4 but started to climb back and closed the gap near the end of the game. U-M drew within two at 22-20, and with the Huskers leading 28-24, Michigan went on a small run with back-to-back kills by Moore and Gandolph to draw within one at 28-27. However, the Huskers made a pancake dig led which led to a kill and forced game point. A blocking error by U-M closed out the game at 30-28 and gave Nebraska a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Wolverines came out on fire in the third game and took a 3-1 lead from the start. U-M ran the score to 12-7 and forced Nebraska to take a timeout after Moore slammed down an overpass for an unassisted kill, her 10th of the match. The Huskers came back and closed the gap to one point at 12-11 before Gandolph scored for Michigan following a long rally to make the score 13-11. The Wolverine lead grew to 14-12 before Nebraska took its first lead at 17-16. The Huskers expanded the lead to 19-16 on four consecutive points. Michigan continued to fight back and tied the game at 21-21 and 22-22. The momentum swung back to the Huskers, who went on a 7-0 run to force game point at 29-22. A Michigan overpass which dropped on Nebraska's side gave U-M a point, but the Huskers won the game on the next serve.
The Wolverines return home to play Toledo at 7 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 19) in Cliff Keen Arena.
NOTES
• With three blocks, Katrina Lehman has 358 career blocks. She needs 17 more to tie Julia Sturm (1987-90) for the all-time record of 375 total blocks.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "Our team did a nice job of fighting back tonight (after falling behind early). Nebraska is just a better team. We competed well in the last two games, but they are one of three or four elite teams in the nation right now. We won't see anyone like them in the Big Ten this year. I though Jennifer Gandolph played really well tonight, and Katrina Lehman played well all weekend."
On preparing for the conference season ... "This tournament is a good tuneup for the conference season. We learned a lot of things tonight that will help us to compete at that level. One thing is that we have to improve our ball handling. However, we have two big matches in Toledo and at Notre Dame before we think about the Big Ten season."
