Michigan
3-1
Cincinnati
2-3
Wolverines Rally to Defeat Bearcats in Pepsi Challenge
9/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: Michigan 3, Cincinnati 1 (24-30, 31-29, 30-20, 30-28)
Records: U-M (3-1), Cincinnati (2-3)
Next U-M Match: Tuesday, Sept. 10 -- vs. Bowling Green (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After dropping the first game, the University of Michigan volleyball team fought back to win the next three games and defeat Cincinnati 3-1 (24-30, 31-29, 30-20, 30-28) tonight (Friday, Sept. 6) in front of 893 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. Junior captain Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) led the Wolverines in the Pepsi Volleyball Challenge with a season-high 21 kills and contributed on the defensive side with nine digs. Setter Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) posted a career-high 63 assists in the victory.
The Wolverines (3-1) never found their rhythm in the first game, while the Bearcats could do no wrong. Three U-M players hit negative for a team percentage of .143 (16-11-35). On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati racked up seven blocks and hit .310 (13-4-29) to take a 30-24 victory.
Michigan found itself in the same rut at the beginning of the second game but started to catch some breaks after coming back from 9-4 to tie the game at 10-10. The game stayed close through the end when Katrina Lehman (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian HS), who was 6-for-8 with no errors in the second game (.750), nailed three of her kills to help the Wolverines overcome a two-point deficit to win 31-29 and even the match at one game each.
After finding their timing in the second game, Michigan made quick work of the third game. Lehman opened the game with a service ace, and the Wolverines jumped out to a 10-4 lead. Four of Moore's seven kills in the game helped U-M double up the Bearcats at 20-10. Cincinnati kept up the rest of the way out, falling 30-20 in the game and trailing 2-1 in the match.
Michigan kept things going in the fourth game. Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) led U-M with five kills, while Moore and Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) shared in the balanced offense with four kills each. The Wolverines were in control of the match, but the Bearcats kept hanging on. The largest U-M lead was four points at 12-8, and the lead was down to one at 29-28 before Moore drilled a ball down the middle for the final point.
Michigan plays a rare Tuesday night (Sept. 10) match against Bowling Green at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena before heading west for the Nebraska U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic next weekend (Sept. 13-14).
NOTES
• Jennifer Gandolph missed her fourth consecutive kill-dig double-double by one dig. She finished the match with 17 kills and nine digs.
• Katrina Lehman moved five block assists closer to the U-M record. She currently has 302 career block assists and needs three more to tie Linsey Ebert (1995-98) for the school record of 305 block assists in a career.
• Tonight's victory was the 93rd win for the volleyball program in Cliff Keen Arena. The squad needs seven more to reach the century mark, making the Saturday, Oct. 26, match against Purdue the earliest possible date for the accomplishment.
• With 21 kills tonight against Cincinnati, Erin Moore became the first Wolverine to collect more than 20 kills in a match this season. She tied for the team lead in 20-kill matches last season with two.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On turning the match around ... "Cincinnati came out in game one and could do no wrong. We had no control and no rhythm in the game, while they got every break. I told the kids that we have to work for the breaks. They started working hard, and in the middle of game two, we started getting the breaks. We really settled down and found a pattern out there."
On coming back to win ... "It is really important to get these early wins, but what I am most proud of is the way we battled for the win. Cincinnati played great in the first game, but we battled, scratched and clawed our way back to win. I haven't had a team at Michigan that could do that as well as we did tonight."
U-M Sophomore Jennifer Gandolph
On making adjustments ... "The first game didn't go very well, but we really held on. Last year we would lose game one and then struggle the rest of the match. We turned around our play very well tonight."
U-M Junior Captain Erin Moore
On the changes in the match ... "It is really hard to come back from a deficit in rally scoring, but we proved that it could be done. We just had to relax and take it one point at a time. Once the passing started working out to where Lisa (Gamalski) had options, we really settled down and got the middles and the outsides working well."
