Michigan
19-11, 11-8Big Ten
Illinois
23-6, 14-5Big Ten
Gandolph, Moore Pace Michigan Upset of No. 18 Illinois
11/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Champaign, Ill. (Huff Hall)
Score:Â Michigan 3, #18 Illinois 1 (21-30, 30-26, 30-28, 30-22)
Records:Â U-M (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten), Illinois (23-6, 14-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event:Â Saturday, Nov. 29 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7:30 p.m. CST
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team recorded a huge upset Friday night (Nov. 28), downing the 18th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini by a 3-1 (21-30, 30-26, 30-28, 30-22) margin in front of a rowdy crowd of 1,477 at Illinois' Huff Hall. Junior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) paced the Wolverines with 17 kills and 17 digs, while senior Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) recorded 15 kills and a team-high eight blocks.
With the win, the Wolverines became the first team this season to defeat the Illini at Huff Hall, as Illinois entered the match 11-0 on its home court. In addition, U-M all but assured itself a spot in the NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced on Sunday (Nov. 30). Michigan also notched its 11th win in Big Ten play, continuing a streak of five straight seasons with an improvement on the previous year's conference win total.
The Wolverines got down early in game one and could never recover as the Illini rolled to a 30-21 victory. With the score tied 3-3, Illinois put together a six-point run to go up 9-3, and the Wolverines could not get closer than three points during the rest of the game. The Illini built a lead of 10 points toward the end of the game, and Michigan fought off three game-point attempts, but the score was too much to overcome as Sarah O'Bryan ended the frame for Illinois with a kill.
In game two, Michigan built a 15-13 lead and never looked back, holding Illinois to a .128 hitting percentage by forcing the Illini to commit 11 errors, which included five blocks by the Wolverines. U-M hit .190 in the frame, including four kills by Gandolph, as Michigan posted a 30-26 victory to tie the match at one game apiece.
Game three was tight down to the end until Michigan grabbed the lead and held on, taking a 2-1 advantage with a 30-28 victory. U-M built a 26-24 lead on a kill by Gandolph and a block by Moore and Gandolph, then held on as Illinois took three of the next four points to tie the score at 27. Freshman Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central HS) gave U-M a 28-27 lead, then Gandolph followed to put the Wolverines in a position for game point. After a blocking error on Bowman, the Illini sent an attack long to give Michigan the win.
Game four was back and forth until Michigan took seven of nine points to open up a 22-15 lead. The Wolverines pushed the lead to eight points until the Illini mounted a comeback, closing the gap to 26-21 and causing Michigan to call a timeout. Illinois blocked an attack by Moore to get with four, but the Wolverines scored the final four points on a kill by redshirt freshman Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS), an ace by Cobler and a kill by Moore before Moore, Gandolph and junior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) teamed up to block an Illinois attack and seal the match with a 30-22 victory.
Bowman and Cobler added 10 kills for the Wolverines, who hit .212 for the match, while Bowman, senior Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) and Gamalski notched at least five blocks each as U-M out-blocked the Illini by a 15.5-7 margin. Poquette and junior Sarah Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg HS) also topped the 10-dig mark, with Poquette notching 13 and Allen recording 12.
The Wolverines will close out the regular season on Saturday (Nov. 29) with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. Opening serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. CST at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern campus.
NOTES
• Michigan's win over Illinois was the first blemish for the Illini at Huff Hall this season. UI entered the match 11-0 on its home court.
• The win over No. 18 is the Wolverines' second victory this season over a ranked opponent, with both wins coming on the road (Michigan State, Oct. 1). Against Top 25 foes this season U-M is 0-4 at home, 2-3 away and 0-1 at neutral sites.
• U-M improved its Big Ten record to 11-8, surpassing last season's win total of 10. The conference win total is the highest since head coach Mark Rosen took over in 1999.
• The Wolverines improved their overall record to 19-11, tying the most wins in a season since Rosen inherited the program.
• Erin Moore established the U-M single-season record for block assists with her team-high eight, improving her total to 139. The record surpassed the mark set by Katrina Lehman last season (135).
• Jennifer Gandolph's 17 kills raised her season kill total to 432, a new career high, while her 17 digs improved her dig total to 383, also a career high.
• Erin Cobler has posted 10 or more kills in two of the last three matches.
