Michigan
16-8, 8-5Big Ten
Michigan State
16-7, 8-5Big Ten
Michigan Retains Banner But Drops Five-Gamer to MSU
11/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score:Â Michigan State 3, Michigan 2 (29-31, 30-17, 30-25, 28-30, 15-8)
Records:Â U-M (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten), MSU (16-7, 8-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event:Â Friday, Nov. 7 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 7 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Down by a 2-1 margin after three games, the University of Michigan volleyball team fought back to force a deciding fifth game against visiting Michigan State on Wednesday night (Nov. 5) but fell short in its comeback attempt against the Spartans, losing 31-29, 17-30, 25-30, 30-28, 8-15 in front of a sellout crowd of 1,850 at Cliff Keen Arena. Senior Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) posted a team-high 16 kills and added an ace and two block assists for a team-best 18 points to lead U-M.
Despite the loss, U-M retained possession of the State Pride Series banner by virtue of a 5-3 edge in games won in the two matches this season. The last time Michigan, which captured the banner with a sweep of the Spartans last season, won consecutive State Pride Banners was from 1990-92, the first three years of the competition.
The loss snapped a three-match winning streak for the Wolverines and marked MSU's first victory in Keen since the 1998 campaign. In addition, the Spartans picked up a half-point in the fall portion of the Pontiac Challenge Cup to wrap up the fall competition. U-M captured the Cup by a 5.5-0.5 margin.
The Wolverines got off to a strong start in game one, coming from behind to down MSU 31-29. U-M had a four-point lead late in the game at 28-24, but a five-point run by State, including three attack errors by Michigan, gave Michigan State a 29-28 lead. The Wolverines fought off game point and scored the next three points, including the final two off kills by redshirt freshman Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS).
In game two, State controlled the play from the start, hitting .533 (19 kills-3 errors-30 attempts) and cruising to a 30-17 victory. After the break, the Spartans continued to put on the pressure, hitting .364 to win the third frame by a 30-25 margin.
Michigan got back in the match in the fourth game, leading the whole way en route to a 30-28 victory. The Wolverines led by as many as six in the game, and with a four-point lead at 27-23, held on as MSU rallied to pull within one at 29-28. Junior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) ended the game with a kill to force a rubber game for the second time in the last three matches.
The Spartans came out quickly in the final stanza, scoring seven of the first 10 points and hitting .667 (8-0-12) en route to a 15-8 victory to capture the match.
MSU, which hit .331 as a team, was led by Kim Schram's 24 kills and 29.5 points. Megan Wallin hit .500 with 17 kills and a team-high six blocks, while Brooke Langston recorded a .611 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 18 attempts.
The Wolverines had four players with double-figure kills, including Moore, who added 11 digs for a double-double. Gandolph notched 14 kills and 14 digs for her third straight double-double, while senior Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) tallied 13 kills. Sophomore Candace Gay (Detroit, Mich./Sacred Heart HS) came off the bench to hit .500 with 11 kills.
On defense, Cobler notched a career-high three block solos while junior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) contributed 11 digs and 51 assists. Junior libero Sarah Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg HS) also registered 12 digs.
The Wolverines will open a three-match road trip on Friday (Nov. 7), traveling to Madison, Wis., to face the No. 22 Wisconsin Badgers. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. CST at the Wisconsin Field House.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "Well, I think they (Michigan State) played well. You have to give State credit. I think they competed very well. I think we were very inconsistent. We passed well tonight, but I don't think we served well, and we didn't get them off-balance very much. And that's a team where if you don't get them off-balance, they are pretty hard to defend. They're a big team with lots of attackers. We let them run their system way too much, and we never really gained control of it. Even the games we won, we never really had the control that I think we are capable of having. But you have to give them credit for that too."
On the team's mindset going into the match ... "Anytime you want to sweep a team, you sweep a team. I think it is always an advantage. I have said all along that these matches are all about not necessarily having all the emotion but handling all the emotion. I think in some ways our team potentially thought it was going to be easier than it should be. And that is something where we have to look in the mirror and really evaluate within ourselves the situation. Did we take it seriously enough You come into this match excited and you're ready to go. You're fired up about it. It's being able to handle that emotion. And I thought State did a better job of that."
On the team's play ... "We got out-defended so big tonight and that is a huge part of our game. We've out-defended probably, when I say the defense digging and blocking, 90 percent of our opponents this year. And that one we weren't even close. At 81 digs and blocks for them and 63 for us. That's where we got beat. We passed the ball pretty well tonight, which is something we know is a big ingredient for us. But then we didn't attack well. We got in good situations and didn't take advantage of it. We got blocked one-on-one a lot tonight, where we'd get one-on-one and get dogged. Our players have to put those balls away, and we didn't take care of it tonight."
NOTES
• The crowd of 1,850 is the fourth-largest home crowd in U-M volleyball history.
• Percy Stamps, Michigan's long-time public-address announcer, was honored before the match with a lifetime membership to the Blue Aces Club, the booster organization for U-M volleyball.
• The fall portion of the Pontiac Challenge Cup concluded with a 5.5-0.5 victory for Michigan, as U-M won seven of the eight events.
• Michigan's loss to MSU at Cliff Keen Arena snapped a four-match winning streak against the Spartans at home.
• Erin Moore has recorded 10 or more kills in all but two matches this season, including a career-high 14 straight.
• With her 16 kills, Moore is seven away from breaking the Michigan all-time record, held by Karen Chase (1,261 from 1995-98). Moore now has 1,274 terminations.
• Jennifer Gandolph registered her team-high 15th double-double She has posted a double-double in four of her last five outings, including three straight.
• Sarah Allen has registered 10 or more digs in nine of the last 10 matches, including seven straight. Allen has topped the 10-dig mark 14 times this year and on 15 occasions in her career.
• Candace Gay tied a career high with 11 kills and hit a career-best .500 (11-2-18). Gay has notched 11 kills in two of her last three matches.
• Erin Cobler's three block solos are a career high.
