Michigan
6-3
Tennessee
7-2
U-M Captures Tournament With Wild Win Over Lady Vols
9/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Knoxville, Tenn. (Stokely Athletics Center)
Score:Â Michigan 3, Tennessee 2 (23-30, 30-27, 27-30, 30-24, 15-11)
Records:Â U-M (6-3), Tennessee (7-2)
Next U-M Event:Â Saturday, Sept. 20 -- vs. Central Michigan at Michigan/Nike Challenge (Cliff Keen Arena), noon
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After seeing minimal playing time against East Tennessee State on Friday (Sept. 12) and sitting out the Saturday morning match (Sept. 13) against Cal State-Fullerton, senior Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) recorded a career-high 19 kills and hit .429 as the University of Michigan volleyball team downed the host Tennessee Lady Volunteers by a 3-2 margin (23-30, 30-27, 27-30, 30-24, 15-11) Saturday night to capture the Toyota LV Classic at the Stokely Athletics Center. Three other Wolverines reached double figures in kills, including a match-high 20 by senior Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS), as U-M won its first road tournament since the 2000 campaign.
With the win, the Wolverines have won their last two tournaments and have taken five of their last six matches. In addition, the victory snapped a six-match road losing streak, dating back to last season, and marked U-M's first win in an opponent's building since a 3-1 victory at Michigan State on Oct. 31, 2002.
The contest was a dramatic championship match that lasted two hours and 22 minutes and included a court delay in the beginning of the second game that stopped the match for 44 minutes. U-M and Tennessee finished in a virtual dead heat in every statistical category as the Wolverines handed the Lady Vols their second loss of the year and extended their winning streak to three matches.
In addition to Poquette's career night, junior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) added 18 kills and a match-high 21 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while senior Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) contributed 10 kills. Moore, who also took a career-high 54 attempts in the match, led the Wolverines' blocking efforts with six total, including five assists, and had 10 digs. Junior Sarah Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburgh HS) also chipped in defensively with a career-high 19 digs, while junior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) added 10 digs while dishing out a career-best 67 assists.
Moore was named tournament MVP for the second straight week, while Gamalski and Gandolph also earned all-tournament team nods. Tennessee's Julie Knytych, Kristen Andre and Sarah Blum rounded out the six-member squad.
In game one, the Wolverines jumped out to a 5-3 lead after two attack errors by the Lady Vols. After Tennessee responded with a kill by Kristen Andre, U-M committed five straight attack errors to give UT a 9-5 advantage. Michigan fought back, gaining two points on a pair of attack errors by Tennessee and a kill by Gandolph, then after the Lady Vols regained the serve, U-M scored three more times, including two kills by Poquette and an ace by Gamalski, to take an 11-10 lead. The game remained close until UT built up a three-point advantage at 16-13 and secured the lead for good, never letting the Wolverines get closer than two points en route to a 30-23 victory.
Game two began with a 1-1 tie before the court broke, halting the match for 44 minutes. The playing surface, a sectioned wooden floor, caved in near the net, requiring the match to be moved to the other side of the Stokely Athletic Center.
When play resumed, the Lady Vols came out firing, taking four of the next five points to build a 5-2 advantage. After the teams traded a pair of points to get the score to 7-4, Michigan fought back and scored six of the next seven points to take a 10-8 lead. Gandolph factored in on three of the points during the stretch, recording two kills and a block assist, then served to help the Wolverines take the lead. UT came back to tie the game at 10-10, but another Michigan run of five straight points behind kills by Gamalski and Reedus, plus three attack errors by the Lady Vols, put U-M up 15-10. Tennessee continued to chip away at the lead, eventually tying it at 20-20, but the Wolverines regained the lead for good immediately, scoring three straight points to take a 23-20 lead. Moore recorded three kills down the stretch to help U-M go ahead 29-24, but the Lady Vols rallied, scoring three straight to come within two at 29-27 before Gandolph slammed the door with a kill to give U-M the victory and tie the match at one game each.
In the third game, the Wolverines took an 8-7 lead and held on for the majority of the game, leading by as many as four points. With the game winding down and the score 21-17 in favor of Michigan, the Lady Vols scored four straight points on two kills by Andre and a pair of attack errors by Gandolph to tie the game at 21-21. Gandolph redeemed herself with a pair of kills to put U-M up 23-21, but the Lady Vols came back, scoring eight of the next 10 points to take over the lead and go up 29-25. The Wolverines went on a rally of their own to try and salvage the game, pulling within two on kills by Poquette and Reedus, but a service error by freshman Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central HS) ended the game and gave UT a 2-1 advantage in the match with a 30-27 victory.
The fourth game was close throughout as neither team could get more than a two-point advantage. The Wolverines took the biggest lead near the end of the stanza when a kill by Bowman and two spikes by Poquette put U-M up 25-22. After Tennessee regained the serve, an error by the Lady Vols and two kills by Reedus vaulted the Wolverines to a 29-24 lead. An attack error by UT ended the game at 30-24 and propelled U-M to the fifth and deciding game.
Michigan opened the fifth game with a 3-0 lead, but the Lady Vols responded and tied the game at 5-5. Not to be denied, the Wolverines took five of the next six points to gain a 10-6 advantage before UT closed the gap at 10-8. Gandolph added a kill, and an attack error by Tennessee put U-M back up by four at 12-8, but the Vols would not go away, coming within two points at 13-11 before committing a pair of attack errors to give the game and match to Michigan, 15-11.
The Wolverines (6-3) will return home for their final tuneup before entering Big Ten Conference play, hosting the Michigan/Nike Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan will face Central Michigan at noon before finishing the day with a 7:30 p.m. match against Valparaiso.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "We beat a very good team, and we're glad to get out of here alive. Tennessee came out on fire in the first game, then after the court broke and we had that long delay, their momentum was gone. It was a nice match to win."
NOTES
• Michigan's win at Tennessee snapped a six-match road losing streak, dating back to last season, and marked U-M's first win in an opponent's building since Oct. 31, 2002, at Michigan State.
• Michigan, which has won its last two tournaments, won its first road tournament since the 2000 campaign when it capture the Arkansas Bank of Fayetteville Invitational.
• Michigan has won five of its last six matches, including three straight.
• Erin Moore has been named MVP of the Wolverines' last two tournaments. In her career, she has been honored as a tournament MVP on three occasions.
• Jennifer Gandolph has posted 10 or more kills in seven of her last eight matches. She recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 18 kills, tying a season high, and a season-high 21 digs. Her 21 digs marked only the second time in her career she has topped the 20-dig plateau.
• Erin Moore has hit in double figures in 56 of her 86 career matches, including eight straight times this year. Moore's 20 kills tied a season high and marked the sixth time in her career she has topped the 20-kill mark. In addition, she recorded her second double-double of the year with 20 kills and 10 digs. Moore also took a career-high 54 swings during the match, which broke her previous high of 50, set against Illinois on Nov. 24, 2001.
• Nicole Poquette's 19 kills are a career high, eclipsing the 17 she recorded at Purdue on Nov. 22, 2002. Poquette also took a career-high 35 attempts, breaking her previous mark of 33, set against the Boilermakers.
• Megan Bowman recorded a season-high eight kills.
• Lisa Gamalski's 67 assists are a career high, topping the 65 she recorded at Iowa on Sept. 27, 2002. Her nine kills and 10 digs are season highs.
• Sarah Allen's 19 digs are a career high, breaking her previous high of 14 against No. 16 Louisville last Sunday (Sept. 7).
