Michigan
9-3, 1-0Big Ten
Ohio State
6-3, 0-1Big Ten
Michigan Begins Big Ten Play with Sweep of Buckeyes
9/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score:Â Michigan 3, Ohio State 0 (37-35, 30-24, 30-24)
Records:Â U-M (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten), OSU (6-3, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event:Â Saturday, Sept. 27 -- vs. Penn State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team opened the Big Ten Conference portion of its schedule in fine fashion on Friday night (Sept. 26), delighting the capacity crowd of 1,314 with a 3-0 (37-35, 30-24, 30-24) victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 12th annual "Rock The House" at Cliff Keen Arena. Junior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and senior Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) led the Wolverines with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, as Michigan won its sixth straight match.
U-M, which has now won eight of its last nine matches, improved its record to 5-1 at home. The Wolverines played in front of their largest crowd of the season and second gathering to top the 1,000 mark.
Ohio State tried to take the crowd out of the match right away in game one, bolting to a 6-2 lead before the Wolverines settled down the game and fought back to a 7-7 tie. The stanza remained pretty even until OSU's Stacey Gordon went back to serve, resulting in a spark for the Buckeyes that saw them score four straight points to go up 21-15. Ohio State kept the lead late into the game and was up 28-25 with the serve, but U-M started a comeback that would eventually swing the momentum in the match completely in favor of the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes committed two straight attack errors and junior Alicia Boswell (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS) recorded an ace to tie the game at 28-28, then the teams traded points, with U-M fighting off five game-point attempts by the Buckeyes and eventually tying the score at 34-34 on a kill by freshman Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville HS). OSU made an attack error to give U-M game point at 35-34 but tied the game at 35-35 when Briana McCarthy dumped it over the net. Moore gave U-M game point again with a kill on the ensuing serve before Gordon handed the game to the Wolverines with an attack error.
With momentum on their side, the Wolverines jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second game and never looked back, leading the entire way to a 30-24 victory. Game three was much of the same, as the teams traded the first two points before Michigan opened up a 15-6 lead and closed out the match with another 30-24 win.
In addition to leading U-M in kills, Gandolph recorded a career-high seven blocks, including a career-best three solos, as Michigan outblocked the Buckeyes 14.5-11. Freshman Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central HS) also added six blocks, including two solos, and eight kills, while Pflum, who came in to replace senior Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) in game one, notched a season-high six kills. Moore also added five block assists to aid the U-M defense. Junior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) ran the offense with 41 assists and led the team with seven digs.
The Wolverines will close out the weekend on Saturday (Sept. 27), hosting 12th-ranked Penn State at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the unforced errors and players out of position in the first game ... "I thought we just played smarter. If you look the stats we made 12 errors in game one and then we made 11 errors in the next two games. So obviously we were making too many errors in game one. We just tried to calm the girls down. I just think our team was real excited tonight. It's hard; it's an emotional match, it's a big rival, it's a big crowd, it's the first Big Ten match. They were just nervous and we just tried to settle into the match. Even later in the game I thought we were still a little bit tight. I thought we did a pretty good job in supporting them through."
On coming from behind in game one and gaining the momentum ... "I certainly credit our team for the fight and competitiveness to be able to come back and win game one. We were way down in that game, fought our way back in and were able to pull it out. I think that was certainly a tough hurdle for them to get over. If that game had gone the other way, you never know. Momentum was starting to get back and could've certainly gone the way as quickly."
On tonight's rotation ... "We had to make an adjustment because Chantel Reedus came out a little bit tight. She is still battling with her knees. They are a big blocking team and I didn't think she would be successful because they are a big blocking team. Danielle Pflum came in and did a great job off the bench as a freshmen. It gave us an opportunity to use Erin Cobler to serve more because she is one of our best servers. We are just trying to get people in there who can help us. I thought as a team we filled roles really well. Every match is could be different how we fill those roles. I think this team is really focused in being good as a team and not necessarily worried about what happens individually, so they are ready to go in and fill those roles. I really thought they did a great job of that tonight."
U-M Senior Middle Blocker Erin Moore
On the match ... "I don't think I got set in game one. I think in game one we were just nervous and the crowd was unbelievable tonight. We were all jacked up to play our first Big Ten match. We stuck with it, we were patient and we ended up with a win. In that second game we were more calm and we were able to come out and dominate."
On the importance of the rally in the first game ... "Especially when the game is really close like that every rally matters. If you win a really long rally the momentum goes to your team. When it gets to be like that then you have to win it."
NOTES
• Michigan has won eight of its last nine matches, including a season-high six straight, equaling the longest winning streak of head coach Mark Rosen's U-M career.
• U-M is now 10-2 during "Rock The House" and has won nine straight matches.
• The crowd of 1,314 was the largest crowd during "Rock The House" since the 1997 campaign.
• Jennifer Gandolph has posted 10 or more kills in 10 of her last 11 matches.
• Gandolph recorded a career-high seven blocks, topping her previous mark of five, while her three block solos are also a career best, eclipsing her previous total of two.
• Erin Moore has recorded 10 or more kills in 10 of her last 11 matches.
• Danielle Pflum's six kills are a career high.
