Michigan
9-4, 1-1Big Ten
Penn State
13-1, 2-0Big Ten
Michigan Drops Five-Gamer to 12th-Ranked Penn State
9/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score:Â #12 Penn State 3, Michigan 2 (31-29, 31-33, 32-30, 26-30, 15-12)
Records:Â U-M (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten), PSU (13-1, 2-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event:Â Wednesday, Oct. 1 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team forced No. 12 Penn State to a deciding fifth game on Saturday night (Sept. 27) at Cliff Keen Arena but could not close out the match as the Nittany Lions posted a 3-2 (31-29, 31-33, 32-30, 26-30, 15-12) victory and snapped the Wolverines' six-match winning streak. Junior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and senior Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) each hit the 20-kill mark in the match to lead U-M, with Gandolph recording a career-high 29 terminations while Moore notched 20.
A season-high 1,486 fans filed into Keen Arena for the tightly played match, which went 2:25 -- U-M's longest match of the year. Michigan recorded more kills (91) and digs (67) than Penn State (83 and 59) and tied the Nittany Lions in blocking with 12 each, but the match came down to a 6-1 run by Penn State in the fifth game that put too much distance between it and the Wolverines.
In the fifth game, both teams traded points to get the score to 6-6, then Penn State went on its run, scoring six of the next seven points to open up a 12-7 lead. Michigan tried to get back in the game, closing the gap at 14-12, but Penn State's Ashley Pederson ended the match with a kill to make the final 15-12.
The match began in runs by each team as the Lions and Wolverines would score four or five points in a row, then allow the other team to do the same. Things tightened up at 17-17, at which point the two squads began trading points. Michigan had a chance for game point at 29-28, but Penn State responded with a kill by Cassy Salyer before receiving a point on a ball-handling error by junior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) and blocking senior Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) to win game one 31-29.
Game two also needed extra points as the Wolverines fought from a four-point deficit at 18-14 to battle back into the game, eventually taking the lead at 28-27. Penn State fought off Michigan's first chance at game point, then failed to close out the match with a 31-30 lead before kills be Moore and Gandolph, plus a block by Gandolph and freshman Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central HS) gave the second frame to U-M, 33-31.
In game three, neither team could distance itself from the other as the stanza came down to the final points. With the score tied 28-28, Gandolph gave U-M a crack at game point with a kill, then committed an attack error to tie the score again at 29. PSU's Pederson failed in her attack attempt to give Michigan another chance at game point, but an error by Moore and back-to-back blocks by Penn State put the Nittany Lions up 2-1 with a 32-30 victory.
Michigan battled back in the fourth game, opening up a 10-5 lead before Penn State could get going. The Nittany Lions fought back, eventually taking a lead they held onto for most of the game, until four straight kills by freshman Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville HS) gave U-M a 23-21 lead. Michigan held off Penn State the rest of the way, recording a 30-26 victory and forcing game five.
Pflum finished the match with a career-high 16 kills and three blocks. Gandolph, who topped the 20-kill mark for the ninth time in her career, recorded her eighth double-double of the season with a team-high 17 digs and added four blocks, including one solo. Gamalski notched a career-high 73 assists and 15 digs in the loss, while Poquette helped out defensively with 13 digs. Moore notched her fourth double-double of the year, adding 10 digs, and teamed with Bowman to lead the team in blocking, with each recording five assists.
The Wolverines will hit the road for their next match, traveling to East Lansing, Mich., on Wednesday (Oct. 1) to face No. 14 Michigan State in the first match of the annual State Pride Series. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. at Jenison Field House on the MSU campus.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "I thought it was a great match. It was back and forth -- lots of little momentum streaks. I was really proud of how our kids played. I thought we played very, very good tonight. I think we got hurt a little bit in consistency. We were a little more streaky than they were. In the 30-point games, I thought we got away with it because it was long enough that we could give up a little bit and fight back in and be okay at the end. I thought the fifth game we gave up a little streak there right in the middle, but it was short enough that we couldn't catch back up. If that game goes to 30, we've got a lot more time to catch up. But 15 you can't afford those two-, three-, four-point swings and that's what hurt us in that game. But overall I thought we played a good match. Just physically, in a lot of areas that are critical, we were actually better than them, but it comes down to points. We have to win those critical points, and in the fifth game, we have got to be more consistent in the middle of that game."
NOTES
• The loss to Penn State snapped a season-high six-match winning streak for the Wolverines.
• Jennifer Gandolph's 29 kills are a career high, topping her previous mark of 23.
• Gandolph, who recorded her team-best eighth double-double of the year, has posted 10 or more kills in 11 of her last 12 matches.
• Erin Moore has recorded 10 or more kills in 11 of her last 12 matches. She notched her fourth double-double of the season with 20 kills and 10 digs.
• Moore's 20 kills mark her third 20-kill match of the year and seventh of her career.
• Lisa Gamalski's 73 assists are a career high, topping the 67 she recorded at Tennessee earlier in the year. In addition, Gamalski tied a season high with nine kills and set a season high with 15 digs.
• Danielle Pflum's 16 kills and three blocks are both career highs. Pflum took a career-high 34 attempts, 20 more than her previous best.
