Michigan
2-2
Murray State
0-1
Michigan Downs Murray State in Three in Home Opener
9/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, Murray State 0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-27)
Records: U-M (2-2), MSU (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 6 -- vs. Texas A&M at Michigan/Pepsi Challenge (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Opening the home portion of the 2003 campaign, the University of Michigan volleyball team swept visiting Murray State, 3-0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-27), Friday night (Sept. 5) to open play in the 2003 Michigan/Pepsi Challenge. The Wolverines used a balanced attack led by senior Erin Moore (Tiffin, Ohio/Columbian HS) and junior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), who each posted a double-double as Michigan continued its home-court dominance that has been established over the past few seasons.
Four Wolverines reached double-digit kills totals, led by Moore (14) and Gandolph (13), while senior Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) chipped in 11 and senior Chantel Reedus (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) notched 10. Gandolph and Moore also doubled up on their dig totals, posting 13 and 10, respectively, to pace the squad. Moore also led the blocking effort with seven blocks, including a team-high six assists, while junior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) added five block assists in addition to her match-high 39 helpers.
In game one, Michigan overcame an early three-point deficit and put together three successive serving streaks behind freshman Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central HS), Poquette and sophomore Alicia Boswell (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS) to take control of the game for good. In the second stanza, U-M was down 24-20 but battled back behind the play of Gandolph, who recorded four kills and a service ace as the Wolverines gained the lead at 28-27 and held on for the win.
Game three was tight throughout until Michigan took four straight points to gain a 28-25 advantage for the game's largest lead. The Racers fought back to 28-27, including an ace, but Gandolph reversed the trend with a kill, then provided some blocking assistance to end the match.
The Wolverines hit .256 for the match, led by Poquette's .474 percentage, while the Racers were held to .210, including a sub-.200 mark in the final two frames.
Michigan will continue play in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge on Saturday (Sept. 6), hosting Texas A&M at 7 p.m.
In Friday's first match, Texas A&M (4-0) took a 2-0 lead in the match, then had to hold on for dear life to defeat No. 16 Louisville (1-4), downing the Cardinals 30-22, 30-26, 28-30, 32-30. Laura Jones led A&M with 17 kills and 13 digs, while Beth Skypala posted 15 kills and a team-high 19 digs. Melissa Munsch also racked up 13 kills in addition to a match-high nine blocks to keep the Aggies undefeated. Sonja Percan led Louisville with 24 kills.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On what went well to result in a three-game sweep ... "I think last week we weren't in sync very much. I thought today we were much more in the system. We had a lot of rhythm and tempo to what we did. That's something we worked on this week. Defensively, we were better, which makes a huge difference. I thought we did a good job of adjusting to them. Murray State is a team with four really good players that will adjust and do unusual things and I thought our team did an excellent job as the match went on. We got better and figured out what they were going to do, and by the middle of the game our players had a pretty good idea about what they could expect."
On game-planning for a team with four international (Chinese) players ... "They bring a different style to the game. They're trained very differently. Our assistant coach (Jun Liu) is from China, so we got a little bit of experience from that. It's a very different style and they posed a lot of problems, different problems. They weren't a very physical team. They didn't hit the ball very hard. They didn't go really fast. Their offense is fast and they move around quickly. You don't see that very often, so I thought our kids did a good job of adjusting to that."
On being able to put each game away after Murray State cut the deficit ... "I think in games two and three I was really pleased with how we finished the game. It was close, nervous. That's where we were able to get our focus tighter, make a few great offensive plays, make some great service plays and pull away by three or four points. That's a good sign for us this early in the season."
On playing at home for the first time of the season ... "We need to get better on the road and so that's something where we have to be on the road in order to do. But we like playing here. We love the crowd and we love the facility. We just feel comfortable here and it showed. It's good to be home."
NOTES
• Jennifer Gandolph, who has posted 10 or more kills in her last three matches, recorded her second double-double of the season.
• Erin Moore recorded her first double-double of the season. Moore has hit in double figures in 51 of her 81 career matches, including three times this year.
• Lisa Galamski's five block assists tie a career high for blocks and block assists, set against Alabama on Sept. 13, 2002.
• Nicole Poquette's 11 kills and eight assists are season highs.
• The meeting between the Wolverines and Racers was the first-ever in volleyball.
