Michigan
17-9, 7-8Big Ten
Minnesota
23-4, 12-3Big Ten
No. 5 Minnesota Needs Late Comeback to Nip Michigan
11/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) led the University of Michigan volleyball team with a double-double performance of 18 kills and 16 digs, recording the 1,500th kill of her career, while senior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) added her second straight triple-double with a career-high 11 kills, 27 digs and 48 assists but U-M was defeated 3-2 (30-28, 33-35, 30-19, 20-30, 15-12) by No. 5 Minnesota at Cliff Keen Arena on Saturday night (Nov. 12) in front of a record crowd of 2,058.
Four Wolverines notched double-digit kill performances including Gandolph, Gamalski, freshman Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), who tallied 16 kills and 17 digs, and sophomore Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central), who chipped in with 11 kills and seven blocks. Freshman Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) led Michigan with a career-high 30 digs, becoming the first Wolverine since Sept. 9, 2000, to record 30 digs or more in a match.
The Maize and Blue falls to 17-8 and 7-7 in the Big Ten, while Minnesota improves its record to 23-4 and 12-3 in the Big Ten.
After the Gophers forced game five, Michigan fell behind 8-3 before Gamalski sparked a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 8-7. Minnesota pointed next, but the Wolverines recovered and tied it, 10-10, on Gamalski's third ace of the night. The teams traded points, making it 11-11 when Minnesota scored consecutive points to pull ahead 13-11. The Wolverines forced an attack error in the next rally to close to 13-12, but Minnesota closed the match out with the final two points for the come-from-behind victory.
In game four, the Maize and Blue matched Minnesota point for point until a back set by Gamalski resulted in a kill by freshman Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) to put Michigan within one point, 14-15. Four straight kills by the Golden Gophers gave them a four-point lead, 18-14, and Minnesota went on a five-point run, pulling ahead of Michigan 23-16. The Golden Gophers continued to pull away and took game four 30-20 to even the match at two games apiece.
Michigan broke into the third game determined to send Minnesota to East Lansing with a loss for the first time since the 2001 season. U-M tallied an early 8-3 lead thanks to an explosive attack as six different Wolverines recorded kills to propel U-M over the Gophers 30-19. Michigan out-hit Minnesota .320 to .058 in game three, led by five kills from Gandolph and Bowman.
In game two, U-M allowed the Golden Gophers to take an early lead but remained within four points until mid-game when the Maize and Blue unleashed two kills by Gandolph and sophomore Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter), followed by two Minnesota attack errors. A service ace by Gamalski and another Minnesota attack error tied the game up 24-24. Minnesota's Erin Martin connected on a swing, making the game 24-25 when a kill by Gandolph knotted the game at 25-25. Minnesota answered on a swing by Martin to put the game at 25-26, but a kill by Bruzdinski made it 27-28 followed by two Minnesota attack errors, tying the game 28-28.
Another Minnesota kill put the Gophers up 29-28 until two straight attack errors gave Michigan the lead, 30-29. Minnesota bounced back from game point and led 33-32 when sophomore Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) put one down the middle to tie the game up 33-33. Minnesota finally edged ahead of the Wolverines and finished it with a kill by Lindsay Taatjes, taking the game 35-33 and tying the match up at one game a piece.
Minnesota started game one with an early run, scoring eight points to Michigan's two until the Wolverines connected for six kills, bringing them within three points, down 15-12. The Gophers kept their lead but U-M kept on its toes and tied the game up at 21-21. A kill by Minnesota's Taatjes made the score 28-27 until a kill by Miller tied the game at 28, followed by a Gandolph kill to put Michigan at game point. A service ace by senior/junior Alicia Boswell (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson) wrapped the game up, 30-28, to put Michigan ahead one game to none.
Michigan hosts Iowa on Saturday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan volleyball will host Kids' Carnival Night and fans will be admitted free with a Michigan football ticket stub from the afternoon game against Northwestern.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
