Michigan
20-12
Rice
25-5
Bruzdzinski Powers Michigan Past Rice in NCAA Opener
12/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gym)
Score: Michigan def. Rice 3-1 (31-29, 24-30, 30-23, 30-20)
Records: U-M (20-12), Rice (25-5)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 4 -- at Texas at NCAA First and Second Rounds (Austin, Texas), 6:30 p.m. CST
AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Michigan volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament thanks to freshman Katie Bruzdzinski's (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) career-high 24 kills as the Wolverines grounded Rice, 3-1 (31-29, 24-30, 30-23, 30-20) Friday night (Dec. 3) at the University of Texas' Gregory Gym. Michigan will face host Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CST. The No. 6-seeded Longhorns clobbered Texas State 30-12, 30-22, 30-15 in Friday's second match.
Senior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) added 17 kills to the cause, while freshman Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) had 26 digs.
After coming out slowly in the first two games, Michigan pounded Rice 30-23 in game three behind a .704 attack percentage and then raised up its blocking in game four, notching five of the Maize and Blue's 15 blocks to move on.
With her performance, Bruzdzinski set a program record for kills in a freshman season, moving two ahead of current senior Gandolph. Bruzdzinski has 342 kills in her career.
After the teams split the first two games, Rice held a slim 12-11 advantage in game three until Bruzdzinski exploded for three straight kills, giving Michigan a 14-12 advantage. The Owls rebounded to knot it at 15-15, but Gandolph rose to the challenge, tallying four of the next five kills and putting U-M ahead 20-16. Michigan led by as many as seven, 27-20, and freshman Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida), sophomore Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) and sophomore Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) notched the final three kills to give Michigan a two-games-to-one lead.
The Wolverines came out on fire to start game four, leading 11-5 after Miller recorded back-to-back aces for the second time in her freshman season. Rice called timeout and promptly erupted on a 7-1 run to tie it up 12-12. Gandolph and Bruzdzinski recorded back-to-back kills to give Michigan a 14-12 lead, and despite closing to within one at 15-14, Rice was behind the rest of the way. With U-M leading 28-20, Cobler tallied a kill and then nailed an ace for the game as Michigan improved its NCAA first-round record to 5-1.
The Wolverines will look to move past the NCAA second round for the first time in school history when they face Texas Saturday night. The winner will earn a trip to the regional semifinals Dec. 10 in Green Bay, Wis.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "It was one of those matches where it was hard to get into a rhythm. I thought the turning point was in game three when Stesha (Selsky) made a great play under the net to save a ball and continue a rally. You could really see our team relax after a scramble play like that, and we did a good job as the match went on."
On playing Texas in the second round ... "We haven't seen much of their team except for some tape. Texas is a very good team. They have played a tough schedule and done well with it."
U-M Senior Lisa Gamalski
On playing against Mira Topic and Texas in the second round ... "We play against All-Americans every night in the Big Ten and I respect them and love playing against All-Americans. I hope she brings her best match tomorrow because playing against her and somebody like Texas -- those are the games that everyone who makes it to upper-level volleyball wants to play. We don't want to play in simple, easy matches."
On losing senior co-captain Sarah Allen to injury ... "It was devastating and we really weren't sure how it was going to work out. Stesha (Selsky) has really stepped up. She has fit right in without missing a beat."
N O T E S
• Michigan volleyball will compete in its 1,000th match tomorrow when it takes on Texas.
• Michigan advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five tries. Michigan is 5-1 in first-round matches all-time.
• Michigan recorded its second straight 20-win season with a victory over Rice. Michigan finished 21-12 in 2003. Michigan's last back-to-back 20-win seasons were in 1997 and 1998.
• Head coach Mark Rosen took sole possession of second place on Michigan's all-time wins list with his 105th victory with the Wolverines. He is tops in winning percentage and postseason appearances.
• Senior Jennifer Gandolph played in her 122nd match with the Wolverines, tying for third on the school's all-time list.
• Freshman Lyndsay Miller tied a career high with nine blocks, giving her 155 blocks in her career. Miller has moved into third place on the single-season blocks list, one shy of the second-best single-season blocker in Michigan history and U-M's all-time leading blocker, Katrina Lehman. Miller needs six more blocks to tie for first. Miller is already Michigan's single-season freshman leader for blocks.
• Sophomore Megan Bowman's three blocks moved her into 10th on Michigan's career blocks list.
