Michigan
20-13
Texas
26-4
Michigan Falls in Four at Texas in NCAA Second Round
12/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gym)
Score: Michigan lost to #11 Texas 1-3 (19-30, 27-30, 30-23, 28-30)
Records: U-M (20-13), Texas (26-4)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
AUSTIN, Texas -- After dropping the first two games, the University of Michigan volleyball team won the third game and pulled even at 28-28 in the fourth before falling to No. 6 seed Texas on Saturday (Dec 4) in the NCAA Tournament second round at UT's Gregory Gym. Game scores were 19-30, 27-30, 30-23, 28-30. Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central HS) tied her career high with 11 blocks, helping the Wolverines to a season-best 17 rejections.
The Wolverines outhit (.201-.156) and outblocked (17-9) the 11th-ranked Longhorns, but U-M committed 15 service errors against one ace, while Texas registered nine aces with seven errors and had a 66-59 edge in digs.
Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) had a team-high 15 kills to lead four Wolverines in double digits, while Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Other top U-M performances came from Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida HS), who hit .409 with 10 kills and one error in 22 swings, and Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount HS), who racked up a match-high 25 digs.
Michigan opened the second-round match on shaky ground, falling behind early and failing to consistently sideout against the Longhorns. The Wolverines were their own worst enemies in game two, committing eight service errors and recorded zero aces in a close loss, falling behind two games. At that point something clicked in the Wolverines, who came out in the third and dominated on both sides of the ball, then rallied from behind in the fourth to tie it at 28-28 before Texas inched by for the win.
Texas stayed a few steps ahead in game four, leading 20-14 thanks to the resurgent play of senior Mira Topic, but Gandolph powered Michigan on a 5-2 run to pull the Wolverines within three, trailing 22-19. U-M cut the deficit to two with a kill by Bruzdzinski and another block, this one from Miller, to make it 23-21 Texas. Topic willed the Longhorns to two points with a kill and an ace to give the Longhorns a 25-21 lead, but Cobler blocked a UT attack, keying a 4-2 Michigan resurgence and pulling the Wolverines within two, 27-25.
The Longhorns rebounded with a kill, but Gandolph and Bruzdzinski hit back-to-back kills to make it 28-27 Texas. Cobler tied it at 28-28 after Texas called a timeout, but Texas scored next, bringing up game point. Texas senior Bethany Howden stepped to the service line with four aces already and jammed Michigan's defense for a fifth to squeak Texas into the Sweet 16.
Michigan rallied in game three with a strong defensive effort, turning a 9-7 deficit into a 12-9 lead on back-to-back-to-back blocks by a combination of Bowman, Gandolph and Cobler. Texas tied it up on three straight points, but Michigan kicked off a 5-0 run with two more blocks to lead 17-12. The Wolverines maintained their lead by out-hitting Texas .268 to .067 and recording six blocks against the Longhorns, including six block assists from Bowman.
Texas jumped out to a double-digit, 18-8 lead in game one, but Bowman and Cobler got the Wolverines back in it with key blocks, igniting Michigan on a 6-0 run and cutting the deficit to 18-14. The Longhorns responded in kind with a 9-3 run to put themselves ahead by double-digits again, 27-17, and cruised to a game one victory.
The Longhorns jumped out of the gates quickly in game two and led by six, 22-16, until the Wolverines regained their fight, embarking on a 7-1 run sparked by a pair of kills from Cobler, a blistering drive by Gandolph and a block by Bowman and Cobler to tie the game at 23-23. Serving for its first lead of game two, Michigan hit the net, giving Texas a gift point and the lead, 24-23. Bruzdzinski rallied U-M with a kill to tie it at 24-24, but Texas put together a pair of points to take a 26-24 lead and force U-M into a timeout.
Out of the pause, Miller hit a great shot down the middle on a slide to pull the Wolverines within one, 26-25, but another Michigan service error gave Texas another gift, and the 27-25 lead. The Longhorns scored again to make it 28-25, but Miller inched the Wolverines closer with another kill making it 28-26 until the unthinkable, another U-M service error, gave Texas a 29-27 lead.
Michigan finishes the 2004 campaign with a 20-13 record, posting the seventh 20-win season in program history and giving U-M back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time since 1980-81. The Wolverines' sensational freshman class rewrote Michigan's history books, setting new standards for kills, digs and blocks, while four graduating seniors will retire among the best in four separate career lists including kills, digs, assists and hitting attempts. In addition, Michigan shattered attendance records at Cliff Keen rena for total attendance, average attendance and 1,000-plus fan matches.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match ... "I thought Texas played well tonight. They're a very good team, and they've certainly got a very good chance of advancing in the tournament, but I'm proud of how our team played. Our kids came in and played hard. They were down 2-0 and fought to get back into the match. I thought they did an excellent job with the environment. In the end we hurt ourselves with too many errors. When you have more kills than the other team, have a higher hitting percentage and you out-defend your opponent, you expect to win the match."
On adjustments made after being down 2-0 ... "We are a competitive team. We knew what we were struggling with and that we had to come out and clean up our execution. In game two, we just gave them too many free points, and I thought in game three we came back and changed that. We have a young team, and I think that's one thing that has plagued us a little bit."
On defending Mira Topic ... "I thought we did a good job against her tonight. She's the Big 12 Player of the Year, and rightfully so. I thought, blocking-wise, we did a very effective job against her. It was certainly one of our game plans. Any team that plays Texas knows the game is going to go through Mira, and I thought our girls did a great job with it. Not only did we block her well, but we defended her well, too."
On Michigan's blocking ... "It's been a pretty good part of our game. It's something we've spent a lot of time on and we feel like it's one of our strengths defensively. I thought our blockers did a great job all season, but tonight they did an exceptional job."
Michigan Senior Jennifer Gandolph
On Mira Topic ... "We've been facing players like her all year, so we really didn't have to change anything. We knew we had to press hard on our blocking and stay inside when we were defending. We did what we've been doing all year against All-Americans."
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
His thoughts on the match ... "It was a tough match for us. I thought we came out and really executed well in games one and two. Our serving was critical to the success of our team. In game three we got a little tight, but we were able to work through it. In game four, Bethany [Howden] made two big plays in a row with a block and a jump serve. That is what this tournament is about; we are playing so many good teams and there are so many upsets so you really have to take care of your side, and I was pleased with the freshmen and sophomores, and the two seniors. We were able to execute and will be back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998."
On preparing for Michigan ... "We thought we could have a chance of winning this match by containing their outside. We were overloading big on their outside, going in more one-on-one and trying to get them off the net. I thought we did a good job with that tonight."
On Michigan's blocking ... "Their blocking is very solid. For us to be able to execute, we have to drive hard and be able to create some gaps. In that conference [Big Ten], they are playing the best. We need to make better decisions in regards to attacking selections."
On sitting Mira Topic in Game 3 ... "She was not in a rhythm and could not find her groove early on. Sometimes you just need to take a step back. We had (Assistant) Coach (Brian) Hosfeld sit down and talk with her a little bit, and she came out much stronger as the match went on. We've talked extensively about players not having their 'A' game every night. We are going to have to surround that with our team and be able to come to the rescue. Tonight wasn't one of Mira's best performances, but we won. We didn't win pretty, but we fought hard and executed at the end which is what it is all about."
Texas Senior Bethany Howden
On the match and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen ... "Tonight was a very tough game for us. We won ugly and it wasn't our best game, but we won and we are moving forward and that is all that matters. We are very excited."
On playing at home ... "Playing at home and having the crowd at your gym and sleeping in your own bed is definitely a factor. Our fans are always amazing and the student section was exceptional tonight. The fans were great, and we really enjoyed it."
N O T E S
• Michigan volleyball competed in its 1,000th match against No. 11 Texas tonight. Michigan's all-time record is 490-503-7.
• Michigan advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five tries. U-M has only been knocked out in the first round of the tourney once but has never advanced past the second round.
• Michigan recorded its second straight 20-win season. Michigan finished 21-12 in 2003. Michigan's last back-to-back 20-win seasons were in 1997 and 1998.
• Senior Jennifer Gandolph played in her 123rd match with the Wolverines, third on the school's all-time list.
• Freshman Lyndsay Miller moved into second place on the single-season blocks list, just one block shy of tying for the most blocks in a single season. Miller set the record for blocks by a freshman with 160.
• Sophomore Megan Bowman tied a career high with 11 blocks against No. 11 Texas. Bowman's top two blocking performances have both come in the NCAA Tournament. Bowman had 11 blocks against Colorado in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
• Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski had her ninth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs against No. 11 Texas. Bruzdzinski had double-doubles in both NCAA Tournament matches. Her 36 kills were tops for Michigan in the 2004 NCAA Tournament as Bruzdzinski averaged 4.50 kills per game.
