Michigan
7-0
Florida State
5-1
U-M Takes Battle of Unbeatens, Wins Tournament Title
9/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan def. Florida State 3-0 (30-25, 30-22, 30-21)
Records: U-M (7-0), FSU (5-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 17 -- vs. Virginia Tech at Michigan/Nike Invitational (Cliff Keen Arena), 11 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sophomore Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) led the University of Michigan volleyball team with 13 kills and added four blocks, while freshman Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) had nine kills and four blocks as the Maize and Blue rolled past previously undefeated Florida State in three games, 30-25, 30-22, 30-21, to claim the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge tournament championship Saturday night (Sept. 11) at at Cliff Keen Arena.
The win improves Michigan to a perfect 7-0 on the season, while Florida State drops to 5-1 with its first loss of the 2004 campaign. U-M's 7-0 start is the best in 21 years, next to the 8-0 start that the 1983 Wolverines put up to begin their campaign. No team has started better than 8-0 in school history.
Sophomore Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) added five kills and seven blocks in the championship match, while senior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) recorded 34 assists and seven blocks en route to tournament MVP honors.
Michigan out-hit the Seminoles .239 to .027 and recorded 11 blocks. Five Seminoles had negative hitting percentages, while Miller led Michigan with a whopping .818 (nine kills on 11 attempts with no errors).
In a scrappy first game, Michigan overcame an 18-17 deficit to take the lead for good thanks to a pair of Seminole miscues and a kill by sophomore Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter), making it 20-17 Michigan. U-M led by as much as six when freshman Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) served for four straight points to give the Wolverines a comfortable 25-19 edge. Pflum gave the Maize and Blue game point with a punishing kill, giving her seven finishers on 14 attempts in the first game alone.
After Bowman recorded a kill that knotted up game two, 6-6, U-M held the lead for good. Miller recorded five of her nine kills in the second game, hitting a spectacular .833.
Seven lead changes highlighted game three, but Michigan surged back after trailing 11-10 to lead for the rest of the deciding game.
Michigan competes in its final preseason tournament when it hosts the Michigan/Nike Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17-18, at Cliff Keen Arena. Virginia Tech, Western Michigan and Tennessee will all pay a visit to Ann Arbor.
Michigan/Pepsi Challenge All-Tournament Team
Lisa Gamalski, Michigan (MVP)
Jennifer Gandolph, Michigan
Lyndsay Miller, Michigan
Erin Cobler, Michigan
Amanda Santos, Florida State
Aisha Carr, Florida State
Becky Baltare, EMU
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the team's hot start ... "I'm just happy that we keep getting better. We show new ways to win each match and I'm seeing a lot of promise in some of the younger players while a lot of the older players are showing tons of leadership."
On the upcoming Michigan/Nike Invitational ... "We're in for a tough road next weekend. Virginia Tech is another tough ACC team, while Western Michigan is big, tall and a lot like Florida State up the middle. Tennessee is a strong, veteran club who will give us one of the toughest tests this season. These are the kinds of matches that you need in the preseason to prepare for the Big Ten schedule."
Freshman Lyndsay Miller
How does it feel to be contributing in your first season at U-M ... "Awesome, just awesome. I never expected to start, but I am having so much fun out there. The veterans have supported all of the freshmen from day one and we all work to make each other better each day. They're such a great bunch of teammates. I'm just so happy I can help."
Senior Lisa Gamalski
On the makeup of this season's team ... "You can feel it out there how much we pull for each other. No one is afraid and we have so much trust in each other's skills. Even the freshmen - we trust that they will make the right play and if they make mistakes we can shrug them off and move on. We are playing as a team and it feels so good to be able to be a part of it. I can trust our defense and our hitters which allows me to focus on what I need to do to help us win."
N O T E S
• Michigan is 7-0 to start the 2004 season, the best start since 1983 season when the Wolverines went 8-0 to start the year. No U-M volleyball squad has had a better start than 8-0 to begin a season.
• Senior Lisa Gamalski was named the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge MVP, giving her two tournament MVP awards in the past two weeks. Last week, Gamalski earned Manhattan College Invitational MVP honors for her part in helping U-M capture the Manhattan tourney crown.
• Senior Jennifer Gandolph was named to the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge All-Tournament Team, also giving her two all-tournament team honors in the last two weeks. Gandolph earned Manhattan College Invitational All-Tournament team honors last week. In 2003, Gandolph earned two all-tournament honors along with the Best Scorer and Best Defender awards at the Michigan/Nike Invitational.
