Michigan
9-1
Tennessee
9-1
Gamalski Records Triple-Double in Win Over Lady Vols
9/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan def. #22 Tennessee 3-1 (30-27, 19-30, 30-23, 30-20)
Records: U-M (9-1), Tennessee (9-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 24 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) of the University of Michigan volleyball team recorded the first triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 21digs and 42 assists in a 3-1 (30-27, 19-30, 30-23, 30-20) win over No. 22 Tennessee Saturday night (Sept. 18) in the championship match of the Michigan/Nike Invitational at Cliff Keen Arena.
Gamalski led all Wolverines in blocks and assists and earned her third tournament MVP trophy in a row. Senior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) led the Maize and Blue attack with 15 kills and 11 digs for her second straight double-double, while freshman Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) had 11 kills and six digs. Sophomore Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) also tallied double-digit kills with 10 finishers, adding seven blocks.
The victory gives the Wolverines three tournament titles in as many weeks. U-M, Tennessee and Western Michigan all finished with 2-1 tournament records, and the Wolverines earned the title based on the best games record (8-4) among the tied teams. UT was 7-4, while WMU went 7-7. Michigan is now 1-0 against ranked opponents in 2004.
In game one, Gamalski served for 10 points, helping the Wolverines rebound from a 25-21 deficit to take a 27-25 lead. Bowman recorded a block assist on three straight points, taking Michigan from a 25-23 deficit to take a 26-25 lead, while sophomore Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) teamed up on two of Boman's blocks and sophomore Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) helped out on the other. Gandolph recorded the match-winning kill and U-M claimed a 1-0 lead.
Tennessee stormed out to a 12-4 lead in game two and kept a comfortable distance from Michigan while outhitting the Wolverines, .147 to -.024.
Michigan came out of the intermission and led for the entire match, save for a 10-10 tie in the early going, led by five kills from Bruzdzinski and six digs from senior Sarah Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg). Michigan cruised to a 30-23 win and took a two-games-to-one lead heading into the pivotal fourth stanza.
Tennessee came out strong in game four and led 5-2, but Michigan rebounded to tie the score at nine thanks to a pair of kills by Gamalski and Bruzdzinski. From that point the Wolverines embarked on an 11-7 run, leading 21-16 before the Volunteers called timeout. U-M went on a 5-1 run to lead 26-17 out of the timeout thanks to three Volunteer errors forced by Allen's excellent serving. Michigan inched toward the title with heavy pressure on the Tennessee attackers, forcing three more errors to bring up game point at 29-20. With the Volunteers serving, Gandolph once again elevated and hammered the winning point, giving Michigan the victory.
Michigan opens the Big Ten Conference season on the road at Iowa on Friday (Sept. 24) at 7 p.m. CDT. The match will be the second in a row that the Wolverines will play on television. The match with Iowa will be broadcast on FOX Sports Chicago and will open the Big Ten television schedule. After taking on the Hawkeyes, Michigan will travel to Minnesota to face the No. 1 team in the country on Saturday (Sept. 25) at 7 p.m. CDT.
Michigan/Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team
Lisa Gamalski, Michigan (MVP)
Katie Bruzdzinski, Michigan
Megan Bowman, Michigan
Kristen Andre, Tennesee
Yuliya Stoyanova, Tennessee
Julie Knytych, Tennessee
Tinesha Tierney, Western Michigan
Q U O T E S
Tournament MVP Lisa Gamalski
Does this win make up for last night ... "Yes. We beat a good team who was at their best. They raised their level and still didn't have an answer for us. We played our system and came out on top. We've learned not to give up."
How does your third MVP trophy in a row feel... "It's nice, but I'm just very happy about the win. The trophies and honors are something I'll pay attention to at the end of the season."
How does it feel to have the first triple-double of your career ..."I just heard about that. It's pretty cool, but again, the win is the important thing. We have to keep improving and keep winning in order for anything else to matter."
N O T E S
• Lisa Gamalski recorded Michigan's first triple-double of the season with 10 kills, 21 digs and 42 assists. It is the first triple-double of Gamalski's career.
• U-M's win over No. 22 Tennessee is the second win over a top 25 program in three matches. Michigan downed Illinois late in 2003 but lost to Cal in the NCAA Tournament and defeated the Volunteers in the final of the Michigan/Nike Invitational.
• Michigan has won three straight preseason tournaments. Lisa Gamalski earned MVP honors in each of the tournaments as well.
• Jennifer Gandolph played in her 100th match for Michigan against Tennessee.
