Michigan
9-9, 3-6Big Ten
Northwestern
12-7, 3-6Big Ten
Michigan Swept by Wildcats on Rock The House Night
10/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team struggled in its fourth straight defeat, losing 3-0 (29-31, 27-30, 31-33) to Northwestern Friday (Oct. 21) before a season-high home crowd of 1,351 at the 14th annual Rock The House night at Cliff Keen Arena.
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) powered the U-M offense with 16 kills and a .362 hitting percentage, while sophomore Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) tallied 24 digs in the match, including 19 through the first two games.
Michigan lost two close games and had a chance to force the match into a fourth period in the third, but the Wildcats survived five game points and eked out a 33-31 game-three victory to sweep the match.
The teams battled through 17 ties and eight lead changes in game one, but Northwestern scored back-to-back points with the score knotted at 29-29 for the win. Senior/junior Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) had five of her nine kills in the match in the opening stanza, while Selsky dug up a remarkable 10 balls to keep the Wolverines in the match. Freshman Elizabeth Raschke (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) made the first start of her collegiate career and tallied two kills, three digs and 14 assists in the loss.
Northwestern took a 7-6 lead to begin game two and never looked back, leading by as many as seven points, 27-20, and taking a two games to none lead with a 30-27 victory. Bruzdzinski led the U-M hitters with six kills on 12 swings, while Selsky maintained her defensive edge with nine digs.
In a back-breaking game three, Michigan rallied from a seven point, 10-3 deficit to take a 29-24 lead, but Northwestern survived five game points to sweep the match with a 33-31 win. Freshman Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) shined with six digs in the period, none bigger than momentum-shifting dive that helped Michigan gain advantage of the match with the score 10-3. Bruzdzinski did her best with eight kills off 19 attempts, while sophomore Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) added five kills and three blocks.
Northwestern seemed to have the match in hand after building a 10-3 lead, but Hance made a diving dig in the corner of the court and Michigan won a long rally to make it 10-4 and seemingly shift the momentum of the match. The Wolverines closed within five, down 12-7, when Hance served for eight straight points to give U-M the 15-12 advantage. Michigan outpaced Northwestern down the stretch and a Wildcat attack error brought up game point with the Wolverines ahead, 29-24.
Northwestern scored five points in a row to tie it at 29-29 when junior Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central), who had recorded her 500th career kill earlier in the night, nailed her fifth kill of the match to make it 30-29 Michigan. Northwestern tied it up again and then slammed the ball home on offense to put Michigan in jeopardy with the Wildcats up 31-30. Michigan staved off match point with a kill by Miller, but the Wildcats cobbled back-to-back points to sweep the night.
Michigan hosts No. 7 Wisconsin Saturday night (Oct. 22) at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.
N O T E S
Junior Megan Bowman recorded the 500th kill and 350th block of her collegiate career in the match against Northwestern.
Junior Megan Bowman is fiive blocks shy of moving into sixth place on U-M's all-time list.
Sophomore Stesha Selsky recorded the 750th dig of her collegiate career and has already posted the ninth-most single-season digs in U-M history, with at least 11 matches remaining in the season.
Michigan lost on Rock The House night for the first time in the last 11 years.
The home crowd of 1,351 fans marks a Michigan season high.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
