Michigan
10-9, 4-6
Wisconsin
16-3, 8-2
Wolverines Top Seventh-Ranked Badgers in Five Games
10/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In the biggest upset in University of Michigan volleyball history, the Wolverines outlasted No. 7-ranked Wisconsin on Saturday (Oct. 22), winning 3-2 (30-24, 18-30, 30-28, 25-30, 16-14) and handing the Badgers just their third loss on the season. In the process the Wolverines snapped their four-match losing streak and earned their first victory over the Badgers in head coach Mark Rosen's tenure.
The win was Rosen's 13th over a top-25 program while with the Wolverines and his second over a seventh-ranked program. The No. 7 Badgers are the highest ranked opponent that the Wolverines have defeated in program history, tied with No. 7 BYU, which fell to Michigan in 1999 in Rosen's first match at the helm of the Wolverines. The win over Wisconsin also marked the 500th victory in program history.
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) set the pace on offense with 26 kills, while sophomore Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) had a career-best 19 kills and 25.5 points with a .410 attack percentage while adding eight blocks. Sophomore Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) anchored the U-M defense once again with 26 digs, while freshman Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) tied a career high with 13 digs and equaled a career best with two aces. Bruzdzinski also chipped in 10 digs.
Michigan took games one and three, but the Badgers stiffened in game four to force an extra period. In the fifth game, Michigan turned an 8-8 tie into a 12-9 lead on a pair of kills from senior/junior Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) and a termination from junior Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville). Wisconsin called timeout and exploded out of the break, knotting the game at 12-12. The clubs tied at 13-13 and again at 14-14 when Bruzdzinski hammered her 26th kill of the night to force game point. Sophomore/freshman Mara Martin's (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic) serve forced the Badgers out of system and the Wolverine defense forced Wisconsin into an attack error for the victory. Pflum finished game five with four kills, hitting .429, while Bruzdzinski, Cobler and Miller each came up big with three kills apiece.
Michigan took game one on the strength of a .410 attack percentage, powered by eight kills from Bruzdzinski and five each from Miller and Pflum in a 30-24 win. Pflum led the team with a .625 hitting percentage, while Miller hit .571 and Bruzdzinski .500. Michigan trailed by two, 6-4, but tied the score on back-to-back kills from Miller and then did not face a deficit for the remainder of the period.
Wisconsin rebounded in game two with a dominant performance, holding Michigan to just a .182 attack percentage and outblocking the Wolverines 4-1 in a 30-18 win. Bruzdzinski kept Michigan in the game offensively with six kills, while Selsky added eight digs on defense.
The Wolverines won a scrappy game three, 30-28, despite being on the wrong side of the stat sheet in hitting percentage, kills, digs, blocks and errors. Miller shone with six kills, two blocks and the game-winning ace, while Bruzdzinski added six terminations and Selsky was all over the floor with nine digs. The Wolverines clawed through 14 ties and nine lead changes to find themselves knotted at 28-28 with the Badgers holding serve. Bruzdzinski took a ball on the outside and rammed it home for a 29-28 lead, and Miller aced Wisconsin on the next serve to win the game.
Wisconsin forced a fifth game by holding Michigan to a .000 hitting percentage in game four, eking out a 30-25 win. Wisconsin controlled the net with eight blocks to Michigan's four, while Bruzdzinski chipped in four kills and Miller added three blocks.
Michigan travels to current No. 17 Purdue on Friday (Oct. 28) and Illinois on Saturday (Oct. 29) to begin the second half of the Big Ten season. Both matches are set to start at 7 p.m. EST/CDT.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
