Michigan
7-4, 1-1Big Ten
Indiana
7-6, 1-1Big Ten
Hoosiers Comeback Hands U-M Five-Game Road Loss
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team was caught from behind by a scrappy Indiana squad Saturday night (Sept. 24), suffering its first five-game loss of the season (30-27, 22-30, 30-18, 27-30, 12-15) at the University Gymnasium.
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) led the Wolverines with 22 kills and 10 digs, and sophomore Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) had 17 kills and six blocks. Junior Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) chipped in 16 kills and three blocks, while senior/junior Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) riddled the stat sheet with nine kills, 12 digs, six blocks and eight assists.
U-M fell behind by four to start game five but rallied to lead 9-7 on a pair of kills and a block by Pflum. Indiana recovered, flipping the advantage on a 6-1 run to lead 13-10. Cobler and junior Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) combined on a block to cut the deficit to 13-11, but IU scored next to set up game point. Bowman kept the Wolverine hopes alive with her third kill of the night, but an attack error gave the Hoosiers the upset victory.
The home Hoosiers fought back from two sizeable deficits in game one to take a 27-26 lead, but the Wolverine defense stiffened, blocking one IU attack and forcing a pair of errors to win 30-27. U-M jumped out to a six-point, 9-3 lead before the Hoosiers stormed back on a 6-0 run to tie it up. The Wolverines responded with an 8-4 run to lead 17-13, but IU roared back once more to knot it up, 18-18. Indiana took its first lead of the night at 21-20. The teams tied for the seventh and final time down the stretch when sophomore/freshman Mara Martin (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic) tied it up, 27-27, on her first kill of the game. U-M forced an IU attack error on the next point and Bowman and Cobler recorded a block on the next Indiana attack to bring up game point. The Hoosiers hit a long error on their final swing to give U-M the game.
U-M fell behind by as many as 13 points in game two and the Wolverine comeback ran out of points before it could gain steam in a 30-23 loss.
Michigan held a slim four-point lead in game three, up 20-16, when Bruzdzinski and Pflum caught fire, combining for eight of U-M's final 10 points and sparking the Wolverines on a 10-2 run to give U-M the 30-18 win. The clubs were deadlocked at 10-10 when U-M rallied on a 4-0 run to force IU into its first timeout. Michigan extended its lead to 22-17 on a pair of kills by Pflum, and that's when the Katie Bruzdzinski Show began. Bruzdzinski connected for Michigan's final six kills, icing the game and putting U-M in the driver's seat.
U-M fell behind early in game four, making brief rallies but never able to catch the rallying Hoosiers in a 30-27 loss. U-M trailed by as many as five points through much of the game, closing to within a point late in the game, 27-26, but IU closed it out with a 3-0 run to force game five.
The Wolverines play their fifth and sixth road matches in a row when they take on Iowa on Friday (Sept. 30) and Minnesota on Saturday (Oct. 1). Match time is set for 7 p.m. CDT for both matches.
N O T E S
Junior Megan Bowman moved into lone possession of seventh place on U-M's all-time blocks list with five rejections at Indiana. Bowman has 334 blocks in her career, just 32 blocks shy of sixth place, held by former Wolverine Linsey Ebert.
Sophomore Lyndsay Miller recorded the 400th kill of her career, while senior/junior Erin Cobler tallied her 200th career block.
Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski had her sixth-straight double-digit kill match of the season and her seventh 20-plus kill outing. Bruzdzinski has hit double digits in nine of 11 matches this season.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
