Michigan
16-5, 3-5Big Ten
Iowa
12-7, 1-6Big Ten
Wolverines Rebound With Big Victory Over Hawkeyes
10/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team picked up a crucial Big Ten Conference victory and won for the ninth time on its home floor with a 3-0 (30-27, 30-21, 30-19) win over Iowa Friday night (Oct. 13) in Cliff Keen Arena.
Junior outside hitter Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) led the Wolverine attack with a match-high 13 kills while adding 12 digs. The middle blocking duo of sophomore Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) and junior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) combined for 22 kills, tallying 11 apiece, while adding seven blocks to Michigan's totals, led by Karpiak's match-high four rejections. Miller also added her first service ace of the season. Freshman outside hitter Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) shone in her second straight match, tallying 10 kills and hitting a career-best .381. Rood also added a pair of blocks and an assist.
Defensively, freshman Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) started her first match at libero and recorded 17 digs, while the Wolverine libero for most of the 20 previous matches this season, sophomore Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount), equaled her output with 17 digs at defensive specialist. Junior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) set the Wolverine attack to a .336 attack percentage, recording 43 assists and tallying 14 digs before ceding the floor to junior/sophomore setter Mara Martin (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic), who tallied six assists and recorded a block as the Wolverine offense did not miss a beat.
The win pushes Michigan to 16-5 (3-5 Big Ten) on the season, while Iowa falls to 12-7 (1-6 Big Ten).
Rood came out strong to start game one, tallying five kills on 13 swings and adding a block to the cause in a 30-27 Wolverine win. Bruzdzinski did not strike for her first kill until the midway point of the period, leaving other Wolverines to pick up the offensive slack. Selsky nailed four kills on four tries while setting the attack to a .241 clip, while Penn and Miller each notched three kills. The teams battled through 10 ties until Karpiak broke a 23-23 deadlock with her first kill of the night to put Michigan on a winning path. Penn and Selsky followed Karpiak's marker with kills of their own as the Wolverines took a three-point, 26-23 lead and never looked back.
Michigan made faster work of Iowa in game two, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead thanks to two kills each from Bruzdzinski and Miller before cruising to a 30-21 win. Karpiak was a heavy factor in U-M's offense, registering seven kills in the period on nine swings while adding a block. Bruzdzinski added four kills to her total, while Rood struck for a pair more terminations on three swings.
U-M closed out game three with relative ease, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 advantage and cruising to an 11-point, 30-19 victory for the sweep. Bruzdzinski led the way with six kills on 11 swings, while Miller was even more efficient with five kills on six swings. Rood chipped in three kills on five attacks to crack the double-digit kill mark for the second consecutive match.
Michigan hits the road for matches at Penn State and Ohio State next week, taking on the No. 2-ranked Nittany Lions on Friday (Oct. 20) at 7 p.m. and the No. 16 Buckeyes on Sunday (Oct. 22) at 2 p.m.
N O T E S
Freshman Veronica Rood's 10 terminations against the Hawkeyes give her back-to-back double-digit kill matches. Rood also hit a career-best .381, bettering by .220 her hitting percentage against Michigan State earlier in the week.
Junior Katie Bruzdzinski tallied double-digit kills for the 34th consecutive match. Her 13 kills vs. Iowa moved her into sixth place on U-M's all-time kills list. She is 44 kills shy of moving into a tie for fifth.
Head coach Mark Rosen is one win away from tallying his 135th with the Maize and Blue.
Sophomore Katie Hance competed in her 50th career match tonight, and sophomore Beth Karpiak hit the 200-kill milestone.
Junior Stesha Selsky moved 98 digs away from equaling Michigan's all-time digs record. Jennifer Gandolph (2001-04) owns the all-time record with 1,381 career digs.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
