Michigan
16-6, 3-6Big Ten
Penn State
20-0, 9-0Big Ten
Volleyball Gives Lions a Scare in Four-Game Thriller
10/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team put a giant scare into a program that many believe is the best in college volleyball, winning the opening game and playing No. 2-ranked Penn State tight in the four-game match, but eventually losing 3-1 (30-24, 27-30, 25-30, 26-30) Friday night (Oct. 20) before a homecoming crowd at Rec Hall.
Michigan came out gunning in the first game, building a comfortable lead and winning the first period before a stunned crowd of 2,515. Penn State had to overcome a late deficit to catch Michigan from behind to win game two, and the teams battled tooth-and-nail in a close game three. Penn State appeared to have the match sewn up after building a big lead in game four, but Michigan exploded on a late run, pulling within two points late, only to fall just short of forcing a fifth and deciding game.
Junior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) was a big part of the Wolverines' success, tallying 15 kills on the night, including five in game one, while adding a key service ace in the first and eight digs. Junior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) and fifth-year senior Erin Penn (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) also made a big impact, finishing with 10 kills apiece, while Miller was a force at the net with a team-high five blocks. Freshman Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) was sensational at libero, shattering her career best with 24 digs -- six more than her previous high.
Michigan went from competing in the opening game to dominating, taking the lead for good at 9-8 and staving off a pair of Penn State comebacks to win handily, 30-24. Michigan outblocked the Big Ten's leading blockers 6.0 to 2.0, and outhit the conference's top hitting team .229 to .073. Michigan used a balanced attack, led by Bruzdzinski's four kills and three kills apiece from freshman Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) and Miller, who also anchored the net with three blocks. Contributions from sophomore Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township), Rood and junior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount), who each added a pair of blocks, also helped the cause. In her second full-time stint as the team's libero, Bower dug up seven balls in the period, while sophomore Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and Penn tallied five blocks apiece, with Selsky adding four.
Bruzdzinski started hot and ended hot, putting down the first kill of the night to give Michigan a 1-0 lead and helping Michigan force game point when, with the score 27-23 Wolverines, her serve was mishandled by the Nittany Lions, leading to a free ball kill for Miller. Bruzdzinski's next serve beat the Lions' defense cleanly for an ace, making it 29-23 and forcing game point. Rood was also stellar on the big stage, hammering a kill early in the match on her very first swing, then recording a block four points later. She finished the game with three kills on just four swings, while recording four points.
Michigan showed it was ready to compete with second-ranked Penn State from the opening serve, keeping pace with the Nittany Lions to an 8-8 score before exploding on a 7-1 run to make it 15-9.
Penn State called timeout and rebounded with a 4-0 run, closing to within two. Michigan stayed ahead, and extended its lead to six, 26-20, forcing Penn State to call its final timeout. Once again, the Nittany Lions rebounded off their bench with a 3-0 run to cut the Wolverine lead to three, 26-23, but three-straight U-M points, capped by a kill from Miller and a game-point forcing ace from Bruzdzinski, to make it 29-23. The Nittany Lions staved off game point twice, but suffered an attack error to lose the first game, 30-24, and drop just their sixth game in 19 matches.
Michigan maintained the momentum in game two, overcoming an early PSU lead and keeping pace at 22-19 before Penn State regrouped with its first timeout. The Nittany Lions rebounded with a 7-2 run, pulling ahead 26-24 and staying there for good. Michigan battled back to within one point, 27-26, but the back-to-back rejections from Penn State made it 29-26, leading to an eventual 30-27 PSU win. The Nittany Lions cut down on their errors, using 7.5 team blocks to stifle the Wolverine attack. Bruzdzinski was limited to one kill on nine swings in the period, leaving it up to the rest of the Wolverines to pick up the offensive slack. Penn had five kills in the period, followed by four from Miller. Bower matched her game one digs total with seven, while Selsky added five.
Penn State came out of the intermission on fire, building a seven-point, 12-5 lead early before Michigan regained its balance and mounted a comeback. U-M strung together four straight points to make it 12-9, then made it a two point game, down 15-13. Michigan pulled to within two points six more times over the course of the period, until Bruzdzinski's 10th kill of the night finally made it a one-point game with the Wolverines trailing, 24-23. Penn State rebounded to point next, but Bruzdzinski rode Michigan's comeback momentum with a huge kill on the outside to make it 25-24, but on the same play a pair of Wolverines collided on defense, forcing Hance to exit the game and sucking some of U-M's life out of the gym. When play resumed, Penn State scored back-to-back points, taking a two point, 27-24 lead -- despite Selsky's late effort, cutting the deficit to two, 27-25, Penn State railed off three straight to win 30-25.
Michigan kept it close for most of game four, tied 17-17 near the midway point, but Penn State turned on the jets down the stretch, exploding on a 10-2 run to lead 27-19 before the Wolverines could stem the tide. Michigan fought back, with back-to-back points pushing the Nittany Lions into a timeout with the score, 27-21 PSU. Karpiak and Penn combined on a block coming out of the timeout, and Penn State suffered an attack error to bring U-M within four, 27-23. PSU committed back-to-back errors to make it 27-25, and was forced to burn its final timeout. The Nittany Lions came out with a point to make it 28-25, but Bruzdzinski countered with her 15th kill of the night, closing the gap to 28-26. A Wolverine service error handed the Lions game point, 29-26, and a U-M attack error sent the State College crowd home with a sigh of relief.
Michigan has Saturday off before heading to Columbus for a rivalry showdown with Ohio State on Sunday (Oct. 22) at 2 p.m. in St. John Arena.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
