Michigan
16-7,BT 3-7
Ohio State
15-5,BT 5-5
Wolverines Come Up Short in Bid To Crack Buckeyes
10/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan volleyball team had its chances against No. 24 Ohio State, taking a two games to one lead and having its chances in a back-and-forth fifth game, but the Buckeyes proved the harder nut to crack in U-M's 3-2 (30-27, 14-30, 30-22, 26-30, 9-15) loss Sunday afternoon (Oct. 22) at St. John Arena.
Michigan silenced the home crowd by staying ahead of Ohio State the entirety of game one in a 30-27 win, and the Wolverines took a 2-1 games lead with a commanding 30-22 win in the third period. Ohio State rebounded with a late comeback in game four, turning a 25-25 tie into a 30-26 win to force game five, in which the Buckeyes again overcame an early deficit to win 15-9.
Michigan falls to 16-7 (3-7 Big Ten), while the win propels Ohio State to 15-5 (5-5 Big
Ten) and gives the Buckeyes sole possession of fifth place in the conference.
Michigan built a pair of sizeable leads in game one, pulling ahead by five, 8-3 and 15-10, but Ohio State fought back each time to close to within a pair, 27-25, late in the period. A monster stuff by sophomore Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) on All-American Marisa Main gave U-M a momentum-swinging 28-25 lead and, three points later, Karpiak iced the game with a kill through the heart of the Buckeye defense to give the Wolverines a 30-27 win.
Ohio State rebounded in resounding fashion to start game two, turning a 6-0 lead into a 16-4 chasm to put Michigan on its heels. The Wolverines subbed in reserves junior Sarah Draves (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) and junior/sophomore Mara Martin (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic) to good effect, with Draves registering three kills in the period and Martin making a number of excellent hustle plays on defense to keep the Wolverines alive. Despite their contributions, Ohio State cruised to a 30-14 win to even the match at one game apiece.
Michigan stormed out to a 7-1 lead to open game three, led by the stellar attacking and defending of junior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida), who tallied two kills and two blocks to jump-start the Wolverines back into the match. Ohio State chipped away at its deficit, pulling to within two, 19-17, but Michigan maintained its distance and never let the Buckeyes pull any closer in a 30-22 win.
U-M led for most of the first half of game four only to be caught from behind and passed by OSU at 13-12. Miller proved pivotal in helping Michigan regain the lead, tying the score at 13-13, 14-14 and 15-15 and propelling the Wolverines to a three-point 22-19 lead with the match in the balance. Ohio State rebounded to pull within one, 22-21, before Miller exerted her personality on the game again, recording three kills in five points to put Michigan ahead 25-23. The Buckeyes fought back to tie it at 25-25 and then stormed on a 5-1 run, shrugging aside both Wolverine timeouts and sending it to a fifth and final game.
In the deciding fifth game, Michigan took an early 4-3 lead before Ohio State tied it at 5-5 and took its first lead, 6-5. The Buckeyes extended their lead to two on two occasions, but Miller came to the rescue each time to draw the Wolverines within one both times. With Miller out of the front row, Ohio State put together a 4-0 run to take a 12-7 lead, burning both of Michigan's timeouts and firing up the St. John Arena crowd. The Wolverines stemmed the tide on a kill by junior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount), making it 12-8, and then benefited from a Buckeye attack error to pull within three, 12-9, but Ohio State called a momentum-killing timeout and scored the next three points to prevail.
Michigan starts the second half of the Big Ten season on the road at Illinois on Friday (Oct. 27) and at Northwestern on Saturday (Oct. 28). Both programs have posted a 4-6 record in Big Ten play and are tied for fifth place in the conference with Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State.
N O T E S
Junior Katie Bruzdzinski recorded the 1,100th kill of her collegiate career, and she extended her streak of matches with double-digit kills to 36.
Bruzdzinski made the 75th start of her career Sunday. She has started 68 consecutive matches.
Fifth-year senior Erin Penn competed in her 115th match, moving her into a tie for 10th place on U-M's all-time matches played list. Penn pulled even with Shannon Melka (1998-2001).
Junior Stesha Selsky recorded the 1,300th dig of her collegiate career, moving her ever closer to U-M's all-time digs record held by Jennifer Gandolph (2001-04). Gandolph graduated with 1,381 digs.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
