Michigan
19-9, 6-9Big Ten
Purdue
19-7, 9-6Big Ten
Wolverines Beat No. 16 Purdue on the Road
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Intercollegiate Athletic Facility)
Score: Michigan def. #16 Purdue 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-28)
Records: U-M (19-9, 6-9 Big Ten), Purdue (19-7, 9-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 11 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 7 p.m.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team defeated back-to-back ranked opponents for the third time in program history thanks to the All-America play of junior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), who finished the match with 24 kills, leading the Wolverines to a 3-0 win (30-26, 30-28, 30-28) over No. 16 Purdue Friday night (Nov. 10).
Playing like a woman possessed, Bruzdzinski averaged eight kills per period, hammering nine in the first frame, eight in the second and seven in the third, while hitting a season-best .571. Junior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) was also instrumental in the victory, setting Michigan to a .348 hitting percentage as a team, and leading the Wolverines with 13 digs and 44 assists. Selsky also added three kills and a block to the cause. Junior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) kept the Boilermakers honest with 13 kills of her own, hitting a season-best .478 in the process.
Michigan stunned the home crowd with a commanding 30-26 win in game one, and then rallied from a 26-20 deficit in game two to win, 30-28. In the third frame, the Wolverines managed something they have preached all season -- finishing off the Boilermakers, after taking a 15-14 lead and holding the home team at bay until the final whistle.
The same Wolverine squad that downed No. 12 Minnesota six days ago showed up big for game one against No. 14 Purdue, led by nine kills from Bruzdzinski and six digs from Selsky in the period. Bruzdzinski had four of Michigan's first five kills and, with Michigan holding a precarious 15-14 lead, hammered four kills in five points to put the Wolverines up 19-15. The teams battled tooth-and-nail through 11 ties and seven lead changes before the Wolverines could gain the upper hand, flipping a 12-11 deficit into a 15-12 lead thanks to a four point swing. The change in momentum featured a kill and a block from Selsky, a combo block from sophomore Beth Karpiak (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) and Bruzdzinski and a kill from Miller. Michigan remained ahead of the Boilermakers, thanks to the efforts of Bruzdzinski on offense and Selsky on defense. U-M recorded four more digs than the Boilermakers, while outhitting the home team, .356 to .244, thanks to excellent passing and Selsky's pinpoint sets.
Game two followed the same script as game one, with the teams battling through 16 ties to a 17-17 stalemate before one squad took control of the period. In this case, it was Purdue taking charge, pulling ahead 26-20 with, what appeared to be, a hammerlock on the game. The Wolverines had other ideas, starting with a 3-0 run, capped by freshman Veronica Rood's (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) kill, to make it 26-23 Purdue, forcing the Boilermakers into their first timeout. The teams traded points to leave the score 27-24, sending sophomore Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) to the service line with a U-M comeback in the balance. Hance didn't disappoint the Wolverine faithful, serving up an ace in her first try to spark a 4-0 run and flip U-M's fortunes, giving Michigan a 28-27 lead. Purdue managed to tie it at 28-28, but a Boilermaker error and a decisive kill from Bruzdzinski gave Michigan a two games to none lead heading into the intermission.
Michigan had to rebound from an early deficit in game three, rallying from three down at 14-11 to take a 15-14 lead on a pair of kills from Bruzdzinski, and a termination from Miller. Michigan's lead held up for the rest of the period, despite furious charges from the Boilermakers, who closed within one point on three occasions, most notably at 29-28. Michigan forced game point on Karpiak's fifth kill of the night, leading 29-26, but Purdue responded with two kills to push Michigan head coach Mark Rosen into a timeout with the score 29-28. With the prospect of a long night ahead, Purdue's most intimidating server, Brittany Dildine, slammed her jump serve into the net to confirm a Wolverine win.
Michigan hits the road to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday (Nov. 11) at the University Gym. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
N O T E S
• Junior Katie Bruzdzinski extended her streak of consecutive matches with double-digit kills to 41 with 24 kills against the Boilermakers. Bruzdzinski has hit double-digit terminations in 73 matches in her career.
• Junior Katie Bruzdzinski hit the 1,200-kill milestone with 24 terminations against Purdue.
• Fifth-year senior Erin Penn competed in her 120th collegiate match, moving her into a tie for fifth place on U-M's all-time matches played list.
• Michigan knocked off back-to-back ranked opponents for the first time since 2002, when U-M beat No. 16 Ohio State and then downed No. 18 Michigan State in back-to-back contests. The Wolverines had achieved this feat once prior to 2002, beating No. 25 Michigan State and No. 13 Ohio State in 2000.
