Michigan
18-9, 5-9Big Ten
Minnesota
17-7, 11-3Big Ten
Wolverines Down No. 12 Minnesota in Commanding Win
11/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team defeated one of the best teams in the nation Saturday night (Nov. 4) with a dominating 3-1 victory (27-30, 30-23, 30-20, 30-26) over No. 12 Minnesota in Cliff Keen Arena, handing the Gophers their third conference loss of the season. The defeat also marked Minnesota's first Big Ten loss to any program other than Penn State in the 2006 campaign. The win over the Gophers marks the sixth-highest ranked team a Michigan volleyball team has defeated in program history.
U-M handed Minnesota just its third loss in the last 17 matches, rebounding from a one game deficit to win three games in a row, tallying the team's biggest win over a ranked opponent since Oct. 22, 2005, when the Wolverines downed No. 7 Wisconsin in five games.
"This is the most relaxed and aggressive we've played all year," said head coach Mark Rosen. "We didn't hold back tonight. They just let themselves play tonight and we didn't get frustrated."
Both teams came hard out of the gate to begin game one, and despite Michigan's superior attack percentage (.381 to .368), Minnesota was able to eek out a victory, 30-27. Michigan rebounded, crushing the Gophers in game two, outhitting the visitors .486 to .238 and recording four team blocks. Michigan maintained the momentum through game three with an even more decisive victory, pushing Minnesota into a negative hitting percentage (-.024) before using all the tricks of the trade to close out the match in style with a 30-26 game four win.
Michigan boasted four players in double-digit kills, led by junior Katie Bruzdzinski's (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) match high 21 terminations. Four Wolverines also reached double-digits in digs, headlined by freshman Megan Bower's (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) 22. At the net, sophomore Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) led all blockers with eight rejections, while at the service line Bruzdzinski hammered three aces for the Wolverines. Junior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) was all over the stat sheet with 19 kills, three solo blocks and two digs. Her three solo blocks were pivotal in keeping the momentum on Michigan's side in game three, while her five kills in the fourth frame helped ice the match. Freshman Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) hit a career-high 14 kills and a collegiate-best .407 hitting percentage.
"Lyndsay (Miller) was Showtime tonight and Katie (Bruzdzinski) and Veronica (Rood) had great nights," said head coach Mark Rosen. "Lyndsay had a flashy night, and it was great that we were able to finish out game four without having to rely on Katie."
The win pushes Michigan to 18-9 overall (5-9 Big Ten), while Minnesota falls to 17-7 overall (11-3 Big Ten).
The Wolverine offense exploded in game one with nine kills from Miller and seven from Bruzdzinski, but the Gophers used five aces to win, 30-27. The teams locked horns at 18-18 when Minnesota used a 6-2 run to take a four-point, 24-20 lead thanks to three Wolverine attack errors and a Gopher ace. Michigan closed to within one, down 26-25, but Minnesota's Meredith Nelson hammered a pair of late kills that Michigan could not overcome.
The Wolverines exploded in game two, with five Wolverines registering three or more kills in the period. Bruzdzinski and Rood hammered five kills apiece, while Miller, Karpiak and fifth-year senior Erin Penn (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) tallied three each. The Wolverines committed just two attack errors in the entire game, while Karpiak was a wall at the net with four blocks in game two. The Wolverines kicked off a 10 point, 20-10 lead midway through the period, using a precision attack to route the Gophers. Junior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) set 28 balls in game two, 57 percent of which were slammed home for kills.
Whereas games one and two were offensive clinics for both teams, game three began in the trenches, forcing both teams to pull out all of the stops to gain the advantage. Though Michigan led the entire way, it fought hard to hold off Minnesota at every turn. Three solo blocks from Miller pushed three Gopher hitters into a negative attack percentage, forcing Minnesota to register more errors than kills in the game.
Facing the looming threat of a fifth game, the Wolverines came out gunning in the fourth with five kills each from Karpiak, Rood and Miller. Rood and Karpiak were particularly deadly, with Rood tallying five kills on six swings and Karpiak notching five terminations on seven swings. Defensively, Bower loaded up with seven digs, while sophomore Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) recorded five of her 16 digs in the fourth period. Michigan overcame 15 tied scores and seven lead changes to take control of the match, 23-22, on a Gopher ball handling error, and lead the rest of the way. A Karpiak and Penn combo block made it 24-22, Wolverines; three points later, Bruzdzinski's third ace of the night made it 26-23 Wolverines. The teams traded points to game point at 29-26, when a hot serve from Hance forced Minnesota setter Rachel Hartmann into a ball handling error, ending the match with a Maize and Blue victory.
Next week, Michigan hits the road for pivotal matches at No. 14 Purdue and at Indiana. The Wolverines and Boilermakers square off on Friday (Nov. 10), while U-M and the Hoosiers meet Saturday (Nov. 11). Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.
N O T E S
Junior Katie Bruzdzinski moved into seventh on U-M's all-time aces list, pulling ahead of Jayne Hickman (1984-86) with 110 service aces.
Junior Stesha Selsky moved into seventh place on U-M's all-time assists list, passing current teammate Mara Martin.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
