Michigan
12-0
New Hampshire
2-9
Wolverines Tame Wildcats Behind Bowman's Blocking
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 22 University of Michigan volleyball took a little while to shake off the cobwebs in a morning match against New Hampshire, but once it did U-M breezed to its sixth sweep in a row with a 30-22, 30-15, 30-18 victory over the Wildcats Saturday (Sept. 16) in the Michigan/Nike Invitational at Cliff Keen Arena.
The Wolverines awoke midway through game one and dominated from that point on thanks to a match-high 16 kills from junior outside hitter Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) and a dominating 11 blocks in the middle for senior middle blocker Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central). Miller registered six kills in both the first and second games, while Bowman was a force at the net in game one with five rejections and added four more in the third.
Junior outside hitter Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) continued her hot hand with her 25th double-digit kill match, tallying 13 terminations and adding three service aces, while fifth-year senior Erin Penn (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) anchored the back line with 17 digs, tying a career best.
In just two games of play, junior setter Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) tied a career high with four kills and added nine digs.
Michigan shook the sleep out of its eyes in game one, jousting back and forth with New Hampshire to 19-15 when the Wolverines took a shot of espresso and took command of the period. A quick kill from Bruzdzinski made it 20-15, and a pair of blocks from Bowman and a Miller kill made it 23-16. From there, Miller added a pair of kills and Bowman her fifth block of the stanza to put the Wildcats to sleep.
The second and third games went more according to plan for the Wolverines, who built a 20-9 lead in game two and a 22-13 lead in game three with commanding performances from Miller on the outside and Bowman in the middle. Miller led U-M with six kills in game two and four in game three, while Bowman tacked on a pair of blocks in the second period and four in the third to sweep New Hampshire.
Michigan faces Rice in the finale of the Michigan/Nike Invitational on Saturday night (Sept. 16), taking on the Owls at 7:30 p.m.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
