Michigan
17-4 (5-4Big Ten)
Indiana
14-8 (5-5Big Ten)
Michigan Overcomes Early Hiccup to Beat Indiana
10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team needed 30 minutes to shake the cobwebs against Indiana, coming back from a game-one loss to down the Hoosiers, 3-1 (28-30, 30-23, 30-18, 30-27), Friday night in Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan fell in game one to a scrappy Indiana squad before U-M pulled off easy wins in games two and three. The Hoosiers dug in their heels in game four, but Michigan overcame a late deficit thanks to seven game-four kills from sophomore Veronica Rood(Temperance, Mich./Bedford) to win the match in four. The Wolverines ended the match with significant advantages in kills (33 more), digs (41 more) and attack percentage (.124 better) with Indiana's sole advantage coming in blocks, as the Hoosiers tallied nine more than the Wolverines.
Senior Katie Bruzdzinski(Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) was hot from the outside, hammering a match-high 21 kills, and tying her a career best with 18 digs. Bruzdzinski's defensive performance also put her over the 1,000-dig mark for her career, making her just the eighth Wolverine in program history to reach the milestone.
Right behind her was junior Beth Karpiak(La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) who finished with 17 kills and added three blocks, while senior Lyndsay Miller(Ida, Mich./Ida) (12 kills) and Rood (11 kills) each cracked double-digits.
Michigan also recorded a season high for team digs thanks to five players reaching double-digits. Senior Stesha Selsky(Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) led the way with 29 digs -- her 14th 20-plus dig performance of the year -- while junior Kerry Hance(Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) had a season-high 20 digs. Bruzdzinski tied a career-best with 18, while sophomore Megan Bower(Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) added 14 and freshman Lexi Zimmerman(Barrington, Ill./Barrington) had 11. Miller -- a middle blocker -- chipped in with a career-best seven digs.
In game one, Michigan held a pair of decent leads but had trouble penetrating Indiana's front line blockers, surrendering four-point advantages at 14-10 and 24-20 to lose, 30-28. Michigan committed 10 attack errors thanks to 7.0 Indiana blocks, while the Hoosiers outhit the home team, .220 to .170. Bruzdzinski tallied five kills in the period and Selsky kept the Wolverines alive with nine digs, but Indiana proved too much.
Michigan got on its game in the second, never trailing in the period to cruise to a 30-23 win. Indiana hit just .044 in the second stanza -- more than tripling its attack errors from the first frame -- while Michigan nailed 15 kills in the frame. Bruzdzinski had five kills and eight digs, while Selsky had seven digs.
Michigan dominated game three, hitting .404 as a team and using eight kills each from Bruzdzinski and Karpiak to romp to a 30-18 win. U-M recorded 23 kills to just four errors in the period, with Karpiak earning eight kills off 12 swings with no errors and Bruzdzinski nailing eight kills off 15 swings with one miscue. Selsky added six digs, while Hance and Zimmerman each had five.
The Wolverines were forced to earn their keep in game four, rallying from a three-point, 23-20 deficit late to catch the Hoosiers from behind and seal the win with a 30-27 victory. Rood hammered seven of her 11 kills on the night in the stanza, while Miller added five up the middle. Selsky pitched in with seven more digs while Bruzdzinski tacked on five more to equal her career-best of 18. With Indiana up, 23-20, Michigan put together a 3-0 run with kills from Bruzdzinski and senior Sarah Draves(Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) to tie it up, 23-23. The teams traded points to 24-24 before Michigan took charge, building another 3-0 run with kills from Rood and Miller. Indiana managed to close to within one -- down 27-26 -- but Miller, Bruzdzinski and finally Rood slammed down the final three points to push the Wolverines to 9-1 at home this season.
Michigan faces Purdue on Saturday (Oct. 20) in Cliff Keen Arena at 7 p.m.
N O T E S
Senior Katie Bruzdzinski became the eighth Wolverine in program history to record 1,000 digs in a career when she had 18 vs. Indiana. Bruzdzinski ranks eigthth all-time at U-M in digs and is the program leader in kills.
Senior Lyndsay Miller moved up a spot on U-M's all-time kills list, taking sole possession of fourth place with 12 terminations vs. Indiana. Miller has 1,277 kills in her career. She passes Karen Chase (1995-98). Miller is one of just two Wolverines who appear in the top five on Michigan's kills and blocks lists.
Senior Sarah Draves recorded the 200th kill of her collegiate career with eight vs. Indiana.
With the win, Michigan is 9-1 in Cliff Keen Arena this season.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
