Michigan
11-0
Temple
3-10
Volleyball Serves Up A Storm in Win Over Temple
9/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10 University of Michigan volleyball team recorded 13 service aces -- the most its delivered in one game in nearly two seasons -- and held Temple to a .000 attack percentage in a 3-0 (30-18, 30-14, 30-19) sweep Friday night (Sept. 14) at the Michigan/Nike Invitational in Cliff Keen Arena. The win keeps Michigan (11-0) undefeated for the 2007 season.
Six separate Wolverines pummeled the Owls with service aces, led by four from senior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), three from freshman Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and a pair each for junior Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) and freshman Maggie Busch (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian). Michigan's strong service helped set up tremendous blocking, as the Wolverines put up 11.0 team blocks in the three-game set, led by Karpiak's season-best seven rejections.
Temple hit negative in games one and two before it finally pushed the numbers into the positive column in game three to finish with 26 kills and 26 errors. On the other side of the net, Michigan used a balanced attack as every active player on the team saw time on the court. Ten separate Wolverines recorded kills, led by nine from Karpiak and sophomore Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford). Zimmerman anchored the defense on the floor with a career-best 15 digs.
Michigan dominated game one with tough serving, acing the Owls five times, recording four blocks and forcing Temple to hit -.053 in a 30-18 victory. Karpiak built a roof with her four rejections, while Rood added three to Michigan's total. Rood was also one of two Wolverines with five kills in the period, equaling Karpiak's five terminations. Three Wolverines combined for five service aces, led by a pair each for Busch and Bruzdzinski, while Zimmerman added one. Defensively, Zimmerman added eight digs to the cause.
Game two proved even more lopsided, as the Wolverines put up five team blocks, nailed four aces and forced the Owls into a -.088 attack percentage in a 30-14 U-M victory. Zimmerman put down a pair of aces to give her three total in the match, and senior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) and junior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) each added a service ace. Michigan's reserves made their mark late in the period, as freshman Jackie Nissen (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) recorded three blocks -- including a career-best two solo -- and a kill, while sophomore birthday-girl Cassie Petoskey (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) had two kills on two swings and a rejection.
Temple hit in the positive column in game three, but the Wolverines pounded the Owls with four more aces and added a pair of blocks in a 30-19 run. Both Bruzdzinski and Karpiak had a pair of aces in the third game, while Karpiak added two more blocks to her match-high seven.
Michigan returns to action in the tournament finale Saturday night (Sept. 15) against Georgia Tech in Cliff Keen Arena at 7:30 p.m. Fans with a football ticket stub from the Michigan/Notre Dame game will receive free admission to the match. Georgia Tech won both of its matches thus far in the tournament, defeating Temple (3-0) and Utah Valley State (3-0).
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
