Michigan
13-3, 1-3Big Ten
Minnesota
11-3, 4-0Big Ten
U-M Drops Tightly Contested Match at No. 12 Minnesota
9/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 11 University of Michigan volleyball team fell in a battle of nationally ranked powers Sunday afternoon (Sept. 30), losing at No. 12 Minnesota in three games (29-31, 29-31, 26-30) in a tightly fought contest at the Sports Pavilion.
The Wolverines held game point in both the first and second games, only to have the surging Gophers pull out late victories thanks to dominating blocking. Michigan held a 29-28 advantage in game one, but Minnesota scored three points in a row, including two on blocks, and in game two the Gophers scored four points in a row, including one off a block, to overcome a 29-27 deficit.
Senior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) led the way once again on the outside with 16 kills to go with eight digs, while senior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) finished with 10 kills. Senior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) had 27 digs to go over the 20-dig mark for the 11th time this season, while freshman Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) had 10 digs and 40 assists to notch her eighth double-double of the year. Senior Sarah Draves (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) was also a factor on the right side, tallying eight of her nine kills in the first two frames.
Michigan opened game one on a flurry, weathered a Gopher run, powered down the stretch but lost three crucial points at the end to fall 31-29. The Wolverines built a 4-1 lead on kills from Draves and Bruzdzinski and a Zimmerman ace, but Minnesota rebounded with a 10-0 run to lead 11-4 and force U-M into burning both of its timeouts. The Wolverines' final timeout must have sparked something, because U-M blasted off the bench with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 11-11. The teams battled down the stretch with Michigan reaching game point first, ahead 29-28, but Minnesota used a kill to tie it up and then back-to-back blocks to seal the victory in game one.
Game two was more of an end-to-end battle but, unfortunately for the Wolverines, ended the same way as game two with a close 31-29 loss. The teams went through 16 ties until U-M was able to built a nice four-point, 26-22 lead late, seemingly on its way to tying the match at one apiece. Minnesota cut the deficit to one with the Wolverines up 28-27, but a Bruzdzinski kill forced game point with U-M up 29-27. Minnesota survived game point with a kill, then tied it up 29-29 with a block to grab momentum. Back-to-back Gopher points completed the comeback and allowed Minnesota to take a two-games-to-none lead.
Michigan ran out of gas in game three just as Minnesota's blockers seemed to gain momentum, with the Wolverines falling 30-26 and the Gophers putting up seven team blocks in the frame. U-M built a 10-7 lead, but Minnesota rebounded on a torrid 15-4 run to make it 22-14 and dampen Wolverine spirits. Michigan fought back into the game, putting together a 7-1 run to close within two, down 23-21. However, Minnesota's blockers came up big again, posting three consecutive blocks to lead 26-21 and all but sew up the frame. Two late kills from Bruzdzinski made it closer, but Minnesota held off the Wolverines through three game points to win.
Michigan returns home to take on Michigan State in the Dig For the Cure promotion on Friday (Oct. 5) at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines will take Saturday off and face Northwestern on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 2 p.m. in a match televised on the Big Ten Network.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
