Michigan
15-3, 3-3
Illinois
13-4, 4-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan | 19 | 17 | 20 | 0 |
U-M Falls to No. 19 Illinois in Three Sets, Splits Weekend
10/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: #19 Illinois 3, #23 Michigan 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20)
Records: U-M (15-3, 3-3 Big Ten), Illinois (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,312
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 17 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 8 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team fell in three sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-20) to No. 19 Illinois on Saturday night (Oct. 11) at Cliff Keen Arena. Junior Juliana Paz (Porte Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) and freshman Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph's) paced the U-M attack with 11 kills apiece, while junior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) hit a team-best .385, earning seven kills on 13 attempts with two errors.
Kerry Hance
Set one featured 13 tie scores as the two teams battled to 17-all before Illinois took control to post seven of the next eight points and claim the set, 25-19. Paz led the Wolverine offense with a team-high five kills in the set for a .556 hitting percentage (5-0-9), while Rood notched a team-best four digs and sophomore Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) tossed out 11 assists.
The Fighting Illini jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in set two, forcing U-M into a pair of timeouts that yielded mild success as the Wolverines' deficit grew to 22-7. Michigan caught life, however, ripping off 10 of the next 11 points to cut the Illini lead to 23-17. Senior Beth Karpiak (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) tallied three of her four kills in the set during the streak and Hunt added a pair of terminations. Out of a timeout, Illinois iced the set, 25-17, with a kill and a U-M attack error.
Michigan trailed early again in set three, falling down 14-5 into a timeout. The Wolverines battled back to make it 14-11, reeling off six straight with Paz serving. Illinois then built its lead to 21-16 before the Wolverines gave one more strong effort to extend the match, but they could not get the deficit closer than three, falling 25-20. Hunt led the squad with six terminations in the set with Rood and Paz assisting with four apiece, while Zimmerman dished out 14 assists, her highest single-set total of the match.
Zimmerman and senior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) led Michigan on defense with eight digs apiece, while Hance, sophomore Maggie Busch (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian) and freshman Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) each added a service ace.
Michigan will continue its streak of facing ranked opponents next Friday (Oct. 17) at 8 p.m., traveling to State College, Pa., to face defending national champion and top-ranked Penn State at Rec Hall. As a reminder, last night's (Oct. 10) Michigan upset of No. 18 Purdue will be televised Sunday afternoon (Oct. 12) at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
