Michigan
15-4, 3-4Big Ten
Penn State
19-0, 7-0Big Ten
Wolverines Fall to Top-Ranked Nittany Lions
10/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: University Park, Pa. (Rec Hall)
Result: #1 Penn State3, #22Michigan 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-20)
Records: U-M (15-4, 3-4 Big Ten),PSU (19-0, 7-0 Big Ten)
Attendance: 3,932
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 18 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 7 p.m.
Boxscore
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team fell in three sets (22-18, 25-15, 25-20) to No. 1-ranked Penn State on Friday night (Oct. 17) at Rec Hall. Junior Juliana Paz(Porte Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) paced the U-M attack with nine kills, while senior Beth Karpiak(LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Twp.) and freshman Alex Hunt(Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) tallied six apiece.
Set one saw Michigan jump out to a quick 2-0 lead, but it was short lived as PSU scored the next two points to tie the set. Things remained close until back-to-back service aces pushed PSU's advantage to 17-10 and forced U-M's second timeout of the set. Penn State pushed its lead to as much as eight before the Wolverines put together a run of four straight points to close the gap to 22-17 and force Penn State into a timeout. Out of the break, however, Penn State scored three of the final four points to take set one, 25-18. The Nittany Lions used six blocks up front to aid their set-one win, while holding Michigan to a .000 (11-11-30) hitting percentage. Paz paced U-M with five terminations in the set.
Set two was a close affair until Penn State jumped on top 8-7 and never looked back. Two four-point runs by PSU forced Michigan into a pair of timeouts that yielded mild success as the Wolverines were able to cut the lead to seven, 21-14. Penn State then reeled off four of the final five points in the set to take a 2-0 match advantage into intermission.
The two teams played a close third set as Michigan refused to go down quietly. The Wolverines built a modest one-point lead, 14-13, on two straight kills by sophomore/freshman Karlee Bruck(Elyria, Ohio/Elyria), but Penn State went on a scoring streak to lead 22-17. After U-M's second timeout of the set, the Wolverines were able to put together one final push, extending match point twice before PSU closed the set and the match, 25-20.
The Wolverines were held to a .024 attack percentage -- their lowest total of the season. Paz paced Michigan in defeat with nine kills and sophomore Lexi Zimmerman(Barrington, Ill./Barrington) dished out 23 assists. Penn State tallied 15 total blocks, the most against Michigan this season.
Michigan will continue its road swing on Saturday (Oct. 18) at 7 p.m., traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to face Indiana at Assembly Hall.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
