Michigan
18-4, 6-4Big Ten
Minnesota
18-4, 8-2Big Ten
Michigan Earns Upset Sweep of No. 11 Minnesota
10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Result: #20 Michigan 3, #11 Minnesota 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21)
Records: U-M (18-4, 6-4 Big Ten), Minnesota (18-4, 8-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 861
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 31 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan volleyball finished off its first weekend conference sweep of the year, taking out No. 11-ranked Minnesota in three sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) on Saturday night (Oct. 25) in Cliff Keen Arena. Junior Juliana Paz(Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) led the upset with 16 kills, while senior Beth Karpiak(LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) added 10 and freshman Sloane Donhoff(Louisville, Ky./Assumption) recorded a game-high 17 digs and two services aces.
In the opening frame, Michigan jumped on top quickly on a service ace by Donhoff to start the match. After Minnesota forced a pair of ties early on, Michigan started to pull away, building a 15-8 lead on back-to-back kills by sophomore Lexi Zimmerman(Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Karpiak. The Wolverines were undaunted following a Minnesota timeout and went up 22-15 on Donhoff's second ace of the set. The Gophers put up a fight in the final stretch, pulling within three points, 24-21, before an attack error ended their run and gave U-M a 25-21 victory.
In set two, Michigan again raced out to the early lead, 7-3, only to see Minnesota pull back within four, 14-10, midway through the set. Michigan pushed the lead back to seven points, 19-12, thanks to a Paz kill and pair of Gopher attack errors. With Michigan up 20-12, Minnesota went on a 6-3 run to close the gap to four, 22-16. From there Michigan put the Gophers away as U-M earned its final three points on Minnesota service errors for a 25-21 win. Paz had the hot hand in the set with seven kills, while Zimmerman dished out eight assists and posted six of Michigan's 17 digs in the set.
Set three saw the Gophers get in front for the first time, building a 7-3 lead, forcing Michigan into a timeout. Out of the break, Michigan was able to regain its form from the first two sets, eventually tying the score 13-13 on a service ace by senior Kerry Hance(Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and a kill by Paz. The score remained close until Michigan used a 5-1 run to take a 23-19 lead and go on to the 25-21 victory.
Michigan will be back in action Friday night (Oct. 31) when it travels to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois on Halloween night at 7 p.m. CDT at Huff Hall.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
