Michigan
3-0
Rice
2-1
Michigan Defeats Owls to Win Mizuno Invitational
8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Score: Michigan 3, Rice 0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-15)
Records: U-M (3-0), Rice (2-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 6 C vs. Georgia State (Atlanta, Ga.), 1 p.m.
Boxscore
HOUSTON, Texas C Led by a career-best 14 kills from junior Megan Bower(Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and 34 assists from sophomore Lexi Zimmerman(Barrington, Ill./Barrington), the University of Michigan volleyball team won the Rice University Mizuno Invitational with a 3-0 win over the host Owls (25-16, 26-24, 25-15) Saturday night (Aug. 30) in Fox Gymnasium.
Michigan (3-0) and Rice (2-1) battled through five lead changes in game one, but it was the Wolverines who took control at the midway point, holding a lead from 18-11 on to take set one, 25-16. The Wolverines hit a solid .333 in the first frame, compared to the Owls'.244 attack percentage. Michigan got five kills from senior Beth Karpiak(LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) and four from junior Juliana Paz(Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC). Michigan took advantage of five Rice attack errors and two blocking errors to build its largest lead, 24-10, before closing out the Owls for the victory.
The second game was one of streaks as the Wolverines grabbed a 15-8 lead, only to have Rice respond with its own runs of 5-2 and 12-6 to tie the set 24-24. The Wolverines' final run was all that mattered as U-M polished off the frame scoring the final two points for a 26-24 win.Bower keyed the offense at the end with seven kills in the period, while junior Veronica Rood(Temperance, Mich./Bedford) had in set two. Michigan also added 23 digs, led by six each from Bower and senior Kerry Hance(Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount).
Set three followed the script from the previous frames as each team held early leads. Back-to-back service aces by sophomore Maggie Busch(Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian) pushed UCM's lead to 9-5. After Michigan swelled the margin to eight, 13-5, the resilient Owls closed the gap to three points, 14-11, forcing Michigan to a timeout. The Wolverines responded out of the huddle, reeling off four straight points to increase their margin to seven, 18-11. That spurt proved too much for Rice as Michigan went on to a 25- 15 win.
Michigan will head south next weekend (Sept. 6-7) to compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 6-7), opening up with Georgia State at 1 p.m.
N O T E S
Four Wolverines earned all-tournament team honors. Junior Megan Bower was named tournament MVP, while senior Beth Karpiak, junior Juliana Paz and sophomore Lexi Zimmerman earned all-tournament nods.
Michigan begins the season 3-0 for the fourth time in the last four seasons. In each of the last two seasons, Michigan started the year 13-0.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
