Michigan
12-0
Arizona State
9-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | 19 | 27 | 25 | 16 | 1 |
| Michigan | 25 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
U-M Tops Arizona State in Thriller, Wins adidas Invitational
9/20/2008 12:01:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #25 Michigan 3, Arizona State 1 (25-19, 25-27, 27-25, 25-16)
Records: U-M (12-0), ASU (9-4)
Attendance: 951
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Sept. 24 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team went to a fourth set for just the third time this season but remained undefeated as it pulled out a hard-fought 25-19, 25-27, 27-25, 25-16 win over Arizona State Saturday night (Sept. 20) at the Michigan/adidas Invitational in Cliff Keen Arena. U-M finished the weekend with a 3-0 record to win its fourthtournament in as many tries and improved to a perfect 12-0 for the third straight season heading into Big Ten play.
Lexi Zimmerman
Sophomore Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 52 assists and 13 digs, while junior Juliana Paz (Porto Allegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) had a team-leading 18 kills.
Arizona State came out strong in the first set and managed to keep it close, but a late 11-5 run by Michigan carried the Wolverines to a 25-19 win. ASU took a small early lead and pushed the Wolverines in a back-and-forth battle that saw eight ties and seven lead changes. With the score tied at 14 apiece, Michigan finally wrestled away control with a late run that included three straight points from Paz. The Sun Devils called two timeouts during the run, but it was to no avail as U-M closed out the set. The Wolverine attack was very balanced with Paz, junior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) and senior Beth Karpiak (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) all notching four kills. Zimmerman added 16 assists, and freshman Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) led the Wolverine defense with seven digs.
The second set became a close-fought affair as the teams needed extra points to decide the winner. Arizona State staved off a set point with three straight points to win 27-25. A hot start by the Sun Devils left the Maize and Blue down 7-1 early and forced coach Mark Rosen to call a timeout. After the break the Wolverines went on the attack with an 8-2 run to take a 10-9 lead and force Arizona State to call a timeout of its own. Michigan continued to extend its lead, going up 15-12, but the Sun Devils were undeterred as they battled back to tie the game at 17 with a 5-2 run. The teams traded points and U-M claimed a set point before ASU ended the set with a 3-0 run. Paz picked up seven kills with a .538 hitting percentage, while Zimmerman had four kills to go along with her 11 digs in the set.
Paz led U-M with seven kills in a very close third set in which the Wolverines needed three set points before finally putting away the Sun Devils, 27-25. There were 12 ties during the set, and neither team had a lead larger than four. Karpiak added four kills for the Maize and Blue, while Zimmerman continued to rack up the assists with 15 more in the set.
After three close sets, Michigan got some early breathing room in the fourth with a 13-4 run to open up a 17-8 lead that it would not relinquish. ASU got no closer than seven points as U-M closed out the Sun Devils with a 25-16 win. Junior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) had four kills in the set for the Wolverines, while Zimmerman notched 10 assists and six digs.
Karpiak and Bower joined Paz with double-digit kills in the match as each recorded 12 over the four sets. The Maize and Blue had 76 digs with five players in double digits, led by senior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) with 17. Sophomore Maggie Busch (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian) added a team-leading three service aces.
Michigan returns to the court Wednesday (Sept. 24) when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, to open Big Ten play at Ohio State. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
NOTES
• Michigan won the Michigan/adidas Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record. It is the fourth invitational title in as many tries this season for U-M and its 11th straight dating back to 2005.
• Lexi Zimmerman was named the invitational MVP, and Beth Karpiak and Juliana Paz were named to the all-tournament team. Karpiak and Zimmerman have made the all-tournament team in each of the four invites the Wolverines played this season.
• Michigan moved to 12-0 for the third straight season and is just one win away from matching the 13-0 starts from the past two seasons.
• Lexi Zimmerman posted her fourth straight double-double of the season with 52 assists and 13 digs vs. Arizona State. She was one kills shy of her first triple-double.
• Michigan head coach Mark Rosen is now just three wins away from passing Sandy Vong on the U-M career wins list. Rosen stands at 175 career victories with the Maize and Blue, while Vong recorded 177 from 1973-83.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On defeating Arizona State ... "We knew coming into this weekend we would face more physically demanding competition, and I think we handled it very well. Arizona State is a very talented team. They played great defense, but we were just able to come up with the points when we needed them tonight."
On rebounding from the set-two loss ... "It was interesting because I thought we came out very well in set two, but Arizona State played extremely well and took that one from us. We had to regroup, and I was proud of how the kids responded and finished off set three and then carried that over into a big set-four win."
On the play of tournament MVP Lexi Zimmerman ... "Between Friday night and all day today, I though Lexi ran the most balanced offense we have run all year. She really got everyone involved and got us running on all cylinders. I think she is the perfect pick for tournament MVP because she certainly kick-started everything for us this weekend."
On the play of senior Beth Karpiak ... "Beth played great. We have really been focusing on getting Beth more involved in the offense, and we carried that out this weekend. She was steady for us and played a great tournament."
On starting the season 12-0 for the third straight year ... "I don't think about those things very much, but I did think about it today actually. It is a testament to the teams we have had the last three years to lose just one match outside of conference play. I think that really shows the fight of our team and the strength of our conference to be a middle to upper-middle of the pack team in conference play but to go outside of the Big Ten and dominate opponents. I think that speaks volumes to the level of play in the Big Ten."
On the start of Big Ten play Wednesday at Ohio State ... "I haven't seen any tape on Ohio State yet. I do know that they will be big. They will be physical. They have had good success early on under a new coach. Their system will be different than what we are used to from them, but I expect it to be a very fast match and we will have to cover the whole court. I think our team is ready for that next challenge. They are anxious to start the conference slate."
