Michigan
6-0
Georgia Tech
5-1
U-M Rallies Past Georgia Tech to Win Invite
9/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Score: Michigan 3, Georgia Tech 2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13)
Attendance: 1,751
Records: U-M (6-0), Georgia Tech (5-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 12 C vs. Oakland (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 7:30 p.m.
Boxscore
ATLANTA, Ga. C Led by a season-best 16 kills from senior Beth Karpiak(LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) and 51 assists from sophomore Lexi Zimmerman(Barrington, Ill./Barrington), the University of Michigan volleyball team knocked off host Georgia Tech in five sets, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13), to win the Georgia Tech Invitational Sunday (Sept. 7) at O'Keefe Gymnasium.
In set one, the Wolverines found themselves down 9-4 early, forcing head coach Mark Rosen into a timeout which seemingly energized his squad as the Wolverines promptly went on a 7-1 run to force the first tie of the set, 12-12. The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth until Zimmerman deposited a dump-shot termination to give U-M its first lead of the day, 14-13. The Michigan advantage reached three, 17-14, on the strength of back-to-back aces by freshman Sloane Dohnoff(Louisville, Ky./Assumption) as U-M jumped in front 17-15. From that point forward the host Yellow Jackets took control, going on a 9-3 run to take a 24-20 lead. Michigan would not go down without a fight, putting together a 3-0 run of its own before finally falling 25-23.
Set two saw more back-and-forth action as the two teams battled through four ties and four lead changes including a frantic final push down the stretch from the host team. U-M jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead only to see Georgia Tech storm back to take a 9-5 advantage. U-M then got Karpiak involved to the tune of four terminations to tie the set 11-11. Junior Megan Bower(Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) helped build a 17-13 Michigan advantage after two straight terminations, but the Yellow Jackets were not done, reeling off five of the next seven points down the stretch to cut the U-M lead to 24-23. It was Bower who came up with the final kill, slamming a Zimmerman back-set to the floor for a 25-23 Michigan win to even the match at a set apiece.
Set three saw another highly-contested battle as U-M raced to a 6-1 lead only to see Georgia Tech reel of 10-of-15 points to tie the set, 11-11. Neither team could grasp more than a three-point lead for the remainder of the frame as Michigan forced 10 ties before the Yellow Jackets were able to close out the set 27-15 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Karpiak led the Wolverine offense in set three, contributing four kills, and Donhoff added two more service aces.
Set four saw the Wolverines grab a 12-7 lead and for the first time they held on throughout. U-M pushed the advantage to 21-15 after a pair of kills by freshman/sophomore Karlee Bruck(Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and closed the set on Karpiak's 14th termination of the contest. The 25-20 win was the largest margin of the match to that point.
In the deciding set five, Michigan got off to a fast start, using blocks from Rood and Zimmerman plus a termination from Karpiak to take a 6-1 lead and force Tech into a timeout. The U-M lead reached 11-6 but Georgia Tech put together one final push, closing the gap to 12-11 before a Bower kill, a Tech attack error and a termination from Rood finished off the match, 15-13.
Three different Wolverine players tallied double-figure kills led by Karpiak's season-high 16. Bower and junior Juliana Paz(Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) posted 12 and 10, respectively. Zimmerman reached a season-high 51 assists while also contributing a season-best and team-high 17 digs. Zimmerman was aided defensively by senior Kerry Hance's (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) 11 digs. U-M also posted 12 team blocks.
The Wolverines return to Ann Arbor to make their home debut on Friday (Sept. 12) versus Oakland at 7:30 p.m. in day one of the Michigan/Pepsi Invitational at Cliff Keen Arena.
N O T E S
The win Sunday gave Michigan its second invitational title of the season and 10th consecutive.
Veronica Rood, Beth Karpiak and Lexi Zimmerman were all named to the Georgia Tech Invitational all-tournament team. Zimmerman took home MVP honors.
Michigan is now 4-0 all-time versus Georgia Tech after its 3-0 win Sunday.
Sunday's crowd of 1,751 was the largest U-M has played in front of this season.
The Georgia Tech match was the first Sunday contest for U-M this season and first since a 3-0 win on October 7, 2007, versus Northwestern.
Sunday's 3-2 win marked the first match for U-M to go beyond three sets and the first five-set match for U-M since a 3-2 win November 2, 2007, versus Minnesota.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
