Michigan
Minnesota
Michigan Falls in Four Sets at No. 9 Minnesota
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2009
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Williams Arena)
Score: #9 Minnesota 3, #11 Michigan 1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-10)
Records: U-M (18-5, 6-4 Big Ten), Minnesota (17-5, 8-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 30 -- vs. Wisconsin (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- After comeback victory in the opening set, the No. 11 ranked University of Michigan volleyball team dropped three straight sets to No. 9-ranked Minnesota in a 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-10) loss on Saturday night (Oct. 24) in front of 7,547 fans at Williams Arena.
Senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) led the way offensively with 12 kills in defeat, while sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) added 11 terminations. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) posted 37 assists and 10 digs, while sophomore Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) posted a team-high 13 digs.
The deciding fourth set was all Minnesota. With the score tied 4-4, the Golden Gophers went on an 11-1 run that the Wolverines were unable to recover from in a 25-10 Gopher win. The Wolverine offense mustered just seven kills in the final frame and committed seven errors, while Minnesota was red-hot, attacking at a .600 clip to close the night.
In the opening set, Michigan battled back from a 9-2 early deficit to force a 13-13 tie on a service ace from senior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and then reeled off a pair of 4-0 runs down the stretch to cap the 25-20 comeback victory. Hunt led the way offensively with four kills in the frame, while U-M outblocked the Gophers 5-3 and held Minnesota to a .075 attack percentage.
Set two saw the Wolverines fall behind 10-6 on back-to-back attack errors and U-M never regained the lead in a 25-19 loss. The Golden Gopher defense stymied Michigan with six blocks while holding the Wolverines to a .111 attack percentage. U-M posted nine attack errors in the frame.
The Wolverines came out and grabbed an early lead in set three and held it until Minnesota strung together three straight points to take an 18-17 lead of its own. U-M roared back to take a 20-18 advantage before watching Minnesota regain momentum with another 4-0 run to go up 22-20. With the Gophers up 23-20, Rood came to the rescue with a termination off the slide and a Minnesota attack error, putting the Maize and Blue within one, 23-22. However, Minnesota capped the win on a termination and service ace to take a 2-1 set lead, 25-23.
The Wolverines return to action on Friday night (Oct. 30) when they host Wisconsin at 7 p.m. The game marks U-M's second-ever "pink" volleyball match as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month with proceeds from the game going to the University of Michigan Women's Health Program.
As part of the festivities, Michigan will wear pink jerseys to be silent auctioned off throughout the match and pink t-shirts will be sold leading up to this match for $10 each. Pink pom poms will be given away to the first 1,000 fans before the match and all fans wearing pink will be entered into a drawing for pink raffle prizes.
As a reminder, the volleyball coaching staff will also be serving ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's on State Street on Wednesday, Oct. 28th from 6-8 p.m., with portions of the business that night going to that cause.
N O T E S
• Alex Hunt's set-winning kill in the opening frame was her fourth termination of the match and 500th of her U-M career.
• With her 31st assist of the night, Lexi Zimmerman became the fourth Wolverine in program history to reach 4,000 career assists. Zimmerman joins all-time leader Linnea Mendoza (1994-97, 5,072), Lisa Gamalski (2001-04, 4,762) and Shannon Melka (1998-2001, 4,582).
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
