Michigan
24-7, 12-6Big Ten
Minnesota
21-8, 12-5Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 23 | 14 | 25 | 0 |
| MICHIGAN | 25 | 25 | 27 | 3 |
U-M Sends Seniors Out in Style, Blanks No. 12 Minnesota
11/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #14 Michigan 3 #12 Minnesota 0 (25-23, 25-14, 27-25)
Records: U-M (24-7, 12-6 Big Ten), Minnesota (21-8, 12-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 17 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team sent its senior class out in style with a Senior Night sweep of No. 12 Minnesota (25-23, 25-14, 27-25) on Friday night (Nov. 20) at Cliff Keen Arena.
Juliana Paz
Senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) made the most of her regular-season home finale, pacing the Wolverine attack with a career-high 23 kills, while junior/sophomore Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) added a season high 10. Meanwhile, junior Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) dished out 48 assists and senior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) each added 19 digs defensively.
The deciding third set was tilted toward the Gophers from the start as they built an 18-11 lead. The Wolverines chipped away with stellar defense and timely attacks, rallying within two at 21-19. Trailing 24-20, two straight kills by Paz, a termination from senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford), and another by Paz knotted the frame at 24-all. Minnesota took the next point, but a kill by Rood tied it up at 25-all before Paz gave U-M the lead, 26-25, and Rood finished the Gophers off with her eighth kill of the match, giving Michigan a 27-25 win.
In set one, Minnesota held leads of five and six early in the frame until U-M battled back to knot it late, 23-all. A Zimmerman kill gave the Wolverines their first and only lead to that point, before a block by Bruck sealed the victory, 25-23. Paz led U-M with nine kills, while Zimmerman dished out 16 assists in the frame.
Minnesota kept things close early in set two, trailing only 12-10, before the Wolverines caught fire to take over the second set. A run of seven straight -- featuring three kills by Paz and two by sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./Granger) -- gave Michigan a commanding 19-10 lead. Bruck closed the set with a kill and back-to-back blocks for a 25-14 Michigan triumph.
The Wolverines hit the road for their final two regular-season matches next weekend, the first of which takes place on Friday night (Nov. 27) as they travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. with MGoBlue.com providing live audio and live game stats.
NOTES
• Michigan bid farewell to a four-member senior class following the win over Minnesota. Cassie Petoskey, Juliana Paz, Veronica Rood and Megan Bower all appeared in their final-regular season home match at Cliff Keen Arena.
• Juliana Paz registered a career-high 23 kills versus Minnesota, eclipsing her previous career best of 22 set in NCAA Tournament first-round action last season versus Kentucky (Dec. 4, 2008).
• Senior Megan Bower tied the U-M career record for matches played with her 133rd appearance in the Maize and Blue, tying Kerry Hance (2005-08).
• Karlee Bruck posted a season-high 10 kills in the win, eclipsing her previous high of eight set against Fairfield on Sept. 11. Bruck was one kill shy of tying her career-best 11 set at Illinois last season.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
Opening statement ... "I couldn't be happier or prouder of this group of girls tonight. What a battle that was. Minnesota is a terrific team. I think a big key for us tonight was that we never gave up, especially in set three. We competed until the end, which is all you can really ask of a team. We played great defense tonight, Juliana was terrific and Karlee did a great job freeing up the offense because of her play in the middle. I also thought that Lexi ran a great offense, distributing the ball and keeping everyone involved and keeping Minnesota off balance a little bit. It is a great feeling to close the regular season here with a big win."
On saying farewell to the senior class ... "It is always bittersweet. This group has accomplished so much together and taken this program to a new level. I think when people look back 5, 10, 20 years from now, this class will be recognized as the group that helped put Michigan volleyball at a national level. They are achievers, that is the word I would use to describe them, and they proved that again tonight."
U-M Senior Captain Megan Bower
On leaving Keen Arena with a win ... "Winning my last game in Cliff Keen was all I wanted. We competed well tonight, fought hard a played great defense, which we knew we would have to do tonight against a good Minnesota team."
U-M Senior Veronica Rood
On her last match at home... "Playing here for the last time is really hard. I have cried a few times, called my mom and cried to her a few times, it is really hard, but I can't think of a better way to close this place out than the way we did tonight."
U-M Senior Juliana Paz
On her career-high night ... "I just felt great tonight. I think it was a team effort. We played great defense with great pursuit, and I was the fortunate one to benefit from the team play."
On her thoughts going into senior night ... "I saw the towels saying `thank you seniors' and it hit me. I just wanted to come out here and play really well for the crowd and give them my best effort for the last time."
U-M Senior Cassie Petoskey
On her feelings after the match ... "It is weird, really weird. It didn't really hit me until after the match. I was joking with Michelle (McMahon) and (Courtney) Fletcher that we won't ever do this again, hang out on the side and cheer together at Keen. It was great to have a ton of friends and family here tonight to see this."
