Michigan
26-9
Ohio
27-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio University | 32 | 26 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
| MICHIGAN | 30 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Michigan Rallies Past Ohio for Third Straight Sweet 16 Trip
12/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
Score: #16 Michigan 3, Ohio 2 (30-32, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20, 15-13)
Records: U-M (26-9), Ohio (27-7)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Dec. 11 -- vs. Stanford - NCAA Regional Semifinals (Palo Alto, Calif.), 7 p.m. PST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women's volleyball team secured its third straight NCAA Sweet 16 trip with a 3-2 (30-32, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20, 15-13) comeback victory over Ohio on Saturday (Dec. 5) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament inside Cliff Keen Arena. U-M dug out of a 2-0 hole to win the final three sets.
Three Wolverines posted double-figure kills, led by senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) with 18, while sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) added 16 and senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) posted the first double-double in kills and blocks for the team this season, registering 13 terminations and a career-high 10 blocks. The Wolverines posted a season-high 17 blocks as a team as both teams combined for 24 total stuffs.
In the deciding fifth set, Michigan carried momentum from its victories in sets three and four to grab an early 6-2 lead on kills by Hunt and Rood. The lead was three, 8-5, as the teams switched sides and Ohio went on a 6-2 run to cut the Michigan lead to one, 11-10. The Bobcats then forced the first tie of the set at 11-11 as the teams traded points down the stretch. Tied at 13-all, Michigan used an Ohio attack error and a kill by Paz to complete the comeback win, 15-13.
The first set was one for the ages as the teams exchanged the lead nine times with 16 ties in a marathon 32-30 win for Ohio. Michigan struggled with its passing game early as Ohio ripped off four service aces in the frame. The U-M defense found its way midway through the set, forcing an OU attack error to forge a 24-all tie. From that point on, the two teams traded points until the Bobcats used back-to-back attack errors from the Wolverines to cap the set-one victory.
Ohio carried the momentum from its opening-set victory into the second frame, racing out to a 12-5 lead and forcing Michigan into a timeout. The Wolverines started to claw back, narrowing the margin to four, 13-9, and then 16-14 on a kill by Rood. Consecutive terminations from junior/sophomore Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and Zimmerman forced the first tie, 18-18, and a kill from Rood knotted the match again at 24-all. Ohio then scored the final two points of the set for a 26-24 win and a 2-0 set lead heading to intermission.
In set three, Michigan came out swinging, hitting .321 while holding Ohio to a .000 clip in the most lopsided frame of the night, 25-13. The U-M offense was balanced as Bruck paced the club with five kills, while Paz added four, giving Michigan life, down two sets to one.
The U-M offense stayed hot in set four, hitting .353 as Hunt tallied five kills in a 25-20 Wolverine victory. Zimmerman dished out 12 assists and Michigan used two blocks from Rood down the stretch to hold off a late rally by the Bobcats, evening the match at 2-2.
With the victory, Michigan advances to the Stanford Regional next weekend, Dec. 11-12. The Wolverines square off with fourth-seeded Stanford on Friday night (Dec. 11) at 7 p.m. PST at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif. The Cardinal advanced to the Sweet 16 with a five-set win over St. Mary's (Calif.) on Saturday night (Dec. 5).
The first match Friday will feature No. 5 seed Illinois vs. 12th-seeded Hawaii at 5 p.m. PST. The winners of Friday's contests will meet in the regional final on Saturday (Dec. 12) at 8:30 p.m. PST. Multimedia availability information for each match will be released when it becomes available.
NOTES
• Michigan advances to NCAA Sweet 16 for the third straight season and third time in program history.
• The Wolverines moved to 11-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament play with the win over Ohio and are now 4-0 in NCAA Tournament games at home.
• Veronica Rood posted a career-high 10 blocks in the win, besting her previous mark of nine set against Wisconsin on Oct. 30.
• Rood also registered the first double-double in blocks and kills this season for a Wolverine and the first for a Wolverine since Lyndsay Miller (2004-07) turned the trick with 11 kills and 10 blocks at Michigan State on Sept. 21, 2005.
• Lexi Zimmerman dished out 51 assists, marking the 13th time this season she has eclipsed 50.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
Opening statement ... "It's the courage of our players. We're down 0-2. To lose two of those games, you lose 32-30 and 26-24, they're both just right there. I think game two we went down big early, we were down by eight I think and we come back and get into a new scheme. But to be down in that position in the break is hard. When your back's against the wall, your season's looking to be over, and how they fought back, I can't be more proud of them. That's a lot that's uncoachable. That's not drills we do in practice, that's just heart. That's just players who didn't want to be done. They're (Ohio) a very, very good team; they gave us everything we could handle and we answered. I'm really, really proud. Individually, as well as collectively, we did a good job. We're glad to be moving on.
"It sounds cliché, but coming out of the locker room after game two I honestly felt like we could win the match because that's this team. We have that much confidence in them and they have that confidence in themselves."
On the break between games two and three ... "We stayed pretty calm, not only the coaches but the players, between games two and three. We lose two close games, it's a difference of four points. It's a point in a season that everyone is trying hard, we're not worried about their effort. If we're going to be upset it's going to be because of their effort not because of anything else. We said we had to execute a little bit better and get them out of rhythm. The first two games we didn't run our offense at the tempo we normally do. They're a very good blocking team and because we were running it slower it puts their blocking at an advantage. We tried to get our offense back into a rhythm. I thought Lexi (Zimmerman) did a wonderful job of getting the offense back into system, into rhythm. And all of a sudden our hitters have holes and seams. Now we get kills, it's a different match. Between games two and three, that's what we talked about, how do we fix it? How do we get their defense off a little bit. They were out-digging us big time the first two games. I think we did a good job of finding a way."
On U-M's seniors ... "The skill part certainly is great. You look at their numbers, but it's more about their determination and their drive. People always say they want it more and I don't believe that. What I do think is, who handles it better. Who handles those moments and who finds a way to just stay calm and move in the right direction when it's all on the line. That's something that these guys bring. I've always said you go as far as your seniors take you. It doesn't matter if their numbers aren't the best, it's your seniors that drive the bus, and these guys are drivin' it. And it came out in the locker room, they didn't want their season to be over and nobody else wanted their season to be over, and there's the result. That's what I'm really proud of.
"The other thing that I just noticed too is that we out-blocked them, 17-16. First of all, if we out-block someone, that in itself is an accomplishment. I think (associate head coach) Leisa (Rosen) did a great job tonight. Leisa charts their offense and they ran some things pretty predictably, and I thought she did a great job of getting our blockers in a good position to be successful. Obviously she didn't execute it but these guys did."
U-M Senior Megan Bower
On how playing five set matches during the season helped tonight ... "When you get to the postseason it's like a five game match. Nothing else matters. I think that it did provide confidence; we'd been there before, we knew we could win. We just kind of looked at each other and refused to lose. Tonight we played aggressive and got into our style of volleyball. We just played hard."
"We knew it was going to come down to little things and as long as we could keep our game going and find those couple points we were going to be alright."
U-M Senior Juliana Paz
On the emotion of the game and advancing past the second round ... "It was a great game and like I said in the locker room it's not over yet. We think this team has something special. Tonight was great, we fought hard and Ohio played great. We just want to keep going now. One thing is, this team has been playing together for two years, we know each other really well. We just looked each other in the eye and we knew we were going to win it because we have so much confidence in each other."
On how draining five game matches can be ... "Games like that drain us not only physically, but emotionally too. I know I'm really emotional. Having your season on the line is something that gets you a little excited and nervous at the same time. Winning that game was just great. It was a relief and it proves this team is special and we can do what we want."
U-M Senior Veronica Rood
On coming off a sweep last night and then facing a tough Ohio team ... "I think last night we played well against Niagara. We did a lot of things well, so I think playing hard and playing the defense we did last night, and playing as a team and having fun, was a confidence booster coming into tonight. We played well last night so that helped us."
On winning games three and four ... "There were a few points in the beginning that were good points for us. I think we got really excited, and like Mark (Rosen) was saying, we don't want our season to be over. Having a lot of energy out there and playing together, and coming in and looking each other in the eye, that's a really important thing for us, making sure we all know that we want this."
