Michigan
26-11
Michigan State
25-10
Wolverines Oust Michigan State to Reach NCAA Regional Final
12/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Berkeley, Calif. (Haas Pavilion)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Regional Semifinals)
Score: Michigan 3, Michigan State 0 (25-16, 26-24, 26-24)
Records: U-M (26-11), MSU (25-10)
Attendance: 1,325
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 8 -- vs. Stanford - NCAA Regional Final (Berkeley, Calif.), 8:30 p.m. PST (TV: ESPNU)
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team blew past Michigan State in three sets (25-16, 26-24, 26-24) on Friday night (Dec. 7), clinching its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight. U-M will face second-ranked Stanford in the regional final Saturday (Dec. 8) at 8:30 p.m. PST at Haas Pavilion.
Michigan, making its second regional final appearance in four years, was led on offense by junior Lexi Erwin's (Spring, Texas/Woodlands College Park) 17 kills. Classmate Jennifer Cross (Scarborough, Ontario/Birchmount Park Collegiate) added 12 kills and five blocks. Sophomore Lexi Dannemiller (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) dealt 30 assists, while freshman Tiffany Morales (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) had 19 digs. Freshman Krystalyn Goode (River Falls, Wis./Nicolet) registered five blocks, while Erwin tossed in four block assists.
Michigan started strong in the first set, taking a 3-1 lead on a Goode kill and compiling a 5-2 advantage on a block from Goode and Erwin. U-M went up 7-3 on another block from Goode and Erwin. Michigan State cut the lead to 8-5, but a Cross kill off an MSU overpass put the Wolverines up 10-5. A Spartan rotation error put U-M up 12-5 and Erwin's kill gave the Maize and Blue a 13-7 lead. A kill from the setter Dannemiller put Michigan on top 16-7, and a back-row kill by Erwin gave the Wolverines an 18-10 advantage. A Spartan service error followed by an MSU attack error gave U-M a 22-13 lead. The Wolverines closed out the set on a Cross kill, giving the Maize and Blue the early lead. Michigan hit .300 in the first set, while Morales had 10 first-set digs.
The second set featured 17 ties and 12 lead changes. Michigan took an early 3-2 lead on a Dannemiller service ace and went up 6-5 on Erwin's kill. Michigan State went up 8-7 on a Wolverine error and built a 10-9 lead on a service ace. Michigan retook the lead at 11-10 on a Cross service ace. Back-to-back Spartan blocks put MSU up 14-11. The Wolverines rallied to tie the set at 15 off an MSU attack error, then U-M took a 16-15 lead on a Goode kill off an overpass. Michigan State then went on a 4-0 run, but a block from Cross and Goode cut the U-M deficit to 19-18 and the Wolverines tied it at 19 on a kill from Erwin. Back-to-back Cross kill tied the set again, this time at 21. Cross then had a big block, giving U-M a 22-21 lead. The Wolverines went up 23-21 on a Spartan error, but Michigan State battled back, tying it at 23 on a block. An Erwin kill set up a U-M set point, which the Spartans answered. Cross then had a kill for a second set point, and a Spartan attack error gave the Wolverines a 2-0 advantage.
Michigan took a 5-4 lead in the third set off an Erwin kill, then U-M went up 7-5 on a Spartan block error. MSU scored the next three points and took an 11-9 lead on a Wolverine attack error. Michigan chipped away, eventually tying the set at 13 on an Erwin kill and taking a 15-13 lead on a Cross kill. Erwin gave U-M a 17-15 lead with a termination, and her back-row kill made it 18-16. A Spartan service error put the Wolverines up 20-18 and Erwin's kill gave the Maize and Blue a three-point cushion. An MSU service ace cut the Wolverine lead to 21-20, but Erwin came right back with a kill. A Michigan error tied the set at 22, but Michigan State followed suit, giving the Wolverines the one-point lead. Erwin's kill gave U-M match point, but MSU fought it off. A Spartan kill tied the set at 24, but Erwin answered again with a kill to force another match point, and Cross' kill sent Michigan to its second-ever regional final appearance.
Michigan hit .261 for the match, compared to .160 for the Spartans. U-M held a 9.5-7.0 advantage in blocks, while both teams had three service aces.
N O T E S
• Michigan advances to its second regional final in school history. The Maize and Blue also went to the regional final in 2009 after defeating Stanford, 3-1. U-M fell to Hawaii, 3-0, in the Elite Eight match.
• The win tonight is the 650th in program history. Michigan has an all-time record of 650-589-5.
• U-M is one of four Big Ten teams still alive in the NCAA Tournament. The Maize and Blue joins Penn State, Minnesota and Nebraska in the regional finals.
• Michigan is the only unseeded team remaining in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Wolverines improve to 17-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
• Michigan improves to 16-3 in three-set matches.
• Lexi Erwin led the Wolverines in kills for the 26th time this season and the 41st in her career. She also had double digits in kills for the 32nd time this season.
• Jennifer Cross recorded her 19th double-digit kill figure of 2012. It also is her 37th at Michigan.
• Cross improves on her single-season school blocks record as she had five on the night. Cross has 173 total blocks on the year.
• Tiffany Morales led Michigan in digs for the 29th time this year as she had 19 on the night. This included 10 in the first set.
