Michigan
4-0
Missouri
3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Missouri | 19 | 15 | 22 | 0 |
Wolverines Sweep Missouri to Win Tiger Invitational
8/25/2012 12:01:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Columbia, Mo. (Hearnes Center)
Event: Tiger Invitational
Score: #23 Michigan 3, Missouri 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-22)
Records: U-M (4-0), Mizzou (3-1)
Attendance: 2,280
Next U-M Event: Friday, Aug. 31 -- vs. Central Michigan - adidas/Michigan Invitational (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The 23rd-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team received 20 kills and 10 digs from junior and Tiger Invitational Most Valuable Player Lexi Erwin (Spring, Texas/Woodlands College Park) as the Wolverines took a 3-0 decision (25-19, 25-15, 25-22) over host Missouri on Saturday night (Aug. 25) at the Hearnes Center. Michigan hit .339 for the match as the Wolverines won their eighth straight regular-season tournament title.
Lexi Erwin
Erwin recorded her second double-double of the day as she had 10 digs to go along with the 20 kills. Freshman Tiffany Morales (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) had a game-high 20 digs, while sophomore Lexi Dannemiller (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) added 42 assists in three sets.
In the first set, Michigan raced out to a 5-3 lead on an Erwin kill, then after Missouri tied the set at five, rattled off five straight points, capped by back-to-back aces from freshman Lindsey Lerg (Farmington Hills, Mich./Mercy). Missouri came back to tie the set at 10, forcing Michigan to call a timeout. The Wolverines came out of the timeout and scored five straight points as an assisted block from junior Jennifer Cross (Scarborough, Ontario/Birchmount Park Collegiate) and freshman Kelly Murphy (Marietta, Ga./Walton) made it 15-10 Michigan. U-M built a 20-13 lead and made it 24-16 on a Dannemiller kill. Missouri cut the lead to 24-19, but a Tiger attack error gave the first set to the Maize and Blue.
Michigan scored the first four points of set two, the last on a Goode kill. Michigan went up 8-2 on a kill from fifth-year senior Claire McElheny (Westfield, Ind./Brebeuf). Michigan built an eight-point lead (15-7) on McElheny's tip. At 20-13, Murphy scored Michigan's next three points on terminations. A block from Goode and McElheny and a Missouri attack error gave the Wolverines the 2-0 advantage. Michigan hit .378 in that set with only one attack error.
The Maize and Blue opened the third set with a 3-1 advantage after a service ace from McElheny. Missouri then scored six of the next eight points to take a 7-5 lead. Dannemiller's ace tied the score at seven, but the Tigers went on a three-point run, its largest lead of the set. Michigan retook the lead at 15-14 and Murphy's kill made it 18-16 Michigan. Missouri called timeout after an Erwin kill at 20-17. Missouri tied the set at 21, but Erwin came up huge at the end with a kill and two aces for a 24-21 U-M lead. Michigan closed out the match on a Murphy kill.
Michigan had 10 service aces on the night, led by Lerg with three. Erwin had a .475 hitting percentage, while McElheny came in at .474.
Michigan will open its home schedule with three matches in the adidas/Michigan Invitational. The Maize and Blue will face in-state foe Central Michigan this Friday (Aug. 31) at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.
NOTES
• Lexi Erwin earned her second career tournament MVP honor. She was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2011 Michigan/adidas Invitational.
• Erwin was joined on the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team by Lexi Dannemiller and Tiffany Morales.
• Erwin averaged 5.87 kills per set this weekend and had a .443 hitting percentage.
• Michigan now has a 2-0 series advantage on Missouri after the win.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the win over Missouri and the weekend in general .. "I thought we saw some huge growth this weekend. I thought yesterday we played tight with a lot of expectations and a lot of pressure. Today we said let's just learn and get better every point and every game. Let's keep finding things to improve. I thought we did that. The Virginia Tech match forced us to become a lot better in a lot of areas. Tonight, I thought we came out and competed well. They were tired after a five-game match against Virginia Tech. I thought we played with a lot of energy in the first two games. We got tired in the third game. It certainly would have been concerning had we gone past that third game. They buckled down in critical points and found ways to win it. We still have a lot of work to do and that's good. It's encouraging because we have so much room to improve. If we can do that, we might be pretty good but we have a lot of stuff to work on."
