Michigan
11-3, 1-2Big Ten
Northwestern
9-6, 1-2Big Ten
Michigan Rallies Past Northwestern for First Big Ten Win
10/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #14 Michigan 3, Northwestern 1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-13)
Records: U-M (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten), NU (9-6, 1-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,360
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 5 -- vs. Illinois (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 14th-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team dropped the first set to Northwestern, 25-23, before reeling off the next three, 25-19, 25-19, 25-13, on Friday night (Oct. 4) in front of 1,360 fans in Cliff Keen Arena.
Lexi Erwin
Seniors Lexi Erwin (Spring, Texas/Woodlands College Park) and Jennifer Cross (Scarborough, Ontario/Birchmount Park Collegiate) each had double-doubles for the Wolverines. Erwin had a match-high 19 kills to go along with 10 digs, while Cross had 15 kills and a career-high 11 digs for her first career double-double. Junior Lexi Dannemiller (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) had a career-high nine kills to go along with 44 assists. Senior Ally Sabol (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) had a team-high 15 digs, one of four Wolverines to garner double-figure dig numbers. Sophomore Krystalyn Goode (River Hills, Wis./Nicolet) assisted on seven of Michigan's 12 blocks.
There were nine ties in the match's first set, with Northwestern winning by a slim two-point margin. The Wolverines held a 4-2 lead after a Dannemiller kill and went up 10-7 on freshman Abby Cole's (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) termination. Northwestern tied the set at 12 on a U-M attack error and took a lead at 17-16 on a Wolverine bad set. Michigan battled back to tie the set at 20 on senior Molly Toon's (Middleton, Wis./Middeton) kill, but the Wildcats scored three straight points on a Stephanie Holthus kill and two Michigan attack errors. The Maize and Blue tied the set at 23 after Dannemiller's kill, but Northwestern scored the last two points as a Kayla Morin termination gave NU the 1-0 lead.
After taking a 2-1 lead on blocks from Cross and Dannemiller, Michigan led for the rest of the second set. Goode's kill gave U-M a 10-4 lead. It was 15-7 after a Northwestern attack error and 17-9 on blocks from Dannemiller and Goode. Northwestern cut the lead to 20-17 after a Katie Dutchman kill, but Michigan went into the locker room tied at a set apiece as Toon and Cross combined on a block for the 25-19 win.
Northwestern took a 7-5 lead in the third set after back-to-back Michigan errors, but the Wolverines responded and led 13-12 on a Wildcat ball-handling error. The Wolverines went up 18-15 after Erwin's termination. A Toon kill made it 23-18 Michigan and a Wildcat error gave Michigan the third-set win.
Set four was all Wolverines. The Maize and Blue scored the first six points and led 10-4 after on an Erwin kill. A service ace from fifth-year senior Brittany Lee (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) put U-M on top 15-8, part of an 8-2 run that was capped on blocks from Cross and Cole at 22-9. A Cross kill closed out the set at 25-13.
Michigan hit .291 on the night, compared to .161 for the Wildcats. The Maize and Blue had a 63-53 dig advantage and sided out at 70 percent.
Michigan continues its homestand Saturday night (Oct. 5) when the Maize and Blue takes on Illinois. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the match will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
NOTES
• Head Coach Mark Rosen picked up his 299th win at Michigan in tonight's victory. Rosen now has a U-M record of 299-180 in Ann Arbor in his 15th season.
• Michigan had four players in double figures in digs (Ally Sabol 15, Tiffany Morales 12, Jennifer Cross 11, Lexi Erwin 10) for the second time this season. The Wolverines also had four in double figures at Texas A&M on Sept. 13.
• Senior Lexi Erwin recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 30th of her career with 19 kills and 10 digs.
• Erwin had a season-high 19 kills, eclipsing her mark of 16 kills against Northern Kentucky on Aug. 31.
• Senior Jennifer Cross set a career high with 11 digs. Her previous career high was nine, which happened twice, including against Texas A&M on Sept. 13. She also had her first career double-double (15 kills, 11 digs).
• Senior Ally Sabol tied her season high with 15 digs in tonight's win over the Wildcats. Sabol also had 15 digs against Florida State on Sept. 14.
• Junior Lexi Dannemiller set a career high with nine kills. Her previous career high was seven on two occasions, most recently vs. Arkansas on Sept. 1, 2012.
• Sophomore Krystalyn Goode had seven blocks, one block short of a career high and the fourth time this season she had a seven-block match.
