Michigan
13-17, 8-12Big Ten
Illinois
24-7, 16-4Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 25 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 1 |
| Illinois | 22 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
U-M Falls at No. 11 Illinois in Four Sets to Close Out 2014 Season
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Huff Hall)
Score: #11 Illinois 3, Michigan 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-14)
Records: U-M (13-17, 8-12 Big Ten), ILL (24-7, 16-4 Big Ten)
Attendance: 2,946
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Freshman Claire Kieffer-Wright had a career-high 11 kills, and junior Tiffany Morales added 21 digs, but No. 11 Illinois used 13.5 blocks to win in four sets over the University of Michigan volleyball team Saturday night (Nov. 29) inside Huff Hall in the final match of the 2014 season. Set scores were 22-25, 25-20, 25-14 and 25-14.
Lexi Dannemiller
Senior Lexi Dannemiller, playing in her final match with the Maize and Blue, had 35 assists, seven digs and a pair of blocks. Kieffer-Wright added three blocks, while sophomore Abby Cole had nine kills on the night. Freshman Caroline Knop recorded eight kills and had three service aces, while classmate Adeja Lambert had eight kills and nine digs to go along with two blocks.
Michigan led for most of the first set, using a balanced offense to take a 25-22 victory. Michigan scored the first four points of the set, capped by a Morales ace. Dannemiller's kill made it 6-3 Maize and Blue. Illinois scored the next four points but clawed back as Kieffer-Wright's termination put Michigan on top 10-8. Kieffer-Wright combined with Lambert for a block for a 12-9 lead. Cole's kill put U-M up 17-11, and a Dannemiller kill made it 21-15. Illinois got as close as two points late, but a Fighting Illini error gave the Wolverines the first-set win.
The Wolverines had the lead for much of the first half of set two, but Illinois rallied to take the 25-20 win and tie the match at one. Knop had aces for Michigan's first two points. Cole and Dannemiller combined for a block for a 7-6 lead. Kieffer-Wright gave U-M a 12-9 lead with a kill, but Katie Roustio's back-to-back terminations put Illinois on top 18-16. Kieffer-Wright trimmed Illinois' lead to 21-20 with a kill, but the Fighting Illini scored the set's last four points as a Brandi Donnelly ace gave Illinois its 25th point. Michigan hit .345 in that set with Kieffer-Wright accounting for five of Michigan's kills.
The Fighting Illini used six blocks for a third-set win. For the third straight set, Michigan started out hot as Cole had kills at 3-0 and 5-1. Illinois had back-to-back blocks to cut U-M's lead to 6-5. It was 9-8 Illini after a Michigan hitting error and 12-10 after an Illinois block. The Wolverines called time after a block gave Illinois a 17-10 lead. Jocelynn Birks' ace put Illinois on top 20-12, and her kill made it 23-14. Roustio ended the set with a kill as the Fighting Illini hit .237 in the set while holding the Maize and Blue to a .000 hitting percentage.
Illinois was the one to get off to a hot start in set four, taking a 4-0 lead on Donnelly's ace. It was 8-4 after Alexis Viliunas' kill, and Michigan called time after a Fighting Illini block at 10-4. Lambert had kills at 14-6 and 15-7, but Illinois had a Birks kills at 22-12 and then ended the match with a Roustio termination.
Michigan hit .107 on the night, while Illinois had a .279 hitting percentage. Illinois held a slim 59-57 dig advantage, and the two teams combined for 12 service aces.
Michigan loses one senior (Dannemiller) from this year's team and will return three players who had season-ending injuries in Ally Davis, Kelly Murphy and Gabbie Bulic.
NOTES
• Michigan fell to 3-4 in four-set matches this season.
• The Wolverines played their 14th ranked opponent in No. 11 Illinois on Nov. 29. The Wolverines were 3-11 against ranked opponents.
• Senior Lexi Dannemiller ends her Michigan career with 5,321 assists, second all-time in U-M career assists mark. She also had 104 service aces, 346 kills and 1,084 digs.
• Freshman Claire Kieffer-Wright set a career high with 11 kills in the Illinois match. Her previous high was eight on two occasions.
• Junior Tiffany Morales recorded 20-plus digs for the 21st time in her career and sixth time this season. Morales had 21 digs in the Illinois match.
• Morales led Michigan in digs for the 73rd time in her career.
