Michigan
3-4
Oregon
8-0
U-M Drops Road Match to No. 18 Oregon in Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge
9/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Eugene, Ore. (Matthew Knight Arena)
Event: Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge
Score: #18 Oregon 3, Michigan 0 (25-17, 25-19, 27-25)
Records: U-M (3-4), UO (8-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 19 -- vs. Youngstown State - Michigan Invitational (Crisler Center), 11:30 a.m.
EUGENE, Ore. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell in three sets at No. 18 Oregon Saturday night (Sept. 13) on day two of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge inside Matthew Knight Arena. Set scores were 25-17, 25-19 and 27-25.
Ally Davis
Junior Ally Davis (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) led the Wolverines with 12 kills, while sophomore Abby Cole (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) added 11 terminations. Cole also had a match-leading six blocks on the night. Junior Tiffany Morales (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) had 11 digs, while classmate Carly Warner (Naperville, Ill./St. Francis) posted 21 assists for the match.
Michigan fell behind 7-1 to open the first set, as a Frankie Shebby kill gave the Ducks the early six-point lead. An ace from junior Lindsey Lerg (Farmington Hills, Mich./Mercy) cut the lead to 8-5 and junior Krystalyn Goode's (River Hills, Wis./Nicolet) termination made it 13-10 Oregon. Morales' ace made it 14-12 but the Ducks went on a 5-1 run as an Oregon block gave UO a 19-13 lead. Cole had a kill at 22-16 but Naya Crittenden ended the set on a kill as the Ducks hit .419 to open the match.
Oregon hit an even .500 in the second set with 20 kills in a 25-19 Ducks win. Michigan trailed 5-3 after sophomore/freshman Cindy Zhou's (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) kill and 9-5 after Zhou combined with Goode on a block. Freshman Katherine Mahlke's (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) kill cut the Oregon lead to 14-9. Michigan cut the lead to five again at 22-17 on blocks from Cole and Davis but Shebby's kill sent Oregon into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
The Wolverines had a 5-3 lead in the third set after a Knop kill and a 7-4 advantage after Zhou's block. The Wolverines built a 9-6 advantage off Cole's kill, but Oregon fought back to take a 15-12 lead on back-to-back blocks and a service ace. The Wolverines fought back, trailing just 21-20 after Knop's kill. Michigan went up 23-22 on a Duck error and another Oregon miscue gave the Wolverines set point at 24-23. Oregon fought that off and had match point at 25-24. Cole's block tied the set at 25 but the Ducks tallied the final two points to earn the win.
U-M hit .200 for the match, compared to .346 for the Ducks. The Wolverines had eight team blocks and a pair of service aces on the night.
Michigan hosts the third-annual "Block Out Bullying" match this Friday (Sept. 19) against Youngstown State as part of the Michigan Invitational. First serve at Crisler Center is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., and admission is free,
NOTES
• Michigan is now 1-2 all-time against Oregon.
• The third set had 10 ties and four lead changes.
• Sophomore Cindy Zhou made her first appearance as a collegian in tonight's match, posting 10 assists and three blocks.
• Junior Ally Davis had double digits in kills for the third time this season and eighth time in her career. Davis had 12 kills on the night.
• Junior Tiffany Morales led Michigan in digs for the 58th time in her career. Morales had 11 digs on the night.
