Michigan
17-10, 7-9
Ohio State
21-7, 10-6
Michigan Upsets No. 14 Ohio State in Road Sweep
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» Sophomore outside hitter Caroline Knop (15) and junior outside hitter Abby Cole (14) led all players in kills.
» Freshman Jenna Lerg made her first start at libero, recording 14 digs to tie her career high.
» The 3-0 victory is the Wolverines' first win over a top-25 team this year, as they kept OSU to the teens in points in sets one and three and prevailed in a marathon set two.
Site: Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, #14 Ohio State 0 (25-15, 31-29, 25-16)
Records: U-M (17-10, 7-9 Big Ten), OSU (21-7, 10-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Nov. 18 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 7 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Backed by a stellar offense and a .328 hitting percentage, the University of Michigan volleyball team upset the No. 14-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in a 3-0 sweep Saturday evening (Nov. 14) on the Buckeyes' home court, St. John Arena.
The victory marks the Wolverines' first win over a top-25 team this season and snapped a four-game Michigan losing streak.
Michigan dominated the first set of the match, going on a 6-1 run to force an Ohio State timeout early on. Despite the pause in play, the Maize and Blue continued its offensive rally, cruising to a 25-15 set victory. Sophomore outside hitter Caroline Knop led the charge for Michigan, recording five kills. Overall, Michigan ended the set with a .361 attack average, holding Ohio State to a -.029 hitting percentage in the set.
Ohio State came out swinging in the second set, forcing an early lead. Michigan's offense tied the set at 10-10, however, and the game went nearly point for point from there. Both teams rallied for a second set victory, but an Ohio State lead at 24-22 forced a Michigan timeout. A kill from Knop then forced an OSU timeout, and junior outside hitter Kelly Murphy answered back with a kill to tie the game at 24-24. The momentum sparked an offensive surge from Michigan that eventually outlasted the Buckeyes, as timely kills from senior setter Carly Warner, junior outside hitter Abby Cole and Knop sealed the Wolverines' fate, pushing Michigan to a 31-29 set win.
With a 2-0 lead in their favor, the Wolverines returned after the intermission and launched an offensive attack. U-M garnered an early 3-0 lead before committing a service error, and another 3-1 run put Michigan ahead, 6-2, forcing an Ohio State timeout. At one point, the Buckeyes came within two points of Michigan, but kills from senior middle blocker Krystalyn Goode, Murphy and Warner put the Wolverines ahead by five and continued the offensive surge for the Maize and Blue. Four-kill efforts from Knop, Cole and Goode propelled the Wolverines to a quick 25-16 set victory for a 3-0 match sweep.
Knop (15) and Cole (14) tag teamed to lead all players in kills in the match, while Warner guided Michigan to a .328 hitting percentage with 38 assists.
Three Wolverines recorded double-digit digs in the victory. Senior defensive specialist Lindsey Lerg led Michigan in digs with 16, while freshman libero Jenna Lerg finished the match with 14. Warner also tallied 10 for a setter's double-double.
From the net, sophomore middle blocker Claire Kieffer-Wright led Michigan with a career-high seven blocks, while Goode, Cole and Murphy picked up two apiece.
The Wolverines ended the match with a .328 attack average, holding the Buckeyes to just a .104 average. The Maize and Blue tallied 52 kills to the Buckeyes' 34 and 56 digs to Ohio State's 44. Finally, the Wolverines out-blocked Ohio State 10 blocks to six.
Michigan will return to play on Wednesday (Nov. 18) when the Wolverines travel to State College, Pennsylvania, for a Big Ten Conference match against No. 1-ranked Penn State. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
