Michigan
9-0
Pittsburgh
7-2
Michigan Scrapes Past Pittsburgh, Stays Unbeaten
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» U-M won the first two sets out of intermission to move to 9-0 for the first time since 2011.
» Abby Cole was named Michigan Challenge MVP. She had 14 kills and hit .478 against Pittsburgh.
» Cole, Caroline Knop, Katherine Mahlke and Adeja Lambert combined for 53 of the team's 60 kills.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Michigan Challenge (Day 2)
Score: #24 Michigan 3, Pittsburgh 1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18)
Records: U-M (9-0), Pitt (7-2)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 18 -- at Duke - Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Durham, N.C.), 6:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind four players with double-digit kill totals, the No. 24-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team took control late to take out Pittsburgh, 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18), on Saturday (Sept. 12) at Cliff Keen Arena to keep its perfect record intact.
Sophomore Caroline Knop led the team with 17 kills, while junior Abby Cole -- who was named Michigan Challenge MVP -- grabbed 14. In the team's three matches this weekend, Cole averaged 4.22 kills per set and hit at an incredible .567 clip. Joining in the attack were sophomores Katherine Mahlke (12 kills) and Adeja Lambert (10 kills), while senior Carly Warner collected a season-high 47 assists. Warner was one of three players with double figures in digs (13), along with senior Tiffany Morales (12) and freshman Jenna Lerg (11). Warner and Knop joined Cole on the all-tournament team.
Michigan and Pitt went back and forth in the first set, as neither team could gain much separation. The Wolverines went up at 19-18 on a kill from Knop, but Panthers stuck around, eventually tying the score at 21-21. An attack error was sandwiched in between kills from both Cole and Knop to give Michigan a three-point cushion late. The Panthers repelled one set point but not two, as Cole registered the final kill to give the win to Michigan, 25-22.
The Wolverines held an early lead in the second but struggled to get any offense going, dropping it to Pitt, 25-17. U-M only hit .067, compared to .323 for the visitors.
The third set was much like the first and ended the same way, with Michigan winning, 25-22. U-M was down 12-11 until Mahlke rattled off three consecutive kills to force a Pitt timeout. Knop was prominent in the attack with five kills in the second half of the set, including the set winner.
Michigan saved its best set for last, closing out the fourth, 25-18, to win the match. After Pittsburgh took a 10-9 lead, the Wolverines went on an 8-0 run to break it open. That stretch included three attack errors, two service aces from Warner, two kills from Knop and another one from Cole. Pittsburgh never got closer than five the rest of the way, and Michigan used a balanced attack -- it hit .387 in the final set -- to seal the win.
Michigan returns to action on Friday (Sept. 18) when it faces Duke as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Durham, North Carolina. The match will begin at 6:30 p.m.
