Michigan
16-4, 5-3Big Ten
Wisconsin
15-2, 7-1Big Ten
No. 18 U-M Outlasted by No. 1 Wisconsin in Five-Set Heartbreaker
10/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» Senior middle blocker Abby Cole led the Wolverines with 17 kills at a .455 clip and six blocks.
» Freshman setter MacKenzi Welsh tallied 49 assists and 11 digs to earn her fifth career assist-dig double-double while also totaling a career-high six kills.
» Michigan has never before defeated a No. 1-ranked opponent.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #1 Wisconsin 3, #18 Michigan 2 (25-10, 25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13)
Records: U-M (16-4, 5-3 B1G), WIS (15-2, 7-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Oct. 19 -- at Maryland (College Park, Md.), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite trailing two sets to none heading into the third set of the night, the No. 18-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team rallied for victories in sets three and four before dropping set five to the No. 1-ranked University of Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday night inside Cliff Keen Arena. The 3-2 loss (25-10, 25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13) snaps a three-match win streak for the Wolverines.
The match was close on all accounts, as Michigan ended the day with a .258 attack percentage, while Wisconsin earned a .286 attack average. The Wolverines finished the match with 65 kills to the Badgers' 61 as well as 66 digs to the Badgers' 59.
A dump kill from setter MacKenzi Welsh began the match on a high note for the Wolverines, as Michigan jumped out to a 6-3 lead, before a 7-5 Badger run tied things up at 10-10. From there, the two teams played point for point until 14-14, when three straight Wisconsin points gave the Badgers a 17-14 lead and forced Michigan to call timeout. Despite five kills from Abby Cole and three apiece from Claire Kieffer-Wright and Welsh in set one, the Badgers rallied to take the game, 25-20.
Down by one, the Wolverines came out fighting in set two, but four Wisconsin blocks and a .484 Badger kill percentage held the Wolverines to a .162 attack average as Michigan dropped the set, 25-18.
Despite trailing two sets to none following intermission, Michigan launched an offensive attack in set three that saw six Wolverines tallying kills at a .321 team average. A service ace from Tiffany Clark along with kills from Adeja Lambert, Welsh and Kieffer-Wright put the Wolverines up 9-3 early on, forcing Wisconsin to take its first timeout of the match. Following the stoppage in play, however, Michigan went on a 4-2 run to go ahead by eight and force the Badgers to call another timeout. Wisconsin eventually came within four points of the Wolverines, but a 4-0 Michigan run ended the set with the Maize and Blue on top, 25-17.
Set four began much like the third as Michigan jumped out early to a 4-0 lead, before a ball-handling error put the Badgers on the board. Serving runs by Carly Skjodt, Katerina Rocafort, Jenna Lerg and Lambert gave Michigan a 14-7 lead, before the Badgers could call their second timeout, and the pace was set from there. Six kills apiece from Cole and Kieffer-Wright propelled the Wolverines to a .359 kill percentage and a 25-20 fourth-set victory to tie the match.
With the match tied at 2-all, kills from Cole and Kieffer-Wright as well as a service ace from Welsh gave Michigan an early 3-0 lead in set five. From there, however, three straight Wisconsin points tied the score, and the teams were forced to play point for point until Wisconsin rallied for a 10-8 lead to force a Michigan timeout. Following the stoppage in play, Wisconsin rattled off two more points to go up 12-8, but the Wolverines battled back to tie the score again at 13-13. The Badgers then took a timeout and rallied off two consecutive points to take the set and the match.
Michigan is now 0-2 in five-set matches this year, with its last five-set loss coming in early September against Pitt. That loss snapped an eight-match win streak to begin the season. The Wolverines are also now 1-3 against ranked opponent this season, though two of those losses have come against a No. 1-ranked team.
As a program, Michigan has never defeated a No. 1-ranked team. However, Michigan's last five-set loss to a No. 1-ranked opponent came in 2012, when the Wolverines made their first-ever Final Four appearance.
With 17 kills at a .455 kill percentage, Cole led the Wolverines offensively for the eighth time this season and 40th match of her career. Kieffer-Wright followed suit with 12 kills at a .360 clip, and junior Katherine Mahlke kept pace with 1-, marking her third straight match with double-figure kills.
Cole also led the Michigan front row defensively, earning a solo block and five block-assists, while Welsh, Kieffer-Wright, and Lambert totaled three blocks apiece. The Wolverines ended the match with 10 total blocks to Wisconsin's eight, marking the 13th time this season that Michigan has out-blocked its opponent.
From the back row, Lerg picked up 25 digs to lead all players, marking her 10th career outing with 20 digs or more. Welsh also finished the match with 11 digs, while Clark totaled 10.
With 49 assists and 11 digs, Welsh finished the night with her fifth career assist-dig double-double. Her six kills also marked a new career high.
The No. 18-ranked Michigan Wolverines will return to play on Wednesday (Oct. 19) with a midweek Big Ten matchup against the Maryland Terrapins. First serve for is set for 7 p.m. at the Terps' home court in College Park.
