Michigan
20-6, 9-5Big Ten
Northwestern
8-18, 1-13Big Ten
No. 17 U-M Wraps Up Winning Weekend with Victory over Northwestern
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» Led by 17 kills at a .519 kill percentage from Abby Cole, three Wolverines finished the match with double-digit terminations.
» Carly Skjodt earned her fifth double-double of the season and her second straight, totaling 11 kills and a match-high 15 digs.
» With six matches to play in the regular season, Michigan has already tied its win record from last year with 20 total wins and nine in the Big Ten.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #17 Michigan 3, Northwestern 1 (25-17, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17)
Records: U-M (20-6, 9-5 B1G), NU (8-18, 1-13 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Nov. 9 -- vs. Indiana (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Led by 17 kills at a .519 clip from senior Abby Cole, the No. 17-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team defeated the Northwestern Wildcats three sets to one (25-17, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17) on Saturday night (Nov. 5) in front of the Wolverines' fifth straight sellout crowd inside Cliff Keen Arena.
The Wolverines now own a 12-2 record when playing on their home court this season, with their only losses coming against No. 1 Nebraska (Sep. 23) and then-No. 1 Wisconsin (Oct. 15). In addition, Michigan has reached the 20-win mark with six matches to go in the 2016 regular season, and the Wolverines have already matched their nine-win conference record from last year.
Though service errors plagued Northwestern in the first set of the night, the Wolverines and Wildcats played nearly point for point until Michigan went on a 3-0 run to force a Northwestern timeout at 13-10. The Maize and Blue maintained the lead until servers Tiffany Clark and Kelly Murphy led the Wolverines on a 6-1 run to end the set with Michigan on top, 25-17.
Northwestern jumped to an early 6-3 lead in set two, but a massive solo block from MacKenzi Welsh brought possession and energy back to the Wolverines. Despite the momentum shift, Michigan trailed the entire set but looked to make a late-game comeback, winning several points in a row and staving off a set point twice. Four players earned three kills apiece in the second set, but the Wildcats took it by a 25-17 score.
Knotted at one set apiece, Michigan and Northwestern battled for a lead in the third set of the evening. The Wildcats took the first point of the game, but the teams played nearly point for point with seven ties, before a 4-0 Michigan run put the Wolverines up, 13-9. From there, Michigan maintained a lead, using kills from Cori Crocker, Claire Kieffer-Wright and Murphy to launch a 6-3 run that ended the set, 25-19.
Kills from Carly Skjodt and Cole put Michigan out to an early 5-1 lead in the fourth and final set of the night, giving Michigan the momentum needed to finish out the match. The Wildcats tried to keep pace, tying the score at 10-10, but timely kills from Welsh, Cole and Skjodt forced the lead back in Michigan's favor for the remainder of the game. Cole led the Wolverines to a .429 team attack percentage in the fourth set with seven kills of her own as Michigan took the game by a 25-17 score to clinch the 3-1 victory.
Michigan finished the match hitting .308 as a team, marking the third time that the Wolverines have hit better than .300 this season in Big Ten play. Additionally, three players finished the match with kills in double figures.
Cole led the Wolverines' offensive attack for the night, totaling 17 kills at a .519 clip to mark her best outing since Michigan's five-set loss to Wisconsin in mid-October. The senior also tallied four blocks in the victory, committing just three errors.
In addition to Cole's offensive showing, Kieffer-Wright finished the match with 13 kills at a .346 attack average, adding a team-high five blocks from her spot in the front row. Welsh connected with both players seamlessly, totaling 44 assists in the four-set win.
Skjodt -- the third played to tally double-digit kills with 11 -- led Michigan for the first time this season with a match-high 15 digs in the victory. The performance marks her fifth double-double this year.
Led by Skjodt, all but one starter recorded a dig on the night, as Welsh (14) and sophomore libero Jenna Lerg (12) each finished with digs in double figures. The outing is Welsh's ninth assist-dig double-double of her short career, while Lerg's performance is her 23rd of the season with double-digit digs.
The No. 17-ranked Wolverines will return to action on Wednesday (Nov. 9) when they host the visiting Indiana Hoosiers before heading into a three-game stretch on the road. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena, and fans can watch the match live on the Big Ten Network.
