Michigan
12-2, 1-1
Iowa
10-4, 0-2
No. 22 Michigan Defeats Iowa for First B1G Victory
9/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» Three Michigan players finished the match with double-digit kills for the third time this season.
» Freshman Cori Crocker picked up a career-high eight blocks on the night with five kills at a .714 attack average.
» Michigan tied its season-high 16 blocks in the victory.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #22 Michigan 3, Iowa 1 (25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17)
Records: U-M (12-2, 1-1 B1G), Iowa (10-4, 0-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 30 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A career-high eight-block outing from redshirt freshman Cori Crocker and three Wolverines with double-digit kills propelled the No. 22-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes (25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17) on Saturday (Sept. 24) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
The win is just Michigan's third four-set match of the season and marks the Wolverines' first Big Ten Conference victory of the year.
For just the third time this season, three Wolverines finished the match with double-digit kills as junior Adeja Lambert and senior Kelly Murphy led the charge with 12 apiece, while senior Abby Cole tallied 11. Junior Claire Kieffer-Wright also added nine kills on the night, while Crocker picked up five at a .714 clip, and freshman MacKenzi Welsh tied her season-high four.
Defensively, the Wolverines tied their season-high 16 blocks with a dominating net presence. Crocker led the team with a career-high eight blocks on the day, while Cole added six and Murphy and Lambert each picked up four.
From the back row, however, nearly every player tallied a dig in the effort. Sophomore libero Jenna Lerg, who led the Wolverines with eight digs, snapped an 18-match streak of double-digit dig outings.
Using a .355 kill percentage in the first set of the day, the Wolverines jumped out to a 7-1 lead to force an early timeout by Iowa. From there, the stage was set as Kieffer-Wright and Murphy picked up four kills apiece to push Michigan to a 25-21 first-set victory.
Up 1-0, Michigan again jumped ahead in set two, garnering a 5-1 lead, before the Hawkeyes rattled off three straight points to cut the deficit. Despite Iowa's offensive push, every Michigan player who had an attempt in set two finished the game with an attack average well more than .400. Overall, Michigan's .538 kill percentage in the second game came at the hands of Cole and Lambert, who had five and four kills, respectively.
In spite of a 2-0 Michigan lead going into the break, Iowa came out in set three ready to battle. A Hawkeye kill to start the set marked Iowa's first lead of the entire match, but Michigan quickly regained the lead on an Iowa attack error and a kill from Crocker. The Wolverines then fought to maintain a lead, but four consecutive Hawkeye points tied the game at 9-9 and gave Iowa the momentum needed to go ahead. Though the Wolverines were never down more than three, Iowa controlled the rest of the set, forcing game four with a 27-25 third set win.
Following set three, Michigan again jumped out early in the fourth and final set of play, going up 11-6 to force an Iowa timeout. The stoppage in play was insufficient, however, and Michigan cruised on to a 25-17 victory and the Wolverines' first conference win of the year. Led by Crocker and Cole, the Wolverines totaled seven team blocks in the final game to hold Iowa to .000 attack average.
After nearly a full week of practice, Michigan will return to Big Ten action on Friday (Sept. 30) for its first conference road trip of the season as the Wolverines head to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a match at Rutgers. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
