Michigan
16-9, 6-7B1G
Rutgers
5-20, 0-13B1G
Michigan Completes Season Sweep of Rutgers
11/1/2017 9:55:00 PM | Volleyball
» The win gives Michigan a 5-0 record in the all-time series against Rutgers and improves the Wolverines' home record to 10-2 on the season.
» Katherine Mahlke and Carly Skjodt led Michigan with eight kills apiece.
» Claire Kieffer-Wright finished with a match-high .429 hitting percentage and seven kills.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, Rutgers 0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-14)
Records: U-M (16-9, 6-7 B1G), RU (5-20, 0-13 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 4 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7:30 p.m. CT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team executed a season sweep of Rutgers on Wednesday night (Nov. 1), defeating the Scarlet Knights in straight sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-14) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
The win gives Michigan (16-9, 6-7 B1G) a 5-0 record in the all-time series against Rutgers and improves the Wolverines' home record to 10-2 on the season.
Offensively, senior Katherine Mahlke and junior Carly Skjodt led the Maize and Blue with eight kills apiece, while senior Claire Kieffer-Wright added seven kills at a match-high .429 attack average.
Sophomore MacKenzi Welsh guided Michigan's offense to a .303 hitting percentage with 26 assists and two kills on three swings. She also added three service aces.
Defensively, the Wolverines out-blocked the Scarlet Knights, 8-3. Kieffer-Wright and redshirt sophomore Cori Crocker led all players with three blocks each. From the back row, junior Jenna Lerg led all players with 15 digs, which marked her 19th double-digit dig performance this season.
Michigan got off to a quick start in the first set, jumping out to an early 4-1 lead. The teams then traded points until the Scarlet Knights called a timeout with Michigan leading 12-9, but Rutgers continued to close the gap and came within one point at 15-14. From that point on, however, the Wolverines used three kills apiece from Mahlke and senior Adeja Lambert along with a .360 attacking percentage to go on a 10-1 run for a 25-15 first-set victory.
The Wolverines again gained an early lead in set two, going up, 10-5, before Rutgers recorded five consecutive points to tie things up at 10. Following a Rutgers attack error, the Scarlet Knights added four more points to take their first lead of the set at 14-11 and force a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines chipped away at the lead and tied the score at 17 on a kill by Mahlke, and an 8-2 run allowed Michigan to take set two by a 25-19 score. Kieffer-Wright finished the set with five kills while the Wolverines totaled four team blocks.
Following the intermission, Mahlke led off the third set with a kill before a Rutgers attack error gave the Wolverines a two-point edge. Despite leading early on, the Scarlet Knights garnered momentum with six kills and two service aces to come back and tie the score at 10. After a service error gave Michigan back a lead at 11-10, the Wolverines worked efficiently, using a .385 attack average and a 15-4 run to take set three, 25-14, for the sweep.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
Michigan takes the match! Set 3 going to the Wolverines 25-14 pic.twitter.com/Mo4fgkFmaM
— Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) November 2, 2017
The Wolverines will return to action on Saturday (Nov. 4) when they travel to Illinois for a single contest. First serve against the Fighting Illini is set for 7:30 p.m. CT inside Huff Hall, and fans can watch the match streamed live on the Big Ten Network.
