Michigan
17-3, 6-3B1G
Illinois
17-3, 6-3B1G
Michigan Drops Five-Set Thriller at No. 7 Illinois
10/19/2018 11:59:00 PM | Volleyball
» The loss is Michigan's third this season and first five-set defeat.
» Carly Skjodt earned her fifth double-double of the season with a match-high 25 kills and a season-high 17 digs.
» Three Michigan players finished with double-figure digs, including a career-high 16 from Natalie Smith. Â
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Huff Hall)
Score: #7 Illinois 3, #13 Michigan 2 (25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13)
Records: U-M (17-3, 6-3 B1G), Illinois (17-3, 6-3 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 20 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Despite a kill-dig double-double from senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt and three Wolverines with double-digit digs, the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller (25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13) to the No. 7-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday evening (Oct. 19) at Huff Hall.
The loss snapped a four-match win streak and marked the Wolverines' third loss of the season. All three losses have come against teams ranked in the AVCA top 10 at the time. The five-set match is also Michigan's third this season.
Neither team could string together consecutive points to begin the fifth set, and it was Illinois that led, 8-7, at the bench switch before an Illini ace coupled with a kill from leading hitter Ali Bastianelli pushed Illinois to a 10-7 lead. Kills from Skjodt and junior Katarina Glavinic allowed the Wolverines to cut the Illini lead to one on three separate occasions before an Illini ball-handling error tied the score at 13. Despite a .360 Wolverine hitting percentage in the fifth set, back-to-back Illini points allowed Illini to clinch the fifth set, 15-13.
Skjodt posted her fourth straight match with 20-plus kills, finishing with 25 and adding a season-high 17 digs to earn her fifth double-double of the year. Freshman Paige Jones followed with nine kills, and Glavinic set a career high with nine of her own.
From the back row, senior libero Jenna Lerg totaled a match-high 26 digs, which marked her fourth consecutive performance with 20 digs or more. Sophomore Natalie Smith totaled a career-high 16 digs, while sophomore Kiara Shannon led the front row with a career-best seven blocks.
The teams traded points to begin the first frame, though the Illini eventually pulled away for a four-point lead, 11-7. Kills from Skjodt and Jones eventually brought Michigan back within one, 12-11, and the Wolverines tied the score at 14 on a kill from Glavinic before an Illini error and another Glavinic kill put Michigan ahead, 16-14. Following an Illinois timeout, the Illini rallied for three straight points to regain the lead, 17-16, and the teams were forced to play point-for-point. With the score tied late at 22, the Illini rattled off three straight to clinch the first set, 25-22.
Illinois jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the second set, but a kill from Glavinic and a serving run from senior Maddy Abbott allowed Michigan to come from behind and take an 11-10 lead. The Wolverines extended their lead to two, 13-11, on a kill from Skjodt, before the Illini launched a 4-0 run to flip the score and go ahead, forcing a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines fought to tie the score twice more at 19 and 20, but the Illini again inched away for a two-point lead, 24-22. Fighting off two set points, the Wolverines used kills from Skjodt and freshman Kayla Bair to come from behind and force a 26-24 second-set victory.
The Illini used an 8-3 run to begin the third set and force an early Michigan timeout. Much like the first two sets, the Wolverines were able to inch back slowly and cut the Illini lead to two, 12-10, before a service ace from Skjodt tied the score at 13. An Illinois attacking error and a kill from freshman Abbey Malinowski then gave Michigan a two-point lead, 15-13, and the Wolverines maintained a two-point edge until back-to-back Illinois kills tied the score at 18. Michigan then used kills from Skjodt and Shannon to go up by three, 23-20, but Illinois answered with a 4-0 run and regained the lead, 24-23, before ultimately rallying for a 26-24 third-set win.
The fourth set began with an 8-6 score in favor of Illinois, but a kill from Skjodt along with an overturned point on a Michigan challenge gave the Wolverines the momentum needed to force a four-point run and a 10-8 lead. Illinois responded with a 6-1 run that included five straight points to jump ahead, 14-11, and force a Maize and Blue timeout. The Wolverines again fought to tie the score, this time at 18, on a kill from Jones before three straight Illinois attacking errors and a dump kill from junior setter MacKenzi Welsh put Michigan ahead by a 22-18 score. The Illini cut Michigan's lead to one three more times, but a kill from Jones cliched the fourth set, 25-23, and sent the teams to a thrilling fifth.
Michigan (17-3, 6-3 B1G) will wrap up its four-match road swing on Saturday (Oct. 20) at Northwestern. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CDT at Beardsley Gym on the campus of Evanston Township High School, and the match will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
