Michigan
18-3, 7-3Big Ten
Northwestern
11-11, 1-9Big Ten
Michigan Wraps Road Stretch with Sweep of Northwestern
10/20/2018 10:38:00 PM | Volleyball
» The victory wraps a four-match road swing for the Wolverines.
» Paige Jones led all players with 12 kills at a .450 attacking average.
» Michigan will return home Friday (Oct. 26) and Saturday (Oct. 27) for a Big Ten weekend inside Crisler Center.
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Evanston Township High School)
Score: #13 Michigan 3, Northwestern 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-14)
Records: U-M (18-3, 7-3 B1G), Northwestern (11-11, 1-9 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 26 -- vs. #9 Wisconsin (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Following a loss on Friday evening (Oct. 19) that snapped a four-match win streak, the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team responded with a sound 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-23, 25-14) of the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday night (Oct. 20) at Evanston Township High School.
The sweep victory is Michigan's 13th of the season and brings the Wolverines' record to 7-3 in Big Ten action. The win also caps off a four-match road trip in which Michigan posted a 3-1 record.
Freshman Paige Jones led all players with 12 kills and was the only Michigan hitter to finish in double figures. She finished with a match-high .450 attacking percentage. Junior setter MacKenzi Welsh guided the Maize and Blue to a .294 team attacking percentage with 31 assists.
Defensively, freshman Kayla Bair led all players with a career-high six blocks. Senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt led the Wolverine back row with nine digs.
Northwestern took the first point of the match but Michigan rattled off a 3-0 run to take a defining lead in set one. Using a .419 team attack percentage, the Wolverines surged ahead for leads at 8-3 and 15-8, which burned both of the Wildcats timeouts. Led by five kills from junior Katarina Glavinic, every hitter posted at least one kill in the first frame and senior Maddy Abbott finished things off with a service ace as the Maize and Blue rallied to take set one, 25-17.
The Wildcats held the momentum to begin the second set, but Michigan soon came from behind with a four-point run to take a 9-6 lead and force a Northwestern timeout. The Wildcats kept pace and eventually cut Michigan's lead to one three separate times before tying the score at 22. Back-to-back service errors kept the score tied at 23, but consecutive kills from Skjodt propelled the Wolverines to a 25-23 second-set victory.
The teams traded points to start the third set before back-to-back Northwestern attack errors allowed Michigan to take a two point lead, 8-6. Taking advantage of numerous Wildcat miscues, the Wolverines then extended their lead to 16-10 and forced a Northwestern timeout. Despite the stoppage in play, Michigan dominated the remainder of the set, using a .273 attacking average and at least one kill from every hitter to clinch its 13th sweep victory of the season.
Tweet of the Match
Great way to end the weekend. Way to bounce back in the right way!#GoBlue ??? https://t.co/J1RJ2xJBiK
— The Zone (@UMichZone) October 21, 2018
The Wolverines (18-3, 7-3 B1G) will return home on Friday (Oct. 26) for a match against No. 9-ranked Wisconsin. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Crisler Center and the match will be televised on Big Ten Network.
