Michigan
18-4, 7-4B1G
Wisconsin
15-4, 8-3B1G
Wolverines Drop Five-Set Heartbreaker to Badgers
10/26/2018 11:45:00 PM | Volleyball
» Four Wolverines finished with double-digit digs for the first time this season.
» Carly Skjodt led all players with 27 kills and added 16 digs for her sixth double-double. Â
» The five-set match is Michigan's fourth of the season and second at home this year. Â
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #7 Wisconsin 3, #12 Michigan 2 (18-25, 25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11)
Records: U-M (18-4, 7-4 B1G), Wisconsin (15-4, 8-3 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 27 -- vs. #3 Minnesota (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite four players with double-digit digs and 27 kills from senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt, the No. 12-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 setback (18-25, 25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11) against No. 7-ranked Wisconsin on Friday night (Oct. 26) inside Crisler Center.
The fifth frame began with a 3-0 run for the Badgers, who posted a .304 team attack percentage in the final set and held the Wolverines to just a .174 hitting percentage. Despite kills from Paige Jones, Skjodt, and Kiara Shannon, Wisconsin surged ahead for leads at 11-6 and 13-7 which caused Michigan to use both of its timeouts. Coming out of the Wolverines' second timeout, a double-block from redshirt sophomore Ellie Brooks and sophomore Shannon looked to spark a momentum shift for the Wolverines, but a kill from Wisconsin's Dana Rettke gave Wisconsin a match-point lead at 14-8. Although Michigan fought off three match points with kills from Skjodt and Shannon along with a double-block from Shannon and junior setter MacKenzi Welsh, it was unable to go the distance as Wisconsin clinched the final set, 15-11.
Skjodt finished the day with a match-leading 27 kills, marking her fifth 20-kill match of the season. She added 16 digs to earn her sixth double-double of the year. Freshman Jones ended the day with 18 kills.
Defensively, Michigan had four players earn digs in double figures for the first time since an NCAA Tournament match against Colorado State last season. Skjodt and senior libero Jenna Lerg led the charge with 16 apiece, while Welsh added 15 and sophomore Natalie Smith finished with 14.
The Wolverines also posted a season-high 12 blocks as a team. Shannon tied her career high with seven, including two solo blocks, while Welsh posted four and freshman Kayla Bair added three.
The Badgers took early leads in every set, but Michigan was able to surge from behind in the first and fourth sets. Despite the five-set loss, the Wolverines posted 62 kills to the Badgers' 61 and U-M finished with six service aces as a team.
Wisconsin jumped out to a quick lead in the first set and took a five point lead at 14-9. Michigan responded, and closed the gap to just three points, 15-12, going into the media timeout. Following the break, Michigan gained momentum and used a 5-2 scoring run to tie the score at 17 before a kill from Skjodt gave the Wolverines their first lead of the night. From there, the set was all Michigan, as the Maize and Blue rallied for five unanswered points as part of a 10-1 run -- including six straight points at the end of the frame -- to clinch the first set, 25-18. Skjodt finished the first set with nine kills.
The Badgers evened the match with a 25-16 second-set victory after holding the Wolverines to a .125 team hitting percentage. Armed with a 15-9 lead at the media timeout, Wisconsin soon extended its lead to 18-10 and 23-13, which burned both of Michigan's timeouts. Though the Wolverines fought off three set points with back-to-back kills from Jones and a back-row kill from Skjodt, the momentum was with the Badgers.
Wisconsin kept the momentum going into the third set with a 3-0 rally to start things off and jumped ahead to an 11-7 lead to force Michigan to take an early timeout. The Wolverines responded with a three-point run as part of a 6-2 rally to tie the score at 13. Back-to-back Badger points gave Wisconsin back the lead, but two kills from Skjodt and a kill from Shannon allowed Michigan to flip the score and go ahead, 18-17, before a Michigan service error and consecutive kills from Jones put the Wolverines up by two, 19-17. Wisconsin then called a timeout, and returned to the court and went on a 9-3 run to regain the score and take set three, 25-22.
A 4-0 Wisconsin run jumpstarted the fourth set before a dump kill from Welsh put the Wolverines on the board. From there, Michigan slowly came from behind and cut the Badger lead to one, 9-8, before Wisconsin again pulled away to lead by as many as four. Down 21-17 late, a Michigan timeout allowed the Wolverines to regroup and launch an 8-0 run that resulted in a 25-21 fourth-set victory and evened the match.
The Wolverines (18-4, 7-4 B1G) will get back in action Saturday (Oct. 27) with a match against No. 3-ranked Minnesota. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Crisler Center, and the match will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
