Michigan
15-2, 4-2B1G
Indiana
11-6, 3-3B1G
Great Skjodt! Wolverines Pull Out Five-Set Thriller Against Hoosiers
10/6/2018 11:25:00 PM | Volleyball
» Carly Skjodt posted a career-best 29 kills behind a .352 kill percentage.
» In her first career start, Kayla Bair totaled a career-high nine kills and led Michigan with five blocks.
» Michigan improved to 11-1 at home with the five-set victory, the Wolverines' first five-set match of the season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #16 Michigan 3, Indiana 2 (19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14)
Records: U-M (15-2, 4-2 B1G), IU (11-6, 2-4 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 12 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind a career-high 29 kills from senior Carly Skjodt, the No. 16-ranked University of Michigan overcame a first-set loss and survived two Indiana match points to defeat the Hoosiers in a five-set thriller (19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14) that took two hours and 47 minutes Saturday night (Oct. 6) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
Skjodt carried the Wolverines offensively, taking a career-high 71 swings and committing only four errors while hitting .352 en route to her career-best kill total that included six terminations in the deciding set. She added 10 digs for the 20th double-double of her career.
Michigan's middle blockers also came up big, with freshman Kayla Bair posting career bests of nine kills and five blocks in her first start and sophomore Kiara Shannon chipping in eight kills and three blocks. Five of Bair's kills came in the pivotal third set. Freshman Paige Jones contributed 11 kills, senior Jenna Lerg had 25 digs for the 24th 20-dig match of her career, and junior setter MacKenzi Welsh tied her season high with 60 assists and added 16 digs.
There were eight ties and six lead changes in the frantic fifth set that saw Michigan trail 7-4 and 8-5 before kills from Jones, junior Sydney Wetterstrom and Skjodt combined with a Welsh service ace gave U-M a one-point edge, 9-8. The teams were then tied at 9, 10 and 11 before Indiana tallied three of the next four points to reach match point, up 14-12. However, the Wolverines staved off one match point on Skjodt's kill and survived a second on an Indiana attack error that was upheld after review. Another Skjodt kill produced match point for Michigan, and another IU attack error gave the Wolverines the victory, 16-14. Skjodt posted six kills on nine swings without an error in the set, while Wetterstrom added three terminations.
The Hoosiers jumped on the board early with a 3-0 run to begin the first set, but the Wolverines responded with a four-point run of their own. Neither team gained an edge until 5-1 run gave Indiana a three-point lead, 11-8, which the Hoosiers extended to four points, 16-12, forcing a Michigan timeout. Despite 10 kills from Skjodt in the first set alone, Michigan's .082 hitting percentage did not give the Wolverines momentum to come from behind as Indiana took the opening set, 25-19.
Michigan responded with a balanced offensive attack in the second set, highlighted by a .351 team hitting percentage and kills from six different Wolverines. After a termination from Wetterstrom and a Hoosier attacking error gave the Maize and Blue a lead, 2-1, the Wolverines led for the remainder of the frame. Though Indiana fought off two set points, a kill from Wetterstrom sealed the second set, 25-19, and evened the match.
Indiana again took an early lead to begin the third set, but multiple Hoosier attacking errors coupled with a Skjodt serving run allowed the Wolverines to work from behind and tie the score, 5-5. Despite point-scoring runs from both teams, Indiana won the battle for the lead as it went ahead by four, 19-15, and forced Michigan to call a timeout. Following the stoppage in play, Bair ignited the Wolverines with a kill and posted three more during a 10-2 run that propelled U-M to the 25-21 third-set victory.
The Wolverines seemed to be on their way to closing out the match as they built a four-point lead in the fourth set, 16-12. However, the Hoosiers closed the gap and, down 20-18, rattled off four straight points to seize a 22-20 advantage. After U-M knotted the score at 22, Indiana's Breana Edwards posted back-to-back kills to make it 24-22 Indiana. U-M averted one set point on a kill by Shannon, but Edwards added another termination for the 25-23 Hoosiers win, sending the match to a fifth set. Skjodt posted six kills in the set, while Lerg added nine digs.
Tweet of the Match
GOT IT DONE! pic.twitter.com/w57GiC0QZF
— Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) October 7, 2018
The Wolverines (15-2, 4-2 B1G) will return to action on Friday (Oct. 12) as they kick off a four-match road swing at Ohio State. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio.
