Michigan
10-0
Notre Dame
6-3
Crisler Crowd Rallies Michigan to Win over Notre Dame, 10th Straight Sweep
9/14/2018 10:21:00 PM | Volleyball
» The 3-0 U-M victory came in front of a crowd of 5,210 at Crisler Center, which marks a season-high for attendance.
» Freshman Paige Jones led the Wolverines with 13 kills behind a .308 attack percentage.
» Michigan had Four players log double-figure digs for the first time since 2016.
» The win is Michigan's 10th straight; all have come via sweeps.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #19 Michigan 3, Notre Dame 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-18)
Records: U-M (10-0), ND (6-3)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 16 -- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team shook off a slow start and rolled to its 10th consecutive victory, sweeping Notre Dame by a 3-0 score (25-22, 25-17, 25-18) in front of a boisterous crowd of 5,210 inside Crisler Center on Friday evening (Sept. 14).
The Wolverines have yet to drop a set this season.
The Wolverines led, 2-1, early in the first set but fell behind by as many as seven (11-4) as the Irish took advantage of Michigan's poor passing and logged three early blocks. Michigan still trailed by six, 17-11, before a kill from freshman Paige Jones ignited a 9-2 U-M run, culminated by a block by sophomore Kiara Shannon and junior MacKenzi Welsh that put the Wolverines up, 20-19. The match was tied at 20 and 21, but two Notre Dame attack errors and two kills from Jones gave the Wolverines the comeback victory. Jones had five kills, senior Carly Skjodt added four and Welsh contributed three blocks in the set.
The second set was tight at the start as Michigan led by as many as three and there were eight ties, the last one at 16. But Skjodt sandwiched two back-row kills around senior Jenna Lerg's service ace to give the Wolverines some breathing room. Junior Sydney Wetterstrom added back-to-back kills and Jones had another to put Michigan up, 24-17, and an Irish hitting error ended the set. Wetterstrom led the Wolverines with five kills in the set, while Lerg and sophomore Natalie Smith added six digs apiece.
The third set was Michigan's strongest, as the Maize and Blue hit for a .441 average behind six kills from Jones and five from Skjodt. The teams traded points early, but an unassisted kill from Skjodt on an overpass gave the Wolverines a defining lead, 13-12, and helped put Michigan on top, 15-13, going into the media timeout. From there, Michigan went on a 7-3 run to force a 22-16 lead and a Notre Dame timeout before two kills from Wetterstrom and one from Jones allowed the Wolverines to clinch the set, 25-18, and take the match in a 3-0 sweep.
Michigan had four players record double-figure digs for the first time since 2016. Lerg paced the Wolverines with 18, while Jones, Skjodt, and Welsh each registered 10. Jones' match-high 13 kills and 10 digs marked her first career double-double.
Along with Jones, Skjodt (12 kills) and Wetterstom (10 kills) led the Michigan offense to a .223 attack percentage. Welsh also finished with a double-double behind her 32 assists and 10 digs while leading Michigan in blocks with four.
Tweet of the Match
Michigan wins! pic.twitter.com/mhmA0jNYeF
— Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) September 15, 2018
Michigan (10-0) will wrap up the home-and-home series with Notre Dame on Sunday (Sept. 16) with a contest in South Bend, Indiana. The match is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
