Michigan
9-0
Colorado State
6-3
Jones' Career Effort Paces U-M to Win Over Colorado State, Ninth Straight Sweep
9/8/2018 10:26:00 PM | Volleyball
» Freshman Paige Jones totaled a career-high 18 kills at a .500 hitting percentage and recorded seven aces.
» Senior libero Jenna Lerg led all players with 18 digs.
» The win is Michigan's ninth straight via sweep to begin the season. Â
» Michigan's next contest will take place inside Crisler Center against Notre Dame (Sept. 14), and will mark the beginning of the Wolverines' record five Crisler matches this season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Michigan Challenge
Score: Michigan 3, Colorado State 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18)
Records: U-M (9-0), Colorado State (6-3)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 14 -- vs. Notre Dame (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A career-high 18 kills and seven service aces from freshman Paige Jones made the difference on Saturday night (Sept. 8) as the University of Michigan volleyball team extended its win streak to nine with a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) of Colorado State inside Cliff Keen Arena in the final match of the Michigan Challenge.
Jones led all players with career-best numbers, including a .500 attack percentage. She ended the match with 25 points.
Senior libero Jenna Lerg led the defense with a match-high 18 digs, while redshirt junior Cori Crocker totaled four block assists.
The first set started slowly for the Wolverines, as the Rams jumped out to an early lead. Michigan kept pace and rattled off six straight points to come from behind to take a 17-13 lead on a serving run from Jones. The Wolverines led from there and used a .379 attack average, as well as six kills and six aces from Jones, to clinch set one, 25-21.
Colorado State again started hot in the second set and cruised to an 8-3 lead before a serving run from junior Sydney Wetterstrom allowed Michigan to tie the score at 8. The teams played nearly point-for-point from there before a kill from Crocker gave the Wolverines a defining lead at 21-20. Though the Rams rallied late to cut Michigan's lead to one, 24-23, a kill from senior Carly Skjodt slammed the door for a 25-23 second-set victory.
Michigan led for the entirety of the third set, and surged ahead to lead by as many as seven. Following a Colorado State libero change in the middle of the set due to injury, the Wolverines kept the momentum and used eight kills from Jones along with four from Crocker to clinch the match.
The sweep is Michigan's ninth in a row to start the season, which sets a new program record. The Wolverines are now 9-0 to start the year for the first time since 2015.
Tweet of the Match
Paige Jones is lighting it up behind the serving line! We're gonna need more ACE tees! ?????????? #GoBlue @umichvball
— Whitney Tarver (@WTarver2332) September 8, 2018
The Wolverines will return to action on Friday (Sept. 14) when they host Notre Dame in Michigan's first match inside Crisler Center this season. First serve is set for 7 p.m., and fans can watch the match live on the Big Ten Network.
