Michigan
19-8, 12-5
Michigan State
14-13, 5-12
Michigan Rallies to Take Down Rival Spartans in Five Sets
11/20/2019 10:51:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan rallied from down two sets to one to win the match in five sets.
» Freshman May Pertofsky had a career-high 18 kills to lead Michigan.
» Senior MacKenzi Welsh surpassed the 5,000 career assist threshold.
» Michigan had three players in double figures in kills.
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Jenison Field House)
Score: #23 Michigan 3, Michigan State 2 (25-19, 24-26, 23-25, 25-15, 17-15)
Records: U-M (19-8, 12-5 B1G), MSU (14-13, 5-12 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 23 -- at No. 17 Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 1 p.m.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team rallied to a 3-2 victory (25-19, 24-26, 23-25, 25-15, 17-15) against rival Michigan State on Wednesday night (Nov. 20) on the road at Jenison Field House.
The win marked the fifth consecutive win against the Spartans, a program first.
Senior setter MacKenzi Welsh finished the match with 53 assists and surpassed 5,000 for her career along the way. The Bolingbrook, Illinois, native is just the fourth player in program history to reach the 5,000 assist plateau, and is 57 assists away from third place in Michigan laurels.
The Wolverines (19-8, 12-5 Big Ten) had three players with double-digit kills in the match, led by freshman May Pertofsky, who finished with a career-high 18 and a hitting percentage of .400. Sophomore Paige Jones added 16 and fifth-year senior Cori Crocker chipped in with 10 while hitting .444. Defensively, U-M had two players reach double figures in digs as junior Natalie Smith had 17 and senior Sydney Wetterstrom had 14. From the front row, Crocker contributed a season-high seven blocks.
Michigan rebounded from down 2-1 to win the next two sets, culminating in a 17-15 fifth-set victory and a 3-2 match win. The Wolverines took control of the final set early and had the match on the doorstep at 14-12. The Spartans (14-13, 5-12 Big Ten) battled back and forced the set to extra points, with Michigan ultimately prevailing, 17-15.
U-M out-hit MSU, .301 to .208 and also came out on top in kills (58-54), assists (58-51) and digs (52-47).
The Wolverines grabbed the first set, 25-19, helped by a solid performance on the attacking side. Michigan registered a .345 attack percentage with 13 kills in the set victory. The Wolverines ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
Michigan fell in set two, 26-24, to tie the match at 1. The Wolverines fell in a back-and-forth set that featured seven lead changes and was tied 15 times. Neither team led by more than four points along the way.
A third-set loss put Michigan behind, 2-1, in the match as the Wolverines came up short in another battle, losing 25-23. After hitting .345 in the opening set, U-M managed just .250 and .233 from the floor in the second and third sets, respectively.
Michigan snapped its two-set skid and forced a fifth set with a 25-15 victory in set four. The Wolverines got their attack back on track by hitting .310 in the set and crushing 14 kills.
The Wolverines will hit the court once again Saturday (Nov. 23) when they face No. 17 Purdue in a 1 p.m. match in West Lafayette, Indiana.
