Michigan
17-7,10-4Big Ten
Illinois
12-11,7-7Big Ten
Michigan Upends No. 21 Illinois in Front of Sold Out Cliff Keen Crowd
11/9/2019 10:43:00 PM | Volleyball
» Cori Crocker knocked out 12 kills while hitting an eye-popping .733.
» Sydney Wetterstrom had a match-high 14 kills.
» Michigan got a team-high 17 digs from Natalie Smith.
» The win marked Michigan's first in-season series sweep of Illinois since 2007.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, #21 Illinois 1 (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18)
Records: U-M (17-7, 10-4 B1G), Illinois (12-11, 7-7 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Nov. 13 -- vs. Iowa (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team pulled off another upset of No. 21 Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 9) in four sets (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18) in front of a sold out crowd in Cliff Keen Arena.
The win improved the Wolverines' record to 17-7 overall and 10-4 in Big Ten play. It marked the second time this season U-M defeated Illinois (3-1, Nov. 1 in Champaign), giving the Maize and Blue the season series sweep of the Fighting Illini for the first time since 2007.
The Wolverine offense was paced by senior Sydney Wetterstrom, who finished with 14 kills on the night with a hitting percentage of .333. Freshman May Pertofsky added 13 and sophomore Paige Jones chipped in with 12 as part of a Michigan attack that had four players with double-digit kills. The most eye-catching stat line of the night was senior Cori Crocker, who had 12 kills and just one error on 15 attempts for a .733 attack percentage.
Defensively, U-M had two players reach double figures in digs as junior Natalie Smith had 17 and senior MacKenzi Welsh had 16 to go along with a match-high 45 assists. Welsh's double-double was her eighth of the season and second in a row.
The Wolverines jumped ahead in the match by taking the first set, leading from the first serve and coming away with a 25-23 victory. Michigan carried momentum from a set-one win by earning a 25-15 victory in the second set. The Wolverines put together a .412 attack percentage with 18 kills in the set win.
Michigan could not finish off the sweep, as it fell in set three, 25-23, to make their lead two sets to one in the match. The Wolverines lost the set despite a solid performance on the attacking end hitting .357 in the set while holding the Illini to a .269 mark.
The Wolverines responded to claim the match win with a 25-18 set-four victory. The Wolverines took the lead for good at 15-14 in a set that had just one lead change before the Maize and Blue took over in the second half of the stanza.
Michigan will be back in action Wednesday (Nov. 13) when it finishes its three-match homestand against Iowa at 7 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena.
