Michigan to Kick Off NCAA Tournament with Northern Kentucky
12/4/2019 3:39:00 PM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK
Friday, Dec. 6 -- vs. Northern Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 5 p.m.
TV: ESPN3 | Live Stats | Live Video | NCAA Bracket
• Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Rosen Report
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team (20-10) received an at-large berth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and will take on Horizon League champion Northern Kentucky in the first round Friday (Dec. 6) at 5 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum on the campus of No. 11-ranked and No. 9-seeded Kentucky in Lexington. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3.
Kentucky and Southeast Missouri State will face off at 7:30 p.m. in the Friday's other first-round match in Lexington. Friday's winners will meet in the second round on Saturday (Dec. 7) at 7 p.m.
2019 NCAA First/Second Rounds
Friday, Dec. 6
Game 1 -- Michigan vs. Northern Kentucky, 5 p.m.
Game 2 -- No. 11 Kentucky vs. Southeast Missouri State, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7
Game 3 -- Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Michigan Earns 19th Tournament Berth
The Wolverines will make their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 14 years (19th overall). The NCAA berth is Michigan's 18th under head coach Mark Rosen. Through 18 previous postseason appearances, the Wolverine have posted a 23-18 overall record in NCAA matches.
The Big Ten and the Postseason
Seven Big Ten volleyball teams were selected to the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, with six teams serving as first round hosts. No. 4 seed Wisconsin leads the way, followed by No. 5 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 11 Penn State and No. 16 Purdue. Unseeded Michigan and Illinois round out the group. The seven bids mark the 27th consecutive season that at least six Big Ten teams have been selected to the tournament.
Michigan Finishes Sixth in Big Ten
The Wolverines finished their Big Ten Conference schedule with 13 wins, which tied a program best. All 10 of the Wolverines' losses in 2019 came to teams that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Michigan's 13-7 league mark broke a three-year streak of finishing with 11 Big Ten wins.
Jones, Welsh Highlight Big Ten Honors
Sophomore Paige Jones and senior MacKenzi Welsh were selected to the 2019 All-Big Ten Conference first team, while fifth-year senior Cori Crocker was named All-Big Ten second team and both May Pertofsky and Jess Robinson earned spots on the All-Freshman Team, the conference announced Wednesday (Dec. 4). Senior Sydney Wetterstrom also earned postseason accolades as Michigan's Sportsmanship Award winner.
Scouting the Opposition
Northern Kentucky
All-time series against the Norse: U-M leads, 3-1
Friday's meeting will mark the fifth between Northern Kentucky and Michigan, with the teams last facing off in 2013. The Norse have won eight consecutive matches, including three in a row in the Horizon League Tournament to earn the conference's at-large bid. Led by All-Horizon League first team member Anna Brinkmann, NKU also had three other players earn Horizon League accolades in Ashton Terrill (honorable mention), Reilly Briggs (freshman team) and Abby Kanakry (freshman team). NKU led the Horizon League in blocks per set (2.53), service aces (1.53) and opponent service aces (0.83); and was second in the conference in digs (17.56) and assists (12.60); and was third in hitting percentage (.219), opponent hitting percentage (.178) and kills (13.44).
Kentucky
All-time series against the Wildcats: tied, 2-2
The Wildcats have won eight straight matches on the way to a 16-2 mark in Southeast Conference play. Led by All-SEC Player of the Year Leah Edmond, UK also had the libero of the year in Gabby Curry. Joining Edmond and Curry on the All-Southeast Conference team were Madison Lilley and Alli Stumler. Kentucky led the SEC in assists per set (13.41) and opponent hitting percentage (.150), and were second in digs per set (14.83) and kills per set (14.45). The Wildcats also finished third in hitting percentage (.273) and fourth in blocks per set (2.46).
Southeast Missouri State
All-time series against the Redhawks: 0-0
The Redhawks battled their way through the Ohio Valley Conference tournament as the No. 2 seed to earn the league's automatic bid. Led by four All-OVC honorees, Southeast Missouri led the conference in aces per set (1.68), blocks per set (2.37), and opponent hitting percentage (.157). They also finished second in digs per set (16.58) and third in hitting percentage (.219). First team All-OVC members Maggie Adams and Laney Malloy led the way for SEMO, while second team All-OVC honorees Claire Ochs and Tara Beilsmith contributed as setter and libero, respectively.
Michigan under Mark Rosen
The 2019 volleyball campaign marks the program's 47th season and 21st under head coach Mark Rosen. In his time leading the Maize and Blue, Rosen has compiled a 428-264 record and guided Michigan to 18 of its 21 NCAA postseason appearances. In addition to serving as the longest-tenured volleyball coach at Michigan, Rosen is the winningest coach in program history.
