Michigan
21-11, 13-7B1G
Kentucky
25-6, 16-2SEC
Michigan Knocked Out of NCAA Tournament by No. 11 Kentucky
12/7/2019 10:12:00 PM | Volleyball
Site: Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
Score: Kentucky 3, Michigan 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20)
Records: U-M (21-11), Kentucky (25-6)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sophomore Paige Jones collected 16 kills, but the University of Michigan volleyball team fell in straight sets (19-25, 19-25, 20-25) to No. 11-ranked Kentucky on Saturday night (Dec. 7) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Memorial Coliseum. The loss ends the 2019 season.
In addition to Jones' stellar attacking effort, the Wolverine offense was paced by senior Sydney Wetterstrom, who finished with nine kills on the day. U-M got 11 digs from junior Natalie Smith, while senior MacKenzi Welsh finished with 28 assists.
» Paige Jones had a match-high 16 kills for Michigan.
» Michigan got a team-high 11 digs from Natalie Smith.
» The contest marked the final match for seven Michigan seniors.
Kentucky (25-6), which came in as the No. 9 seed of the tournament, jumped ahead early and Michigan was never able to recover, falling in the first two sets by 25-19 scores.
The Wolverines (21-11) rebounded in the third, but could not complete the fight back into the match, losing the final set, 25-20.
Michigan found itself looking up at the Wildcats in almost every important statistical category, as Kentucky finished with more kills (40-37), blocks (11-4) and a higher attack percentage (.323-.136).
The loss ended the careers of seven seniors, as Ellie Brooks, Cori Crocker, Katarina Glavinic, Kyleigh Hamacher, Katerina Rocafort, Welsh, and Wetterstrom all played their final match in the maize and blue.
