Michigan
2-0,0-0Big Ten
Northern Arizona
1-1,0-0Big Sky
Wolverines Rally for Five-Set Win over Northern Arizona
8/30/2019 10:51:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan had four players with double-figure kills in May Pertofsky (15), Sydney Wetterstrom (14), Paige Jones (12) and Jess Robinson (11).
» U-M fell in a 2-1 hole in the match before winning the final two sets to record the five-set win.
» The Wolverines faced a 6-3 deficit in the final set but ended the set on a 12-4 run to record a 15-10 win to seal the match.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Michigan Invitational (Day 1 of 2)
Score: Michigan 3, Northern Arizona 2 (25-18, 19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 15-10)
Records: U-M (2-0), NAU (1-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Aug. 31 -- vs. Tennessee Tech - Michigan Invitaitonal (Cliff Keen Arena), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Facing a 2-1 deficit, the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team won the final two sets to recover for a 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 15-10) victory over Northern Arizona on Friday (Aug. 30) during the first day of the Michigan Invitational at Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan had four players record double-digit kills in freshman May Pertofsky (15), senior Sydney Wetterstrom (14), sophomore Paige Jones (12) and freshman Jess Robinson (11). Jones and Wetterstrom each recorded double-doubles with 13 digs each, while senior MacKenzi Welsh handed out 52 assists and junior Natalie Smith recorded 12 digs.
The Wolverines earned a 25-18 set one victory, powered by a solid showing on the attacking side. Michigan put together a .367 attack percentage with 16 kills in the set win, paced by four kills each from Wetterstrom and Robinson.
NAU took set two, 25-19, evening the match at 1. Northern Arizona grabbed the advantage for good at 15-14 in a set that featured 10 lead changes before the Lumberjacks took over in the second half of the stanza.
It was all NAU in the third set as the Wolverines fell behind early and could never catch up. Northern Arizona took advantage of a negative attack percentage by Michigan to grab a 2-1 lead in the match.
Michigan regrouped in the fourth set and won 25-17 to force a fifth set. Michigan was balanced once again offensively with four kills each from Robinson and Wetterstrom, while Jones and Pertofsky both put three down. Michigan upped its hitting percentage to .429 in the frame and held NAU to just .120 to send the match to a fifth.
U-M fell behind early in the fifth and was forced to use a timeout facing a 6-3 deficit. After a trade of points between the two sides, Michigan ripped off five straight points to grab a 9-7 lead. A service error broke the run, but U-M never trailed again in a 15-10 win to wrap up the match.
Michigan wraps up the weekend Saturday (Aug. 31) at Cliff Keen Arena against Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m.
