Michigan
6-2
Notre Dame
7-2
Michigan Falls in Five Sets at Notre Dame
9/18/2019 10:09:00 PM | Volleyball
» Sydney Wetterstrom had 15 kills and collected a career-high 16 digs.
» Paige Jones registered a career-high 21 kills and added 14 digs.
» Michigan outhit Notre Dame .263 to .191 in the setback.
Site: South Bend, Ind. (Purcell Pavilion)
Score: Notre Dame 3, Michigan 2 (25-23, 27-29, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13)
Records: U-M (6-3), Notre Dame (7-2)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 22 -- vs. Notre Dame (Crisler Center), 3 p.m.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team lost a five-set match to Notre Dame, 3-2 (25-23, 27-29, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13), Wednesday night (Sept. 18) in the first game of a home-and-home series with the Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion.
Sophomore Paige Jones had a career-best 21 kills to lead the way for the Wolverines, while senior Sydney Wetterstrom put together her best all-around performance of the season with a double-double that featured a season-high 15 kills and career-high 16 digs.
Senior setter MacKenzi Welsh distributed a season-high 59 assists, and libero Natalie Smith had a career-best 29 digs. Fifth-year senior Cori Crocker also registered a double-digit kill performance with a season-high 13.
Michigan took an early lead in the first set, but Notre Dame kept the match close throughout and crawled ahead to win, 25-23. The second set started in similar fashion, as the Wolverines built an early lead and the Fighting Irish battled their way back. In the end, U-M pulled out another tight set, 29-27.
The Wolverines had their best performance in the third set. Michigan grabbed a lead at 6-5 and never relinquished it in a 25-20 win. The Fighting Irish rallied late in the fourth set to to take a 25-23 win and tied the match at 2.
With the match on the line, Notre Dame carried its momentum from the fourth set and jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the decisive fifth frame. After it clawed its way back, Michigan knotted the score at 13, but the Fighting Irish finished the match with back-to-back points.
U-M outhit Notre Dame .263 to .191, and also had more assists (65-54) and digs (87-79). The Fighting Irish held the advantage in team blocks (14-5) and service aces (8-5).
The Wolverines will finish their home-and-home series with Notre Dame on Sunday (Sept. 22) at 3 p.m., when Michigan welcomes the Fighting Irish to Crisler Center.
