Michigan
3-3,3-3Big Ten
Indiana
3-12,3-12Big Ten
Hoosiers Cannot Keep Up with Jones as Wolverines Prevail in Five
3/12/2021 10:15:00 PM | Volleyball
» U-M took the first two sets and came back from four points down to take the fifth.
» Paige Jones led U-M with 37 kills and set a new U-M single match record in the category.
» The matchup was the first for U-M in nearly three weeks.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, Indiana 2 (25-22, 25-22, 26-28, 21-25, 15-11)
Records: U-M (3-3, 3-3 B1G), Indiana (3-12, 3-12 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 13 -- vs. Indiana (Cliff Keen Arena), 4 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team rallied to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers, 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 26-28, 21-25, 15-11), on Friday (March 12) inside Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan won the first two sets and eventually rallied from four points down in the fifth set to knock off the Hoosiers.
Junior Paige Jones established a new U-M single-match record for kills with 37, besting the previous mark of 34 set by Sarah Behnke on Dec. 4, 1999 at Pacific. She also broke the record for kills in a match vs. a Big Ten opponent of 33 set by Karen Chase on Nov. 27, 1998 against Iowa.
Jones hit .406 (37-11-64) for the match as she peppered the Indiana defense with attacks from the left side, right side and back row. She logged eight kills in the first set, 10 in the second, eight in the third, six in the fourth, and five in the fifth.
Michigan (3-3, 3-3 Big Ten) took the first two sets of the matchup by identical 25-22 scores. Jones led U-M with 18 kills over that span, with the Wolverines hitting .355 and .457, respectively.
The Wolverines had the Hoosiers (3-12, 3-12 Big Ten) on the brink in the third set but were unable to hold off IU as the Hoosiers fought off one U-M match point and took their first set of the evening, 28-26.
Indiana also won the fourth set by a 25-21 score, aided by five blocks and Breana Edwards' three kills.
In the decisive set, the Hoosiers held a 7-3 lead and an 11-7 advantage later in the frame, but U-M rallied to score the set's final eight points. The Wolverines were propelled by stellar service from freshman libero Hannah Grant and a pair alternating kills from Jones and junior Kayla Bair.
Bair finished with a career-best 12 kills and hit .588 (12-2-17), sophomore May Pertofsky added 13 kills, and sophomore setter Maddie Dowd posted a career-high 65 assists. Junior Abbey Malinowski contributed career-best totals of six kills and 10 digs in her first start in maize and blue.
U-M will end the weekend set against the Hoosiers on Saturday (March 13) at 4 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena, and the matchup will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus.
