Michigan
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Michigan Kicks Off Season with Victory Over LSU at Tiger Classic
8/27/2021 10:41:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan won in convincing fashion, dropping the first set and rebounding to capture the next three.
» Paige Jones led the Wolverines with 19 kills.
» The Wolverines return to action Saturday against Florida State at 10 a.m., while their second match of the day versus Northern Arizona has been canceled due to Hurricane Ida.Â
Site: Baton Rouge, La. (Pete Maravich Assembly Center)
Event: LSU Tiger Classic
Score: Michigan 3, LSU 1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-20)
Records: U-M (1-0), LSU (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Aug. 28 -- vs. Florida State (Baton Rouge, La.), 10 a.m. CDT
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team kicked off the 2021 campaign and the LSU Tiger Open with a convincing 3-1 win over host LSU on Friday night (Aug. 27) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Wolverines dropped the first set, but won three straight to capture the victory.
Senior Paige Jones paced the Wolverines with 19 kills, which led all players in the match, and added nine digs. Sophomores Jess Mruzik and Scottee Johnson each registered double-doubles, as Mruzik had 11 kills and 13 digs and Johnson had 39 assists and 11 digs.
Michigan stumbled out of the gates against the Tigers, falling 25-23 in a back-and-forth battle to open the match. U-M hit only .128 for the first set while LSU hit .205, but rebounded nicely to take the second set 25-22. The Wolverines found their groove in the second, hitting .405 and going on a 5-2 run to close out the set and grab the match's momentum.
U-M continued its roll in the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and never looking back. They went on to lead by as many as 13 before closing out the set with a 25-14 victory.
Michigan stopped any hope of an LSU comeback early in the fourth set, once again grabbing a commanding lead early. Though the Tigers went on a 4-0 run with the Wolverines sitting at match point, it was only enough to bring the set to its final score of 25-20.
The Wolverines outhit the Tigers over the course of the match, .210 to .119, while finishing with more aces (7-3), and digs (72-63). Michigan was narrowly out-blocked 10-9 but held a severe advantage at the service line, finishing with seven aces compared to LSU's three.
Juniors Jess Robinson and May Pertofsky had nine and eight kills, respectively, and did the bulk of the heavy lifting on the blocking front, each finishing with five total blocks. Redshirt sophomore Hannah Grant led the defensive backline with an impressive 25 digs.
U-M will be back in action Saturday (Aug. 28) at 10 a.m., when it takes on Florida State in its final game of the LSU Tiger Classic at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Due to Hurricane Ida, Michigan's match against Northern Arizona has been canceled.
