Michigan
4-2,0-0Big Ten
North Carolina
8-0,0-0ACC
North Carolina Outlasts Michigan in Five Sets in ACC/Big Ten Challenge Finale
9/12/2021 4:50:00 PM | Volleyball
» After leading 2-1, Michigan could not finish off the Tar Heels.
» Paige Jones led the Wolverines with 17 kills.
» Jess Mruzik had a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs.
» May Pertofsky set a new career high with seven aces.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event: ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Score: North Carolina 3, Michigan 2 (12-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 15-9)
Records: U-M (4-2), UNC (8-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 17 -- vs. Eastern Michigan - Michigan Invitational (Cliff Keen Arena), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team dropped a tough match to North Carolina on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 12), giving up a 2-1 lead to fall in five sets (25-12, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 9-15) in the final match of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Crisler Center.
Senior Paige Jones led the way offensively for the Wolverines, finishing with 17 kills and a .275 attack average. Sophomore Jess Mruzik tallied her second double-double of the weekend, finishing with 16 kills and 14 digs. Junior May Pertofsky also finished with double-digit kills, putting up 12 to go along with a new career high in service aces with seven. Freshman Jacque Boney tied a career best with seven kills and added a team-leading seven blocks.
The match's momentum swung in favor of the Tar Heels at the end of the fourth set. With Michigan leading 23-18, North Carolina went on a 7-0 run to finish off the Wolverines and even the match at two sets apiece.
After the momentum-changing fourth set, North Carolina won seven of the first 10 points to start the fifth set. Michigan turned the tide with a four-point swing to even the score at 7, but the Tar Heels responded with three points of their own to stop the Wolverines' momentum. U-M never truly threatened after that, falling 15-9.
Michigan opened the match firing on all cylinders, hitting .500 overall while holding UNC to -.040. Pertofsky had a dominant run at the service line to end the first set, rattling off six straight points -- including three aces -- to give the Wolverines a first-set victory of 25-12.
The second set provided a new tone to the match as the Tar Heels rallied to challenge the Wolverines. After a back-and-forth start to the set that saw the set tied 8-8, UNC used a 4-0 run to distance itself. Michigan cut the deficit to as few as two points at 19-17 but would get no closer en route to a 25-21 UNC win.
Set three followed many of the same notes as the second, except it was the Maize and Blue that grabbed the lead with a late run. With U-M trailing 13-12, a UNC attack error followed by five points on Pertofsky's serve gave Michigan some space, pushing the lead to 18-13. Though the Tar Heels chipped away, the run proved too much and the Wolverines pulled out the 25-19 win.
The Wolverines finished with a better hitting percentage than the Tar Heels, .195 to .158, had more aces (8-6) and more blocks (14-13), but the numbers in the final two sets told the story. North Carolina hit .375 in the momentum-grabbing fourth set, and though it registered just a .214 mark in the fifth, the Tar Heels held Michigan to its lowest single-set percentage of the season at -.053.
U-M will look to rebound next weekend as it hosts the Michigan Invitational (Sept. 17-18), welcoming Eastern Michigan, Boston College and Dayton to Cliff Keen Arena for the two-day event. The Wolverines begin the tournament Friday (Sept. 17) against EMU at noon.
