Michigan
13-7,4-6Big Ten
Wisconsin
15-3,9-1Big Ten
Michigan Takes Early Lead, but Drops Four-Set Match to No. 5 Wisconsin
10/23/2022 4:58:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan opened with a first-set win against No. 5 Wisconsin, but the Badgers won the next three sets to win the match.
» May Pertofsky set a new season high with 16 kills and led U-M with a .425 hitting percentage.
» Jess Mruzik collected her fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 25 ranked University of Michigan volleyball team opened the match with a first-set win, but were unable to carry the momentum as No. 5 Wisconsin prevailed in four sets (25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 19-25) on Sunday afternoon (Oct.23) at Crisler Center.
May Pertofsky set a new season high with 16 kills to lead the Wolverines. Jess Mruzik recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs, while Jess Robinson topped Michigan (13-7, 4-6 Big Ten) in blocks with three. Maddie Dowd led the team in assists with 24, while Scottee Johnson chipped in 21.
The first set was a see-saw affair with five lead changes and 10 ties. Neither team got out to a lead of more than four points until Wisconsin took a 16-11 advantage and again later at 19-13. Michigan then scored nine of the next 12 points, capped off by a Mruzik kill, to knot the match at 22. Mruzik then unloaded a trio of kills to end the set 25-22 to grab the early momentum. Mruzik and Pertofsky each recorded seven kills, combining for 14 of U-M's 20 kills with zero errors between them.
Wisconsin (15-3, 9-1 Big Ten) answered right back, jumping out to a 6-3 lead before Michigan went on a 6-0 run behind kills from Allison Jacobs and Serena Nyambio to take a 9-6 lead. The Badgers recovered, regaining the lead at 13-12 and never looked back taking the second set 25-18.
The third set started with a Mruzik slam down the line giving Michigan a quick 1-0 lead. The Wolverines pulled ahead 7-4 before the Wisconsin went on a small run of their own to retake the lead. Michigan and Wisconsin traded blows all the way until the Badgers rattled off the final four points after three U-M errors and took the set 25-22 and the lead in the match.
Just like the first three sets, it was a dogfight through the first half of the fourth, with a two-point advantage the largest either team could muster until Wisconsin finally got some breathing room at 18-15. Despite a balanced offensive attack from Michigan, the Badgers took the set 25-19, and the match 3-1.
Michigan will return to action on Wednesday (Oct. 26), when the Wolverines take on rival No. 6 Ohio State at 7 p.m. at the Covelli Center in Columbus. The match will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
