Michigan
14-10,5-9Big Ten
Purdue
18-6,9-5Big Ten
U-M Comeback Effort Falls Short in Loss to No. 14 Purdue
11/6/2022 5:24:00 PM | Volleyball
» Jacque Boney and Jess Mruzik each recorded 11 kills to lead the offense.
» Hannah Grant has now had seven consecutive matches with double-digit digs after a team-leading 20 against Purdue.
» Michigan had four players that had a hitting percentage of .300 or higher, recording six or more kills.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell to No. 14-ranked Purdue in four sets (21-25, 15-25, 25-19, 21-25) on Sunday (Nov. 6) in Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan was led offensively by Jacque Boney and Jess Mruzik with 11 kills each and by Hannah Grant defensively with 20 digs. Scottee Johnson led U-M with 27 assists and Maddie Dowd chipped in 17.
The Wolverines lost the first two sets but came storming back in the third with six straight points to collect their largest lead of the set, 12-7, led by a balanced offensive attack and blocking at the net. The Boilermakers chipped away at Michigan's lead pulling within one point in the middle of the set. Kills by Boney and Serena Nyambio put Michigan back on track aiding them to a 21-16 lead. The last four points were scored off a cross-court kill from Mruzik, an attack error from Purdue, a slam by May Pertofsky and a solo block from Mruzik. Mruzik took control of the third set with five kills and four blocks in the 25-19 victory.
In the final set, Purdue jumped out to an 8-3 lead before Michigan started to chip away until a solo block by Allison Jacobs tied it up at 13-13, forcing a Purdue timeout. Purdue came out after the timeout and scored three straight points off three attacking errors by the Wolverines. The Boilermakers never looked back taking the fourth, 25-20.
In the first set, Purdue jumped to a 6-3 lead. Michigan came back with four points of its own led by Kendall Murray at the service line, collecting one ace and capitalizing off of two Boilermaker errors. The rest of the set was a point-for-point battle until Purdue scored three of the last four points taking set one, 25-21.
The Boilermakers jumped out of the gate in the second set with four straight points before Michigan called a timeout. Purdue would lead by as much as nine points at 17-8. Michigan tried to get something started but ultimately lost set two, 25-15.
Nyambio and Pertofsky each racked up seven kills, hitting above a .333 clip. Michigan had four players that had a hitting percentage of .300 or higher, recording six or more kills. The Wolverines out-blocked Purdue, 11-9, four of them coming in the third set.
Michigan will return to action on Friday (Nov. 11) at home in Cliff Keen Arena when it takes on Northwestern for the second time this season at 7 p.m. The last time Michigan faced off against the Wildcats, the Wolverines won 3-1 at Northwestern earlier this season (Oct. 1).
