Michigan
2-7,0-0Big Ten
Bowling Green
6-5,0-0MAC
Michigan Drops Five-Set Match to Bowling Green
9/17/2023 5:49:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan fell to Bowling Green in a tough five-set match at Cliff Keen Arena, taking the second and third sets.
» Valentina Vaulet and Kendall Murray led the Wolverines on offense with 13 kills apiece.
» Scottee Johnson registered her fourth straight double-double with 41 assists and 14 digs.
» Brooke Humphrey made her first career start and served as the team's libero.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell to visiting Bowling Green in five sets (22-25, 25-14, 25-19, 15-12) at Cliff Keen Arena on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 17).
Freshman Valentina Vaulet set a new career high with 13 kills to tie for the lead with Kendall Murray. Vaulet also tallied two block assists and two service aces. Serena Nyambio also tallied double-digit kills with 11 and tied Amalia Simmons with four blocks. Scottee Johnson tallied her fourth straight double-double, this time with 41 assists and 14 digs.
Bowling Green (6-5) got off to a fast start and took a 5-2 lead in set one. The Wolverines fought back and tied the score at 8 after an ace from Mira Chopra and a kill from Murray. Michigan tied the score again at 11 after a block from Simmons and Nyambio but once again could not pull in front. BGSU took an 18-15 lead after a 4-1 run, which forced a Michigan timeout. Out of the timeout, U-M went on a 3-1 run where Nyabmio tallied a kill and a block assist with Murray. The Falcons called a timeout and took the first point out of it to take a two-point lead. Simmons tied the match at 20, but BGSU took five of the final seven points to take the first set 25-22.
Michigan (2-7) bounced back in the second set, never surrendering the lead after a 1-0 start on a BGSU attack error. The error started a 9-3 run, led by two kills from Nyambio and a block from Vaulet and Jacque Boney. The Falcons tried to come back and made it 11-7, but U-M went scored three straight points to force a timeout. Michigan took 11 of the final 18 points, with Vaulet leading the way with a kill and back-to-back aces to clinch the second set 25-14.
The third set went much like the second with U-M taking an early lead, this time 5-1. After back-to-back aces from Murray, BGSU called a timeout. The Falcons got within one multiple times at 5-4, 9-8, 12-11 and 14-13, but Michigan remained in front. Vaulet tallied three kills in a span of six points to put U-M up 20-16. Boney tallied back-to-back kills that sandwiched a BGSU timeout and Murray tallied the final two kills of the set to lead Michigan to a 25-19 third-set win.
Bowling Green responded in the fourth set, taking the lead from the start. Michigan called their first timeout of the set down 7-2 after two attack errors and an ace against it. The teams then traded errors until Boney tallied a kill to make the score 9-5 in favor of the Falcons. The Maize and Blue got the score within one at 11-10 after a kill from Nyabmio, but the Falcons stayed in front. Michigan took another timeout down 21-16 but could not mount a comeback. U-M fell 25-18 to force a deciding fifth set.
After just six ties and no lead changes over the first four sets, the fifth set had four ties and a pair of lead changes. BGSU got out to a 2-0 lead after two mistakes by Michigan, but U-M tied the score at 3, with kills from Murray, Vaulet and a Falcons attack error. BGSU took the lead at 5-4 and U-M tied at 5, but BGSU took a 9-6 lead to force a Wolverines timeout. Michigan responded with a 3-0 run with a kill and solo block from Johnson. The Falcons took a timeout at 9-8 and after the tie at 9, took six of the final nine points to take the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
The Wolverines will start Big Ten competition on Friday (Sept. 22) at 7 p.m. when they host rival Michigan State for a Maize Out matchup at Crisler Center. The contest will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
