Michigan
11-4, 2-3Big Ten
Indiana
10-5, 1-4Big Ten
U-M Rocks the House with Comeback Win over Indiana
10/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: Michigan 3, Indiana 2 (14-16, 15-7, 2-15, 15-6, 15-9)
Records:Â U-M (11-4, 2-3 Big Ten), IU (10-5, 1-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Â Saturday, Oct. 7 -- vs. Penn State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team went to the wire for the second time in five Big Ten Conference contests but came away with a 3-2 (14-16, 15-7, 2-15, 15-6, 15-9) win over Indiana on Friday (Oct. 6) before 1,108 fans at Cliff Keen Arena for the annual "Rock the House" promotion. Junior outside hitter Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) sent the "Rock the House" fans home happy after leading the Wolverines with a team-best 19 kills and 22 digs.
Michigan struggled out of the gate in game one as Indiana ran off the first four points of the contest. Following a pair of Wolverine points, including an ace from Kacor, Indiana answered with a 3-0 run to lead 7-2 and force Michigan coach Mark Rosen to use his first timeout of the game. Indiana, however, maintained its momentum coming out of the timeout and eventually pushed its lead to 10-2, prompting Rosen to use his second timeout of the game. This timeout worked as the Wolverines answered with a 7-0 run, including a pair of kills from Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS), to cut the lead to 10-9. After Indiana went back out to a 13-10 lead, Michigan stormed back to take a 14-13 lead on block assists from Katrina Lehman (West Bloomfield, Mich/Marian HS) and Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS). Indiana, however, recorded the final three points of the game for a 16-14 win.
Like game one, Indiana methodically built an early lead and led 7-3 in game two, forcing another Michigan timeout. Again the Wolverines answered the call after a timeout and this time they did not let Indiana recover. Three different Wolverines -- Lehman, Behnke and Kacor -- recorded six kills apiece as the Wolverines closed out game two with a 12-0 run. After the Wolverines gained an 8-7 advantage, the Maize and Blue rattled off six straight points off the serve of Kacor to gain a 14-8 advantage. Michigan, which registered 23 kills in game two compared to just 11 for Indiana, also received a spark off the bench from defensive specialists Shawna Olson (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) and Cobey Shoji (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou HS), who combined for 12 digs in the 15-7 game-two win.
Michigan was unable to capitalize on its momentum coming out in game three and Indiana took control early, running out to a 13-0 lead. Michigan freshman Nicole Poquette (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) came off the bench to deliver the Wolverines' first point of the game. A solo block from Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) gave Michigan its only other point of the game three as Indiana won 15-2 and took control of the match with a 2-1 lead. Michigan was held to a -.083 (10-14-48) hitting percentage in game three, while Indiana enjoyed its best game of the match in that category at .265 (12-3-34).
The Wolverines bounced back in game four and actually took an early lead after a 5-0 Wolverine run turned a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 lead. With the Michigan lead in game four at 6-3, Shoji came off the bench again to spark the Wolverines as Michigan recorded four consecutive points off her serve to take a 9-3 lead. The Wolverines hit at a clip of .306 (15-4-36) in game four as Fielder led the way with a percentage of .600 (7-1-10). Paced by Fielder, who also recorded a match-best seven blocks, Michigan maintained a sizable lead throughout game four, winning 15-6 to force a deciding fifth game.
Michigan took its momentum from game four into game five and jumped out to a 5-1 lead as junior setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) continued to click with her all of her weapons. In fact, the Wolverines hit at a sizzling .900 (9-0-10) for the rally scoring format, with six different Wolverines recording a kill in the game. Melka was especially efficient with middle blockers Fielder and Lehman, who each registered kills as Michigan stretched its lead to 9-3. After the two teams exchanged the next 11 points, Kacor fittingly ended the match with a kill for a 15-9 Michigan win in game five and a 3-2 match victory.
Michigan remains at home in Big Ten action on Saturday (Oct. 7) with a 7 p.m. match vs. defending national champion Penn State.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 76 (Nicole Kacor 19); IU 60 (Nicole Hill 21)
Assists: U-M 73 (Shannon Melka 61); IU 58 (Laurie Gardner 55)
Service Aces: U-M 5 (Katrina Lehman, Alija Pittenger 2); IU 1 (Melissa Brewer 1)
Digs: U-M 98 (Kacor 22); IU 92 (Hilary Toivonen 18)
Blocks: U-M 9.5 (Joanna Fielder 7); IU 8 (Melissa Brewer 4)
NOTES
• Cobey Shoji and Shawna Olson came off the bench to combine for 26 digs, with Shoji (17) and Olson (9) both recording career highs.
• Shannon Melka matched her season best with 15 digs to go with 61 assists. Melka also hit .333 (5-0-15) for the match.
• Michigan, which broke a four-match series losing streak with its win over Indiana, is now 5-0 at Cliff Keen Arena in 2000.
• Indiana only recorded one service ace vs. Michigan, which is tied for the lowest by a Michigan opponent in 2000 with Northern Illinois and Toledo.
• Michigan has now won five straight "Rock the House" matches and is 7-2 all-time in the annual promotion.
• Tonight's contest between Michigan and Indiana will be televised on a tape-delay basis by Fox Sports Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. EDT.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the match in general ... "I have to give my team a lot of credit, because they fought back and showed a lot of character to come back after a terrible game three. We need to shore up our consistency, however, because right now we are too up and down from game to game. We played really well at times tonight and looked not very good at other times, but it is a good sign to see us struggle as bad as we did at times, yet still come away with a Big Ten win."
On the play of Nicole Kacor ... "Nicole led us in kills and digs tonight and that is something she is capable of doing. We set her 53 times tonight and she came through for us, especially in game five when we needed her the most.
