Michigan
8-1
Arkansas
3-6
U-M Beats Arkansas to Win Bank of Fayetteville Invite
9/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site:Â Fayetteville, Ark. (Barnhill Arena)
Event:Â Arkansas Bank of Fayetteville Invitational
Result: #23 Michigan 3, Arkansas 0 (15-5, 15-11, 15-9)
Records:Â U-M (8-1), Arkansas (3-6)
Next U-M Match:Â Wednesday, Sept. 20 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- For the second time in as many weeks, the 23rd-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team has won a tournament, this time taking the Arkansas Bank of Fayetteville Invitational crown by defeating host Arkansas 3-0 (15-5, 15-11, 15-9) on Saturday (Sept. 16) at Barnhill Arena in the final match of the tournament.
For the second straight match the Wolverines hit over .300 as a team, hitting .313 (64-22-134) vs. Arkansas. Michigan's hot hitting was led by senior outside hitter Sarah Behnke (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore HS), who led the Wolverine attack with 19 kills and hit at a rate of .417 (19-4-36) for the match.
The Maize and Blue came out of the gate strong for the second consecutive match and hit at a scorching rate in game one. En route to a 15-5 game-one victory, Michigan hit .455 (24-4-44) as several Wolverines chipped in. Junior outside hitter Nicole Kacor (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HS) continued her torrid play by hitting .333 (10-3-21) for the match.
Michigan's dominance at the net was the story in game two as the Wolverines held Arkansas to a hitting percentage of .070 (12-9-43) for the game. Middle blockers Joanna Fielder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and Katrina Lehman (West Bloomfield, Mich./Marian HS) proved a tough duo as they registered four and five blocks, respectively, for the match. Fielder also delivered her best match attacking of the season, hitting at a clip of .389 (11-4-18) for the match and helping Michigan come back from a 6-2 deficit to notch a 15-11 game-two victory.
The Wolverines came out of intermission and put to rest any hopes of a Lady Razorback comeback as the Maize and Blue recorded 21 kills in game three to just 11 for Arkansas on its way to a 15-9 game-three win. Defensively, the Wolverines continued to be paced by senior outside hitter Alija Pittenger (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS), who recorded a match-best 14 digs. Junior setter Shannon Melka (Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS) chipped in with 13 digs to go with her 52 assists, which is her seventh double-double in assists and digs this season. Michigan's 15-9 game-three victory gave the Wolverines a three-game sweep over Arkansas.
Michigan's next match is its Big Ten Conference opener as the Wolverines face No. 17 Michigan State on Wednesday, Sept. 20 (7 p.m.) at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Mich.
MATCH BESTS
Kills: U-M 64 (Sarah Behnke 19); Arkansas 36 (Eftila Tanellari 13)
Assists: U-M 60 (Shannon Melka 52); Arkansas 35 (Evgeniya Rangelova 30)
Service Aces: U-M 2 (Behnke 2); Arkansas 5 (Tanellari 2)
Digs: U-M 57 (Alija Pittenger 14); Arkansas 36 (Anna Velikanova 8)
Blocks: U-M 9.5 (Katrina Lehman 5); Arkansas 6 (Velikanova, Libby Windell 3)
NOTES
• Alija Pittenger and Sarah Behnke were named to the Bank of Fayetteville Invitational all-tournament team. Pittenger is the only Wolverine to be named to all three all-tournament teams in 2000.
• Michigan has now won six straight matches, with five of the wins coming via three-game sweeps.
• Michigan has begun the season 8-1 for the second straight year.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On winning the Bank of Fayetteville Invitational title ... "Winning a second consecutive tournament is something for this team to be proud of because we needed to beat three good volleyball teams to do it. Hopefully, this will give us the confidence we need heading into the Big Ten schedule next week."
On the keys to victory ... "Our attacking was very efficient once again and I like the fact that we have a lot of balance in our attack right now. Shannon Melka is doing a nice job of spreading the ball around. I also felt our blocking was key and when we do a good job blocking we generally play very well."
