Michigan
13-2, 3-1Big Ten
Indiana
6-9, 0-4Big Ten
Wolverines Pull Out Five-Game Victory Against Indiana
10/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan volleyball freshman Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) recorded the second double-double of her career with 19 kills and 17 digs as the Woverines staved off a hot Indiana squad, winning 3-2 (25-30, 20-20, 22-30, 30-23, 15-13) on Saturday (Oct. 2) at Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan improves to 13-2 and 3-1 in the Big Ten, the best start in program history. Indiana falls to 6-9 and 0-4 in the Big Ten, dropping its eighth match in the last nine contests.
For the second night in a row, the Wolverines had three double-double performances, led by Bruzdzinski, senior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove), who finished with 16 kills and 18 digs, and senior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial), who notched 54 assists and 21 digs for her seventh-straight double-dip.
Freshman Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) had an impressive night, posting 14 kills and six blocks, while sophomore Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) chipped in with nine kills and four blocks.
With the match knotted at two games apiece, the teams tied the game eight times until Indiana gained a two-point lead, up 10-8, forcing Michigan into a timeout. Gandolph came out of the interlude with a big kill, closing the gap to 10-9, but Indiana's Katie Pollom connected on her match-high 23rd kill and Michigan was assessed a setting error, giving the Hoosiers a solid 12-9 lead and forcing the Wolverine bench into its final timeout. Indiana served needing three points for its first Big Ten victory of the season, but Cobler sparked a 5-0 run with her ninth kill of the match, followed by a Hoosier attack error, a pair of kills from Bruzdzinski and Indiana's fifth attack errror of the game.
With game point, Michigan set up its attack, but a solid block from Indiana made it 14-13, giving the Hoosiers service. Michigan handled the serve and set up Bowman's match-winning kill right down the middle, sending the Hoosiers back home with their fourth Big Ten loss of the season.
Indiana took the first game, 30-25, handing Michigan just its third game-one loss of the season. The Wolverines proved they were not shaken up by the loss, downing the Hoosiers 30-20 in game two and tying the match at one game apiece. Bruzdzinski and Miller put down four kills each, while the Maize and Blue defense forced Indiana into 12 attack errors.
In game three, the Hoosiers took revenge when they turned a 2-2 tie into a 7-3 lead with a 5-1 run. Efforts by Bruzdzinski and Miller brought Michigan within one, trailing 11-10, but Indiana put three points together to take a 14-10 lead. Sophomore Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central), Miller and Bruzdzinski helped Michigan claw back into the game, trailing by two, 19-17, but another Hoosier spurt put Indiana ahead 26-20. Indiana outpointed the Wolverines 4-2 down the stretch to take 2-1 games lead.
In game four, Michigan established an early lead, 15-7, with points by seven different Wolverines, including six combined kills by Bruzdzinski and Gandolph. Michigan kept the pressure on, forcing a deciding fifth game with a 30-23 victory.
Michigan plays intrastate rival Michigan State at Cliff Keen Arena on Wednesday (Oct. 6) at 7 p.m., renewing the State Pride Series. Wednesday's match will feature the second of four Michigan volleyball trading card giveaways. After the match, select Michigan players will be available to sign autographs for fans.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the team's slow start ... "The team seemed to overlook Indiana which is a mistake in this league. Every team in the Big Ten is dangerous -- you can see that by the records we have against other schools in the nation."
On the team's comeback ... "We settled down after playing frantically in games one and three. We started to build some momentum near the end and we built enough pressure to force Indiana into a number of errors in the fifth game. I still think we were very lucky to get a win tonight. Our young players, Stesha (Selsky) and Katie (Bruzdzinski) played with reckless abandon and we can credit them with a little of the spark that helped us down the stretch."
What does the team learn from this ... "We have to learn lessons all year and you don't always need a loss to learn a lesson. We are in the middle of a learning process and hopefully we picked something up from a tough win tonight."
Senior Jennifer Gandolph
How did the team come back to win ... "A lot of our success tonight was luck. We worked hard to get back into it, but we got a lot of bounces down the stretch. I need to play older and to be more steady for my teammates. I need to take care of my game. Neither team had anything to lose and there are no excuses for us. We had to take care of business and luckily we did. It wasn't a pretty win, but it was a win. They can't all be pretty."
N O T E S
Three Wolverines posted double-doubles for the second straight match, with freshman Katie Bruzdzinski and seniors Jennifer Gandolph and Lisa Gamalski pulling the double-dip two matches in a row.
Senior Lisa Gamalski had her seventh straight double-double of the season with 54 assists and a career-high 21 digs.
Freshman Lyndsay Miller posted her fifth straight double-digit kill match with 14 finishers against Indiana. She also added seven blocks, marking the ninth time that Miller has led the Wolverines in blocks.
Michigan's 13-2 start continues to be the best in program history. Michigan did not earn its 13th win of the 2003 campaign until Oct. 17.
Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski set a career high for kills for the second straight night, notching 19 kills against Indiana.
Michigan outhit its 14th opponent in 15 matches this season, upping its number of matches with at least a .200 hitting percentage to 13 matches. Indiana was just the sixth opponent all season to hit better than .125, posting a .167 attack percentage.
Head coach Mark Rosen needs just one more Big Ten victory to record 50 for his career. Rosen is also just two wins shy of his 100th with the Maize and Blue.
When five Wolverines recorded double-digit kills against Purdue it was the first time since Sept. 13, 2002, that five Michigan volleyball players had accomplished that feat.
Michigan is undefeated against teams from Indiana since 2002, going 9-0 against squads from the Hoosier State (4-0 in 2004). The last loss to an Indiana school was on Nov. 23, 2002, to Purdue.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
