Michigan
17-8, 7-7Big Ten
Purdue
12-12, 5-9Big Ten
Michigan Rallies from Two Games Down to Beat Purdue
11/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Freshmen Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) and Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) helped the University of Michigan volleyball team rebound from a two-game deficit to defeat Purdue in five games (22-30, 21-30, 30-25, 30-19, 15-13) Saturday night (Nov. 6) in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility. Bruzdzinski recorded a career-high 23 kills and Selsky tallied a career-high 24 digs as U-M improved to 17-8 overall and evened its Big Ten record at 7-7.
Bruzdzinski recorded three kills and the match-winning ace in game five, while Selsky, playing for senior Sarah Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg), averaged five digs through games three, four and five to anchor the Wolverine defense. Senior Jennifer Gandolph (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) was instrumental in the comeback, finishing with 12 kills and 12 digs, while senior Lisa Gamalski (Milwaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) had her third career triple-double with 10 kills, 17 digs and a season-high 68 assists, leading a Wolverine attack that hit .405 in game four and .423 in game five. Sophomore Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) recorded her 12th double-digit kill match in 14 outings with 13 finishers, and sophomore Danielle Pflum (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) chipped in with 10 kills.
In a pivotal game five, Gandolph opened the scoring with a kill, but Purdue rebounded and took the lead, 4-3, until back-to-back kills by Cobler gave U-M a 5-4 lead. The Boilermakers tied it up on a long rally and then scored the next two, pulling ahead 7-5 and forcing Michigan into a timeout. Bruzdzinski fired her 21st kill of the match to pull the Wolverines within one, 7-6, and Purdue responded in kind until consecutive kills by Gandolph knotted it 8-8. Purdue pointed and Gandolph tied it with her third straight kill, but the Boilermakers scored again to pull ahead 10-9.
Michigan received serve and Gamalski set sophomore Megan Bowman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) in the middle for her sixth kill, followed by Bruzdzinski's 22nd of the night as Michigan took an 11-10 lead. Purdue tied it at 11-11 and Bruzdzinski responded with her second kill in row as the teams traded points until they stood at 13-13, two points from victory. It was Miller who gave U-M a 14-13 lead with a solid stuff down the middle, giving U-M game point with Bruzdzinski, Michigan's best server, behind the line. Bruzdzinski stepped up and fired a laser into the Boilermaker ranks, putting the ball through Purdue's defense and clinching the 15-13 win with an ace.
Michigan burst the dam in a game-four win when Gandolph and Bruzdzinski combined for six points to give U-M a 9-3 lead before Purdue called timeout. Selsky served for an ace in the next point to continue Michigan's streak before Purdue mounted a comeback on a 5-1 run, making it 11-8. Michigan eased ahead, leading 19-14 before Purdue called its final timeout, which did nothing but spark Cobler, who recorded a kill and an ace as U-M scored four straight and built a margin that would not be challenged.
Michigan took game three thanks to the efforts of Gandolph, who breathed new life into the squad with six kills, three digs and a block, helping Michigan cut Purdue's lead to two games to one. U-M trailed 10-9 until Gandolph ignited a 5-1 run, putting the Wolverines ahead 14-11 and forcing the Boilermakers into a timeout. Purdue responded to pull within three, down 18-15, but a pair of kills by Gandolph and one from Gamalski put U-M up 21-15. The Boilermakers bounced back again, cutting the lead to three once more at 22-19, but Gandolph stepped up and delivered back-to-back kills, sparking a 3-0 run, giving U-M a 25-19 lead and forcing Purdue's final timeout. The Boilermakers scored the next two points, but Michigan responded with three in a row to build an insurmountable lead and win the game.
In game one, Michigan committed a number of uncharacteristic errors early on, turning a two point 10-8 deficit into a 16-9 chasm thanks to eight attack errors and three set errors. The Wolverines clawed back within five thanks to four kills from Bruzdzinski and three each from Gamalski and Cobler to make it 22-17, but a 3-0 run put the Boilermakers within sniffing distance of the finish and the Wolverines had too much ground to make up. Purdue out-hit the Wolverines .469 to .214, committing just two attack errors in the game.
Michigan turned an 8-5 deficit into a 10-9 lead in game two thanks to a 5-1 run sparked by four straight kills by Bruzdzinski and an ace by Cobler. Purdue trumped U-M with a 6-1 run of its own to take a solid 15-11 advantage, but the Wolverines fought back to within three, trailing 23-20, thanks to kills from Gamalski, Pflum, Cobler and Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida). However, just as they did in game one, the Boilermakers put together a late run, scoring six straight points to lead 29-20 and effectively end the Wolverines' hopes of going into the intermission with a tie.
Michigan returns to Cliff Keen Arena to host Minnesota on Friday (Nov. 12) and Iowa on Saturday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m. Minnesota was listed at No. 5 in the USA Today/CSTV Coaches Poll on Nov. 1 and spent a number of weeks at No. 1 early in the season.
N O T E S
Michigan is 17-3 against teams from the state of Indiana in the last four seasons. The Wolverines are 6-0 against teams from the Hoosier state this season.
Sophomore Erin Cobler rewrote her career bests against Indiana on Friday, recording new career highs in kills (16), attack percentage (.583), blocks (9) and points (20.5). Cobler has recorded double-digit kills in 11 of the last 13 matches.
Michigan evened its road record at 5-5 this season. Michigan is 4-1 on the road against teams that are not in the top 25. Two of Michigan's six remaining matches are on the road (at Wisconsin and at Northwestern).
With 102 wins with the Maize and Blue, head coach Mark Rosen needs just two more victories to tie for second all-time at U-M in coaching wins. Greg Giovanazzi (1992-98) posted a 104-116 record in eight seasons with the Wolverines. Sandy Vong (1973-83) is the all-time winningest coach in Michigan volleyball history with a 177-150-7 record in 11 seasons at the helm of the Wolverines.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
