Michigan
13-13, 7-10
Wisconsin
20-6, 12-5
Cobler's Double-Double Not Enough in Loss to Badgers
11/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team held its own against the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers Friday night (Nov. 18), losing a pair of closely contested games in a 3-0 (27-30, 14-30, 27-30) defeat at the UW Field House.
Senior/junior Erin Cobler (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) led the Wolverine offense and defense with 10 kills and 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the year, while sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) had eight kills, including five in game one, and sophomore/freshman Mara Martin (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic) tied a career best with six terminations.
Fifth-year senior Candace Gay (Detroit, Mich./Sacred Heart) added five kills, three blocks and a career-best two aces, while sophomore Lyndsay Miller's (Ida, Mich./Ida) streak of consecutive matches with double-digit kills ended at five with a seven-kill performance.
The loss evens Michigan's record to 13-13 overall and drops it to 7-10 in the Big Ten Conference, while Wisconsin climbs to 20-6 and 12-5. The Wolverines are faced with the task of winning two of their final three matches to finish the regular season with a record of .500 or above and qualify for NCAA tournament consideration.
Michigan rebounded from a six-point, 21-15 deficit late in game one to pull within a point, 27-26, before finally succumbing to the Badgers in a 30-27 result. Despite being outhit, .271 to .192, Bruzdzinski and Cobler kept Michigan in the game offensively with five kills apiece, while each adding five digs on defense. Michigan took its first lead of the period, 14-13, but found itself on the wrong end of an 8-1 run to trail 21-15 with no timeouts remaining. Cobler contributed four kills to an 8-2 Michigan rally to cut the Badger advantage to two, and Michigan inched within one, down 27-26, before Wisconsin used its last timeout.
Wisconsin dominated game two, allowing the Wolverines just six kills and forcing U-M to hit -.079 in a 30-14 defeat. Gay was a bright spot in the period, recording back-to-back aces to nearly double her career output in that category and pull Michigan within a point, 9-8, before the Badgers took hold of the game for good.
U-M stood toe to toe with the Badgers through 11 ties in game three, but Wisconsin was able to turn a 25-25 deadlock into a 30-27 result and win the match. Michigan knotted the score at 16-16, and the teams tied at every point from then on until Wisconsin finally broke the stalemate with a 26-25 lead.
Michigan takes on Northwestern Saturday night (Nov. 19) at 7 p.m. CST in Evanston, Ill.
N O T E S
Sophomore Stesha Selsky is nine digs shy of moving into 10th place on the Michigan's career list.
Senior/junior Erin Cobler played in her 90th career match.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
