Michigan
20-10, 7-10Big Ten
Ohio State
20-7, 10-7Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 30 | 30 | 30 | 3 |
| Michigan | 25 | 22 | 24 | 0 |
Wolverines Fall to No. 19 Ohio State on Senior Night
11/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan lost to #19 Ohio State 0-3 (25-30, 22-30, 24-30)
Records: U-M (20-10, 7-10 Big Ten), OSU (20-7, 10-7 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 18 -- vs. Penn State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell short against No. 19 Ohio State on Senior Night Friday (Nov. 17), losing 3-0 (30-25, 30-22, 30-24) in Cliff Keen Arena.
Junior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) led the Wolverines with 15 kills and added eight digs, while junior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) had 13 kills and four blocks, hitting .367. Miller also reached the 1,000-kill milestone, becoming the fourth fastest Wolverine to achieve the feat. On defense, Michigan was led by freshman Megan Bower's (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) 22 digs, including 12 in game one, while sophomore Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) led the way with seven blocks.
Miller shouldered the bulk of the Wolverine offense in game one with five kills on eight swings and a block solo. Karpiak added three kills and a pair of stuffs, while fifth-year senior Erin Penn (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) had a pair of kills and blocks. Defensively, Bower was a water bug on the court, digging 12 balls in the period and keeping Ohio State's best attackers from racking up the kills. Michigan and Ohio State battled through eight ties in the early going of game one with the squads deadlocking at 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17. A Wolverine attack error started a 4-0 Buckeye run, making it 21-17 Ohio State, and though Michigan pulled within one, 21-20, U-M could not pull even with OSU, which battled out a 30-25 win.
Michigan took an early five-point lead in game two, up 8-3, but Ohio State stormed back to tie it at 12-12 and 14-14 before taking control of the period and roaring to a 30-22 win. Karpiak had a pair of blocks and a kill in the first 10 points of the match, but the Buckeyes retaliated with seven kills in the session from Anna Szerszen to get back into the game and overtake Michigan. Miller added four more kills in the period, while junior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) dug eight balls and added a kill to her stat line.
Bruzdzinski tried to will Michigan to a fourth game with 10 kills in the third period but the Buckeyes used a balanced attack to repel her one woman onslaught. The Wolverines tied 10 times through the part of game three, deadlocking at 12-12 for the final time before the Buckeyes got on a roll with a 4-0 run to lead 16-12. The Wolverines clawed back within three, down 23-20 to push Ohio State into a timeout, but the Buckeyes were able to regroup and pull ahead once again, outscoring Michigan 7-4 down the stretch to earn the sweep.
Michigan hosts No. 5 Penn State in the Wolverines' regular-season finale Saturday night (Nov. 18) at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan volleyball will honor the program's parents before the match in the team's annual Parent's Night.
NOTES
• Michigan celebrated Senior Night, honoring Megan Bowman, Erin Penn and Danielle Pflum.
• Junior middle blocker Lyndsay Miller hit the 1,000-kill milestone tonight, making her the 10th player in program history to reach the millennium mark. She also moved into 10th place on U-M's all-time kills list. Miller became the fourth fastest Wolverine to reach the 1,000-kill milestone, hitting 1,000 kills in 92 matches.
• Junior outside hitter Katie Bruzdzinski extended to 43 her streak of matches with double-digit kills.
• Fifth-year senior Erin Penn competed in her 122nd career match tonight, tying her for fourth on U-M's all-time list.
• The crowd of 1,504 fans was the largest crowd at Cliff Keen Arena this season and the second largest home crowd this year, trailing the 2,017 fans that packed Crisler Arena for Michigan's "Crash Crisler" promotion at Crisler Arena in September.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On tonight's match ... "I'm disappointed tonight because our goal was to get a win tonight. Ohio State played well and they deserve credit for playing almost flawlessly at times. In the first two games they did a good job of defending us. In game three it was our goal to win long rallies and we improved defensively."
On the difference in the match ... "The difference was their serving capacity and passing. We didn't get them off balance enough at the service line, and they were able to mount some strong attacks."
On the 2006 seniors ... "We enjoyed having Danni (Pflum), Megan (Bowman) and Erin (Penn) on our team and they are all great people. Danni contributed a lot as a player the last three seasons, and even though she's been out this year she's been good with the team. Megan has been a very steady player in our program and we've enjoyed having her. She has been instrumental to our team. Erin is a five-year player who is a special person all-around and has led us as a captain for the last two years. They will all be missed."
On preparations for Penn State ... "We need to serve and pass better against Penn State. We also need to maintain our defense if we want to win."
U-M Junior Middle Blocker Lyndsay Miller
On tonight's match ... "We were one step behind tonight. We were not in the zone. We slipped out of our comfort area and will have to turn it around for tomorrow night."
On the difference in the match ... "We didn't step up and win the battles tonight. That was the big difference. Ohio State also served very aggressively and we did not."
On preparations for Penn State ... "We'll come into the gym tomorrow, touch the ball a little and be ready to go. We plan to play another hard match."
