Michigan
14-3, 2-3Big Ten
Michigan State
10-8, 1-5Big Ten
Michigan Sweeps MSU on Dig For the Cure Night
10/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 16th-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team swept Michigan State, 3-0 (30-21, 30-25, 30-23), Friday night (Oct. 5) in front of a sellout crowd of 1,850 at U-M's Dig For the Cure event in Cliff Keen Arena.
An event to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure -- which allowed fans to pledge donations per Michigan dig -- turned into an offensive display on both sides of the net, as Michigan slammed 43 kills and hit .333 as a team in the three-game set. Senior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) did the best for per-dig pledges, leading all players with 11 digs. Junior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) tallied seven and senior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) added six.
Bruzdzinski was in the spotlight all night as she approached the U-M program's all-time kills record. She needed 10 kills to break the record, but Bruzdzinski managed just six as the rest of her Wolverine mates punished the Spartan defense with their own attacks. Bruzdzinski made her presence felt in other facets of the game, adding three service aces in game one and two blocks during the evening.
Senior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) finished with a team-high 11 kills and hit .500, while junior Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) had 10 kills on 15 swings for a .667 attack percentage -- a total that tied for the fourth-best single match hitting percentage in program history. Sophomore Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) almost hit double-digit kills with nine for a .329 percentage. Karpiak and Miller also finished with three blocks apiece.
Michigan blew the doors off Cliff Keen Arena from the get-go, taking an eight-point, 14-6 lead midway through game one to cruise to a 30-21 victory behind a .591 attack percentage and zero attack errors. Bruzdzinski put up back-to-back-to-back aces in the latter stages of the period to give Michigan its 21st, 22nd and 23rd points. The combo of Miller, Rood and Karpiak combined for 10 kills on 15 swings, with Miller nailing four on six swings, Karpiak three on four swings and Rood three on five attempts. On the other side of the net, Michigan State hit an eye-popping .481 itself, but had eight service errors in the period with Michigan's raucous fan section -- The Zone -- at its back.
The Wolverines powered through game two, taking control with a slim three-point, 23-20 lead to finish the period on a 7-5 run to win, 30-25. Michigan hit .267 thanks to four kills from Rood and three more from Karpiak on just four swings. The Wolverines forced MSU into eight attack errors, and the Spartan service woes continued with another nine errors at the service line in the second game alone.
Michigan ended all hopes for a Spartan comeback midway through game three with a strong finish, using five kills on eight swings for Miller, four kills on seven swings for Karpiak and three kills apiece for Bruzdzinski and Draves to close the match with a 30-23 win. Selsky managed a game-high six digs in the period, while four Wolverines recorded blocks.
Michigan will resume play Sunday (Oct. 7) when it hosts Northwestern in Cliff Keen Arena at 2 p.m. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network and aired at 5 p.m.
N O T E S
Senior Katie Bruzdzinski is four kills shy of becoming Michigan's all-time leader in kills. Wolverine great Jennifer Gandolph (2001-04) graduated with 1,562 kills.
Junior Beth Karpiak had 10 kills on 15 swings with no errors to record a hitting percentage of .667 -- good for a share of the fourth-best single-match mark in program history. Karpiak joins Lisa Gamalski (2001-04) who hit .667 with 12 kills on 18 swings in 2004 against Illinois. Karen Chase (1995-98) holds the all-time mark with .808 (21-1-26) in 1998 against Minnesota.
Junior Beth Karpiak recorded the 500th kill of her career. Karpiak is one of three Wolverines on the current roster with 500 or more kills.
Michigan's sell-out crowd of 1,850 was the first of the year. It also ties for the sixth-highest attended Michigan volleyball match in Cliff Keen Arena.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
