Michigan
18-7 (6-7Big Ten)
Minnesota
13-11 (6-8Big Ten)
Michigan Defends Home Turf Against Minnesota
11/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich -- The University of Michigan volleyball team defended its home turf on Rock the House night against Minnesota, outlasting the Gophers in five, 3-2 (30-28, 23-30, 32-30, 22-30, 15-11), Friday night (Nov. 2) in Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan won games one and three to take a 2-1 lead, but the surging Gophers forced a fifth and deciding frame with a big game four victory. Michigan didn't let the Gophers maintain momentum, taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth frame and never looking back in a 15-11 victory in game five.
Senior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) led the offense with 23 kills to go with 13 digs, while senior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) was a force at the net with 17 kills -- including three in game five -- and a team-best .323 hitting percentage. Miller also led U-M with six blocks. Junior Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) had 16 big kills and added five blocks, while sophomore Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) hit double-digits with 13 kills. Playing on the right side the entire match, sophomore Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) led the team with a season-best 18 digs, adding a season-best three blocks and tallying five kills.
Michigan and Minnesota tied 20 times in the first frame, including every point from 20-20 to 28-28 -- but it was the Wolverines who were able to pull out the final two points, winning 30-28 on a Karpiak kill and a Gopher error to pull ahead 1-0. Michigan's offense was led by the precision attack of Miller and Karpiak who combined for 11 kills on 13 swings. Miller had five kills on six swings with one error (.667) and Karpiak had six kills on seven swings with one error (.714), with freshman Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) pitching in an additional four kills to the cause.
Michigan fell behind early in game two, trailing by nine (19-10) and eventually falling, 30-23, to knot the match up 1-1. Bruzdzinski put up six kills in the period, while Karpiak managed three blocks and Zimmerman a pair of rejections. Michigan managed to bounce back within three, 19-16, in the middle of the period, but the Gophers responded to regain their lead and close the period.
U-M pushed Minnesota into a corner by winning a hard-fought game three, dueling the Gophers through 15 ties, and surviving a pair of game points before U-M took the frame, 32-30. The teams tied seven times from 20-20 to 28-28 before a questionable ball handling error on U-M put Minnesota at game point, 29-28. Bruzdzinski tied it on her sixth kill of the period, but the Gophers scored next to force a second game point, 30-29. Karpiak cut a kill to give Michigan new life at 30-30, and Bower was the star of the next point, slamming down a kill off an errant dig from senior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) on the right side to give U-M game point at 31-30. With momentum on its side, Michigan watched Minnesota superstar Kyla Roering slam a ball wide for the final U-M point, putting Michigan up 2-1. Bruzdzinski finished the game with six kills on 10 swings with just one error (.500), while Karpiak tallied six kills of her own.
Minnesota forced a fifth frame with a dominating fourth game, turning a one-point 13-12 lead into a seven-point, 21-14 chasm to win, 30-22. Bruzdzinski's five kills and Miller's three blocks were not enough to stem the Gopher onslaught as the visitors hit at a .341 clip to Michigan's .068 attack percentage.
In the deciding game, Michigan led after it broke a 2-2 tie, building a pair of five-point leads at 8-3 and 10-5 to win out, 15-11. The Wolverines used three kills on six swings from Miller to go along with a block, while three Michigan attackers tallied two kills apiece. Bruzdzinski, Karpiak and Rood tallied a pair of terminations apiece with Karpiak cashing in on her only two swings of the period to give Michigan the five-game win.
Michigan takes the rest of the weekend off before playing a rare Monday night (Nov. 5) match, hosting Iowa at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. The match will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
