Michigan
24-11
Penn State
31-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 15 | 18 | 18 | 0 |
| Penn State | 30 | 30 | 30 | 3 |
Wolverines Drop NCAA Regional Debut to No. 1 Penn State
12/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: State College, Pa. (Rec Hall)
Score: #1 Penn State 3, #19 Michigan 0 (30-15, 30-18, 30-18)
Records: U-M (24-11), PSU (30-2)
Attendance: 3,779
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Playing in its first NCAA regional match in program history, the No. 19 University of Michigan volleyball team suffered a three-game defeat to host No. 1 Penn State (30-15, 30-18, 30-18) Friday night (Dec. 7) in Rec Hall.
Lyndsay Miller
Needing three blocks to become Michigan's all-time leader, senior Lyndsay Miller (Ida, Mich./Ida) waited until game point to string together the stops she needed to reach the pinnacle of Wolverine blockers. The Wolverines' career kills leader, senior Katie Bruzdzinski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), spearheaded the U-M attack with 10 kills. Senior Stesha Selsky (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) added to her record-setting defensive numbers with eight digs to complete the 2007 senior class' triumvirate of career leaders.
Penn State came out blazing in game one, out-terminating Michigan 16-7 and scoring three service aces in a 30-15 win. Miller accounted for most of Michigan's offense with three kills, while fellow middle junior Beth Karpiak (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) managed two. The Wolverines' -.033 hitting percentage belied the Nittany Lions dominance.
Michigan acquitted itself with a much better performance in game two, using three kills from Bruzdzinski early to even up with Penn State at 6-6 early, but the rolling Nittany Lions regained the momentum and pulled out a 30-18 win to pull ahead two games to none. Bruzdzinski came back with five kills in the period on 11 swings, while Michigan's serving served notice with two aces from sophomore Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and one from junior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount). Freshman Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) set a U-M record for most single-season assists with her helper on Bruzdzinski's kill to make it 26-16 late.
After the break, Penn State quickly put together a 10-3 lead in the third game. Michigan looked to grab momentum with a kill followed by a block from Bruzdzinski, but the Nittany Lions regained control and extended their lead to 20-8. The Wolverine captain once again tried to spark a rally, reaching double digit kills for the 111th time in her career with a pair of late kills to chip away at the Penn State lead.
Michigan refused to go quietly, stringing together six straight points facing game point at 29-12. Karpiak scored a kill, before Miller and Bower set up a wall at the net to record blocks on three of the next five plays. Selskey sandwiched a service ace into the late surge before Penn State was able to put the final point on the board.
Michigan wraps up a 24-win campaign, the third-highest total in program history and the most under head coach Mark Rosen.
NOTES
• Tonight was the final collegiate match for four Wolverine seniors: Katie Bruzdzinski, Sarah Draves, Lyndsay Miller and Stesha Selsky. The class boasts U-M's career kills (Bruzdzinski), digs (Selsky) and blocks (Miller) leaders.
• Megan Bower, Katie Bruzdzinski, Kerry Hance, Beth Karpiak, Lyndsay Miller, Veronica Rood, Stesha Selsky and Lexi Zimmerman all jumped to the top of Michigan's single-season matches played list (the record has only been kept since 1982). Each player competed in all 35 of the Wolverines' matches this year.
• Senior middle blocker Lyndsay Miller became Michigan's all-time leader in blocks with three against Penn State to give her 473 total. She slides into the history books ahead of Katrina Lehman's 472 career blocks for first place on the all-time list.
• Seniors Lyndsay Miller and Stesha Selsky wrap up their careers atop the Wolverine all-time appearances list with 131. Senior Katie Bruzdzinski finishes one behind the duo in second place with 130 matches to her credit.
• Freshman Lexi Zimmerman broke Michigan's single-season assists record with 22 against Penn State. Zimmerman finishes her freshman campaign with 1,685 assists.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
Opening statement ... "You will like the sound of this: Penn State is phenomenal. Tell the media they can run with that, they are very good. I give them all of the credit in the world. They played extremely well tonight. We have seen them twice before live, we have seen them on tape numerous times this year. They are playing their best ball of the season right now. There is not question about that. They were a buzz saw tonight. I give them a tremendous amount of credit. They did a lot of things to frustrate us. We tried to make adjustments throughout the night. I don't think it was because our players couldn't make adjustments, but I think they had a lot of answers and I give them a ton of credit. The first time we broke open any type of run was right there at the end of the match and that is a credit to Penn State. I am really proud of our team, they fought hard all night. It is really hard to see that when the score is as broad as it became, but I don't think that is a reflection of our team giving up, getting frustrated, or stopping, that was reflection on Penn State. I am really proud of our team, not just for tonight, but for what they have done all year long. It has been one of the most fun teams to coach, one of the fastest seasons, and seasons can drag sometimes, but not this season because I enjoy coaching this team and watching what they can do as a group."
On Penn State's blocking ... "I think their block is really related to their serving. They served as well as I have seen a team serve all year, and we are a good passing team. That is something we have been able to hang our hats on all year and I think they served us extremely well. Blocking is a product of that. We started limiting our offense on what we can do or running the offense from 10, 12 feet off of the net, that block becomes a lot better. I think they certainly set up their block well with how they served."
On who might be able to beat Penn State ... "I haven't seen them all. I know Nebraska is very physical, Stanford is very physical, Texas is very physical. Those teams are all at a comparable level to Penn State. But, the way they are playing right now they are not just physical, they are extremely skilled. I certainly bet on them and I think they are going to represent our conference very well."
On the difference between facing Penn State in the regular season and postseason ... "I think they were much more consistent than they have been. They were very steady. They didn't make that many errors. They made 26 errors for the match in all categories and to this point they have been averaging 11, 12 errors per game. They were well below their error number, which tells you how consistent they played. The term 'fired up' is a good term. They were very focused, I thought, they were very steady. I think they have kind of gone in and out at times this year, and they seem to be playing their best volleyball right now. They were not in and out at all tonight. They were at a pretty competitive level all night."
U-M Senior Middle Blocker Lyndsay Miller
On Michigan's momentum in game three ... "I mean, the whole game we were putting it all out there but the last five points we just said, 'You know what, at least let's end on a good note.' I think that is the main thing and we just went after it hard core. We were going hard all game, I just think we wanted to finish on a good note, let's finish playing Michigan volleyball."
U-M Senior Outside Hitter Katie Bruzdzinski
On the intensity and atmosphere in Rec Hall ... "I expected them to play really well tonight and I think we all did. They have always had good crowds when we come here, so obviously tonight they had more fans but yeah, that is what I expected."
