Michigan
18-6, 6-6Big Ten
Purdue
19-5, 8-4Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 25 | 28 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 2 |
| Purdue | 21 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Michigan Lead Slips Away in Five-Set Loss at No. 20 Purdue
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Holloway Gymnasium)
Result: #20 Purdue 3, #18 Michigan 2 (25-21, 28-26, 17-25, 18-25, 12-15)
Records: U-M (18-6, 6-6 Big Ten), PUR (19-5, 8-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 7 -- vs. Northwestern (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team took a 2-0 set lead into the intermission on Saturday night (Nov. 1) only to see it slip away in a five-set loss (25-21, 28-26, 17-25, 18-25, 12-15) at No. 20-ranked Purdue in Holloway Gymnasium. Lost in defeat was another balanced offensive effort from U-M, which had four players reach double figures in kills, led by 14 from senior Beth Karpiak (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township), who also hit at .353, and a team-high 18 digs from senior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif/Marymount).
Kerry Hance
In the opening frame, Michigan fell down by as much as four points early, 10-6, on three consecutive attacking errors. The Wolverines rebounded to find an offensive rhythm to come from behind and tie the set, 16-16. Purdue regained the lead and pushed it to two points, 18-16, before Michigan took its first lead of the night, 19-18, thanks to a 3-0 run that was capped by a service ace from junior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC). The Wolverines continued their momentum from there, building the lead to 23-19 on kills from freshman Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) and junior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) before punctuating the 25-21 win on another Hunt termination.
Set two was a back-and-forth affair as the two teams battled through 11 ties and three lead changes. U-M built a 14-11 lead midway through the frame on kills from Karpiak and Paz, and extended the advantage to 17-11 on a Purdue service error. The host Boilermakers put up a fight, tying the set at 23-all before the Maize and Blue stole the lead back, 24-23, on another service error. Facing set-point, Michigan was unable to close the deal immediately, watching as Purdue fought off three separate set-point scenarios before a kill from sophomore Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) sealed a 28-26 victory.
After the intermission, Purdue came out on fire with its net defense, using five blocks in the frame and a .500 attack percentage to win going away, 25-17. Karpiak had four kills in the frame, but Michigan hit a sub-par .219 as a team in the loss.
Michigan bounced back and built an 11-8 advantage in set four, only to see Purdue storm its way to a 25-18 win. The Wolverines watched as the Boilermakers reeled off an 11-1 run down the stretch for the victory. Michigan did not help its own cause, hitting .108 in the set compared to Purdue's .393 effort. The home squad continued to block the Wolverines well, registering six blocks in the set.
In the deciding fifth set, Michigan took an 8-7 lead at the turn, but following a television timeout, the Boilermakers rallied for the next five points to take a 12-8 lead. Michigan stemmed the tide and got within three, 13-10, before Purdue closed out the comeback win moments later, 15-12.
Wolverine attackers in double figures included Hunt (12), Bower (11) and Paz (11), while Zimmerman piloted the offense to the tune of 48 assists and was just one kill shy of a double-double. Michigan was outblocked at the net 20-8 on the night.
Michigan will return home this upcoming Friday night (Nov. 7) when it faces Northwestern at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.
