Michigan
24-8, 12-8Big Ten
Penn State
32-0, 20-0Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan | 22 | 18 | 13 | 0 |
Wolverines Drop Regular-Season Finale to No. 1 Penn State
11/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: #1 Penn State 3, #20 Michigan (22-25, 18-25, 13-25)
Records: U-M (24-8, 12-8 Big Ten), PSU (32-0, 20-0 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,850
Next U-M Event: TBA
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team fell in three sets (22-25, 18-25, 13-25) to No. 1-ranked Penn State in the regular-season finale on Friday night (Nov. 29) at Cliff Keen Arena. Freshman Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) managed 10 kills to lead the Wolverine attack, while junior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) tallied six kills and two service aces.
Alex Hunt
Michigan's usually potent attack was stymied throughout the match, hitting just .144 on the night. Sophomore Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) dished out 22 assists, her lowest total of the season, while adding a team-best seven digs in the loss.
The first set was a battle until the end as neither team was able to sustain any prolonged run. After Michigan took an early 2-0 lead, the Nittany Lions scored two straight to tie the score. The two squads traded points until Penn State went on a three-point run to take an 8-5 lead. A kill by Paz and blocks by junior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and sophomore/freshman Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) along with another termination by Bruck quickly tied the score again at eight-all. With the score tied at 11-all, PSU tried to pull away with a 4-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage. The Wolverines responded with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the score at 15-all. The match remained close down the stretch before Penn State used a 6-2 run to take control of the set 23-19 en route to the 25-22 win. Penn State's net defense held Michigan to just a .119 attack percentage. Hunt led the Maize and Blue attack with six kills in the set.
U-M continued to play Penn State tight in set two and trailed by just one, 8-7, after a service ace by Paz. The Nittany Lions took control of the match with a 6-1 run to take a 14-8 lead. Michigan managed to climb back within four, 22-17, but PSU took three of the last four points to win 25-18. Michigan's attack was again limited as the team managed just seven kills and a .143 attack percentage. Senior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) recorded three digs, while the Michigan offense was aided by service aces from Paz, freshman Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Hance.
In set three, Penn State managed to take an early 4-1 lead which was all the Nittany Lions needed, never allowing the Wolverines to tie the score. U-M managed to get within one at 8-7 before a 12-3 Nittany Lions run put the score out of reach at 20-10 on the way to a 25-13 victory. Hunt tallied four kills to pace the Wolverine attack in the final frame.
The loss tonight was just the second of the season at home for Michigan and completed a perfect regular-season run for Penn State. The Nittany Lions won all 96 sets and 32 matches they played, becoming the first team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat.
Michigan will learn its NCAA Tournament fate when the selection show airs on ESPNU Sunday night (Nov. 30) at 10 p.m. The Wolverines are looking for their eighth NCAA berth in the last 10 seasons.
NOTES
• Michigan's loss to Penn State Saturday snapped a six-match winning streak inside Cliff Keen Arena for the Maize and Blue. The last Michigan loss at home was on Oct. 11 versus Illinois.
• Michigan fell to 2-6 against ranked opponents this season with the loss.
• Friday's sellout crowd of 1,850 at Cliff Keen Arena marked the second match of the year the Wolverines played before a packed house. The other sellout crowd came vs. Michigan State (Nov. 14), a 3-1 Wolverine win.
• The Wolverines again honored two seniors making their final appearances before the home crowd Saturday night. Kerry Hance and Beth Karpiak were introduced prior to the match and received an ovation from the sellout crowd.
• Saturday night was also Parents Night. Each U-M player joined their parents on the court prior to the match.
• Michigan will find out when and where its season continues when the NCAA announces the field for the 2008 NCAA Championships at 10 p.m. on ESPNU Sunday night.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the mindset going into the match ... "We really approached it like any other match, but the one thing with them is that you can't be tentative at any point. We talked a lot about being aggressive with everything that we do. Whatever choice that we made as a server, attacker or setter had to be a definitive choice and we had to go after it. We couldn't do anything tentatively or passively and in game one, we did a great job with that. Actually, throughout the entire match we were very aggressive. There were periods in game two and game three where we got a little tentative."
On the performance of the team ... "I'm really proud of how we played; I thought we played very well. We were aggressive and that was one of the things I was looking for. If we were tentative or played passively that would have been frustrating for me, but we didn't, so I'm proud of that. I thought we had a lot of good individual performances, but we also stayed within the system. We didn't try to do too much. Overall, I feel very good about it, but we want to win. For us, there are not any moral victories, but at the same time, I am proud of our team."
