Michigan
7-0
Oakland
3-4
Michigan Storms Past Oakland in Home Opener
9/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Event: Michigan/Pepsi Invitational
Score: Michigan 3, Oakland 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-14)
Records: U-M (7-0), Oakland (3-4)
Attendance: 891
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 13 C vs. Toledo (Cliff Keen Arena), 11 a.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Led by junior Juliana Paz's (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) 15 kills and sophomore Lexi Zimmerman's 39 assists (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), the University of Michigan volleyball team stayed undefeated with a convincing 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-14) home-opening win over Oakland Friday night (Sept. 12) on day one of the Michigan/Pepsi Invitational at Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan got off to a fast start in the opening set, building a 7-3 lead on back-to-back kills by Paz. The lead quickly disappeared as Oakland used a pair of U-M attack errors to close the gap to 10-8 and then forced the first tie at 10-10 on another Michigan miscue. The two teams traded the lead until junior Megan Bower(Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) delivered a termination that put Michigan up for good, 20-19. Down the stretch, U-M used kills by Paz, Bower and freshman Courtney Fletcher(Duluth, Ga./Northview) to finish off the Golden Grizzlies, 25-21.
Set two saw another Wolverine making her home debut, sophomore/freshman Karlee Bruck(Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) record three kills and Zimmerman dished out 10 helpers as the Wolverines went on to another 25-21 victory. The Michigan back row got into the act, combining for 20 team digs, including seven by senior Kerry Hance(Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount), holding Oakland to a .056 hitting percentage.
In the final set, Michigan stormed out to an 11-3 advantage and led by as much as nine points on its way to the 25-14 win. Paz exploded for eight of U-M's 19 kills in the third frame, terminating at a .727 clip while Zimmerman enjoyed 15 assists and a pair of kills of her own in the finale.
Nine Wolverines got into the scoring, led by Paz's 15 kills while Bower added seven and four players -- Bruck, Zimmerman, junior Veronica Rood(Temperance, Mich./Bedford) and senior Beth Karpiak(LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) -- had six apiece. Defensively, Hance led the way with 16 digs and Paz added 11 for a double-double. Karpiak posted four blocks to lead the team.
The Wolverines have a short turnaround as they face Toledo to kick off day two of the Pepsi Challenge at 11:00 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 13) in Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan will then close the tournament with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Auburn.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
