Michigan
8-0
Toledo
4-4
U-M Shoots Down Rockets With Sweep
9/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Event: Michigan/Pepsi Invitational
Score: Michigan 3, Toledo 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-17)
Records: U-M (8-0), Toledo (4-4)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 13 -- vs. Auburn (Cliff Keen Arena), 7:30 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team won its eighth straight match to begin the season Saturday morning (Sept. 13), defeating Toledo 3-0 at Cliff Keen Arena. Senior Beth Karpiak(LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) led the way for the Wolverines with 14 kills and a .542 hitting percentage.
Michigan jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the first set. Freshman Sloane Donhoff(Louisville, Ky./Assumption) had a pair of aces to help the Maize and Blue to the quick start. U-M's largest lead of the set was 12 at 22-10 after Karpiak put away four consecutive points for the Wolverines. Facing 10 set points for U-M, Toledo made a small run to close the gap to 24-17 before junior Megan Bower(Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) finished off the first set with a termination. Karpiak had eight kills and a .667 hitting percentage in set one for the Maize and Blue, who hit .310 as a team.
Michigan and Toledo went back-and-forth in game two with neither team holding a lead larger than two points until Toledo took an 11-8 lead after three consecutive kills. Junior Juliana Paz(Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) ended the Rockets' run with a termination from the left side. Following a Toledo hitting error, Paz tied the set at 11 with a service ace and Bower gave the Wolverines a lead with a kill at 12-11. After the teams traded six more points, Michigan took an 18-17 lead on an ace by sophomore Lexi Zimmerman(Barrington, Ill./Barrington), forcing the Rockets to call their first timeout of the set. A block by sophomore/freshman Karlee Bruck(Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and a Bower kill pushed the Michigan lead to 20-17 and Toledo used their second timeout. The Maize and Blue scored three more points on the serve of Zimmerman to take a 23-17 lead before Toledo forced a side out. Bower again got the final kill of the game as Michigan took a 2-0 lead, 25-18.
In the third set, Michigan took a 13-11 lead on back-to-back kills by Karpiak. The Rockets cut the lead to one at 16-15 before a pair of Toledo errors and a block by Karpiak helped push the U-M advantage to four at 20-16. Zimmerman propelled the Wolverines to the third-set victory, winning three of the final five points for the Maize and Blue, two on second-contact attacks and the third on a joust at the net. U-M got the final point of the match on a Toledo attack error to win the set, 25-17.
Four Michigan players ended the match with double-digit digs with Donhoff and Zimmerman leading the way with 12 apiece. Bower chipped in 11 and senior libero Kerry Hance(Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) added 10. The Wolverines held Toledo to just a .046 hitting percentage in the match.
U-M will be back in action in the final match of the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge later tonight (Sept. 13) to take on the Tigers of Auburn at Cliff Keen Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
