Michigan
6-0
Georgia Tech
5-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Georgia Tech | 25 | 23 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
U-M Rallies Past Georgia Tech to Win Invite
9/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Score: Michigan 3, Georgia Tech 2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13)
Attendance: 1,751
Records: U-M (6-0), Georgia Tech (5-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 12 -- vs. Oakland (Cliff Keen Arena), 7:30 p.m.
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Led by a season-best 16 kills from senior Beth Karpiak (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) and 51 assists from sophomore Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), the University of Michigan volleyball team knocked off host Georgia Tech in five sets, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13), to win the Georgia Tech Invitational Sunday (Sept. 7) at O'Keefe Gymnasium.
Beth Karpiak
In set one, the Wolverines found themselves down 9-4 early, forcing head coach Mark Rosen into a timeout which seemingly energized his squad as the Wolverines promptly went on a 7-1 run to force the first tie of the set, 12-12. The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth until Zimmerman deposited a dump-shot termination to give U-M its first lead of the day, 14-13. The Michigan advantage reached three, 17-14, on the strength of back-to-back aces by freshman Sloane Dohnoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) as U-M jumped in front 17-15. From that point forward the host Yellow Jackets took control, going on a 9-3 run to take a 24-20 lead. Michigan would not go down without a fight, putting together a 3-0 run of its own before finally falling 25-23.
Set two saw more back-and-forth action as the two teams battled through four ties and four lead changes including a frantic final push down the stretch from the host team. U-M jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead only to see Georgia Tech storm back to take a 9-5 advantage. U-M then got Karpiak involved to the tune of four terminations to tie the set 11-11. Junior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) helped build a 17-13 Michigan advantage after two straight terminations, but the Yellow Jackets were not done, reeling off five of the next seven points down the stretch to cut the U-M lead to 24-23. It was Bower who came up with the final kill, slamming a Zimmerman back-set to the floor for a 25-23 Michigan win to even the match at a set apiece.
Set three saw another highly-contested battle as U-M raced to a 6-1 lead only to see Georgia Tech reel of 10-of-15 points to tie the set, 11-11. Neither team could grasp more than a three-point lead for the remainder of the frame as Michigan forced 10 ties before the Yellow Jackets were able to close out the set 27-15 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Karpiak led the Wolverine offense in set three, contributing four kills, and Donhoff added two more service aces.
Set four saw the Wolverines grab a 12-7 lead and for the first time they held on throughout. U-M pushed the advantage to 21-15 after a pair of kills by freshman/sophomore Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and closed the set on Karpiak's 14th termination of the contest. The 25-20 win was the largest margin of the match to that point.
In the deciding set five, Michigan got off to a fast start, using blocks from Rood and Zimmerman plus a termination from Karpiak to take a 6-1 lead and force Tech into a timeout. The U-M lead reached 11-6 but Georgia Tech put together one final push, closing the gap to 12-11 before a Bower kill, a Tech attack error and a termination from Rood finished off the match, 15-13.
Three different Wolverine players tallied double-figure kills led by Karpiak's season-high 16. Bower and junior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) posted 12 and 10, respectively. Zimmerman reached a season-high 51 assists while also contributing a season-best and team-high 17 digs. Zimmerman was aided defensively by senior Kerry Hance's (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) 11 digs. U-M also posted 12 team blocks.
The Wolverines return to Ann Arbor to make their home debut on Friday (Sept. 12) versus Oakland at 7:30 p.m. in day one of the Michigan/Pepsi Invitational at Cliff Keen Arena.
NOTES
• The win Sunday gave Michigan its second invitational title of the season and 10th consecutive.
• Veronica Rood, Beth Karpiak and Lexi Zimmerman were all named to the Georgia Tech Invitational all-tournament team. Zimmerman took home MVP honors.
• Michigan is now 4-0 all-time versus Georgia Tech after its 3-0 win Sunday.
• Sunday's crowd of 1,751 was the largest U-M has played in front of this season.
• The Georgia Tech match was the first Sunday contest for U-M this season and first since a 3-0 win on October 7, 2007, versus Northwestern.
• Sunday's 3-2 win marked the first match for U-M to go beyond three sets and the first five-set match for U-M since a 3-2 win Nov. 2, 2007, versus Minnesota.
