Michigan
22-7, 10-6Big Ten
Indiana
15-15, 4-12Big Ten
Wolverines Hold Off Hoosiers in Five Sets
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2009
• Box Score |
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #14 Michigan 3, Indiana 2 (25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 16-25, 15-11)
Records: U-M (22-7, 10-6 Big Ten), Indiana (15-15, 4-12 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Nov. 18 -- vs. Michigan State (Cliff Keen Arena), 6 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For a second straight night, the No. 14-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team went five sets, coming out victorious again, 3-2 (25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 16-25, 15-11), over Indiana on Saturday night (Nov. 14) at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines had to hold on after winning the first two sets in a mirror-image contest from the previous night.
Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) finished just one kill shy of a triple-double, racking up 48 assists, 12 digs and nine kills. Sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) led the attack with 18 kills, while seniors Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) and Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) added 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) led the Michigan defense with 19 and 18 digs, respectively.
In the deciding fifth set, the two teams traded points to a 10-10 tie. A back-row kill by Hunt put the Wolverines on top, giving the team a lead it never relinquished as Paz and Bower finished off the Hoosiers down the stretch in the 15-11 win.
Set one proved to be a close affair as the teams found themselves tied at 20-all. Indiana reeled off the next two points to grab its largest lead of the frame before U-M fired back with three straight, including a service ace by junior Maggie Busch (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian) for a 23-22 lead to send Indiana to the bench with a timeout. The Hoosiers tied it up out of the break before back-to-back kills by Paz sealed a 25-23 Michigan win.
In set two, the Wolverines scored the first four points and never looked back en route to a 25-14 win. Offensively, the Wolverines were red-hot, attacking at a .483 clip without a single attack error while posting an 86-percent side-out ratio. Hunt and Paz posted four kills apiece in the set, while Zimmerman added three.
Locked at 14-all in set three, the Wolverines strung together three straight points, including a kill by Hunt, to grab a 17-14 lead. The lead quickly evaporated as the Hoosiers fired back with a 5-1 run for just their second lead of the set. Trailing 24-22, a kill by Rood brought U-M within one, but Indiana held on down the stretch for a 25-23 win.
Still leading two sets to one, Michigan kept the fourth set close before the Hoosiers pushed a 16-14 advantage to a 25-16 win on the strength of 9-2 run. The Wolverines offense sputtered in the frame, producing seven attack errors and three service errors as they hit just .027.
The Wolverines are back in action Wednesday night (Nov. 18) when they face intrastate rival Michigan State at 6 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena. The match, which will decide the State Pride series winner, can be seen live via the Big Ten Network with MGoBlue.com providing live game audio and live stats.
N O T E S
• The wins over Purdue (Nov. 13) and Indiana (Nov. 14) proved to be the first weekend sweep for the Wolverines since the Big Ten opening weekend (Sept. 25-27) when U-M also turned the trick versus Purdue and IU.
• Michigan is now 4-2 in five-set matches this season.
• Maggie Busch posted a season-high three service aces versus Indiana, tying her career high.
• With 18 digs in the match, senior Megan Bower moved into second place on U-M's career digs list with 1,384 in her career. Bower trails career leader Stesha Selsky (2004-07) who tallied 2,178 career stops.
• Bower also moved into a tie for second place all-time in career matches played with 131. Bower trails Kerry Hance (2005-08) who appeared in 133 career matches.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
Overall thoughts on the win ... "I am very pleased with how we are competing at this point in the season. We would certainly like to be more consistent, but at the end of the day, I am just really pleased with how we battled tonight. We talk all the time about playing our best volleyball toward the end of the season. I don't think we are playing out best, but we are competing and that is a big part of it."
On the struggles in sets three and four ... "It is never one thing or one person. I think today we got a little lackadaisical. We hit .433 in set three and lost, usually you are going to win hitting that high. I think maybe we waited too patiently on our scoring chances instead of going and getting them. They also got momentum in set three and four, and they started playing free and easy and we were playing tight."
On the importance of the weekend sweep ... "It is big because going into the NCAA Tournament we don't want to limp in. We are all playing for something. Purdue came in here last night knowing they needed a win to get in; Indiana needed a win to get in. We are comfortable that we are going to be in the tournament, but we want to get seeded, we want to host. Our kids are playing hard with that in mind and getting two wins on the weekend helps us move in that direction."
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
