Michigan
27-9
Stanford
23-8
Michigan Ousts No. 4 Stanford, Earns Spot in Elite Eight
12/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Maples Pavilion)
Event: NCAA Regional (Semifinal)
Score: #16 Michigan 3, #4 Stanford 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11)
Records: U-M (26-9), Stanford (23-7)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 12 -- vs. Hawai'i - NCAA Regional Final (Palo Alto, Calif.), 8:30 p.m. PST
• Boxscore | Photo Gallery 
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team made history Friday night (Dec. 11), using four double-figure kill performances and a .358 attack percentage en route to a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11) upset of No. 4 Stanford to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in a NCAA Regional Semifinal win in Maples Pavilion.
Sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) led the way with 18 kills and 14 digs, while senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) added 15. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) came up two digs shy of a triple-double with 10 kills, eight digs and 51 assists.
In the deciding fourth set, the Wolverines continued a trend of fast leads, going on top 6-1 on a vicious kill from Zimmerman to force the Cardinal to burn an early timeout. The lead swelled to seven, 9-2, on a kill from Paz, which forced Stanford to expend its second and final timeout of the frame. The lead continued to grow as U-M put together a 6-0 run, which included a pair of aces from sophomore libero Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) to go on top 16-3 as the Wolverines eventually cruised to a 25-11 win, taking the match three sets to one.
In set three, U-M again raced out to an early lead thanks to back-to-back Hunt terminations plus a kill from Zimmerman and ace from Donhoff to grab an 8-3 advantage. The Wolverines continued to play well, holding an 18-12 lead that forced the Cardinal into its second timeout of the frame. Up 20-14, the Wolverine defense began to falter as Stanford put together a 6-0 run with three service aces in the mix to get within one, 20-19. U-M responded, however, using kills by Hunt, senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) and sophomore/junior Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) to go back on top 24-22, and a solo block by Rood sealed the win, 25-22, as U-M went on top two sets to one.
In set two, Michigan again jumped out to an early lead, 5-2, on three straight kills by Rood, Paz and Zimmerman. The Cardinal made a charge from there, tying the score at eight-all before grabbing their biggest lead of the night, 10-8. The Stanford lead swelled to three points, 15-12, forcing a Michigan timeout. The Cardinal pushed their lead to five, 20-15, before the Wolverines made a push, registering the next two points and forcing a Stanford stoppage. The Wolverines got within one at 23-22 on a service ace by Paz and tied the match at 23-all on a Cardinal attack error, but Stanford reeled off the next two to take the set 25-23 and even the match at one set apiece.
In set one, the Wolverines raced out to an early 6-2 lead on the strength of four straight points -- two blocks and two kills by Hunt and a cross-court winner from Rood. After Stanford whittled the lead to three, Michigan responded with two kills from senior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and an ace from junior Maggie Busch (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian) to grab a 13-8 lead and force a Cardinal timeout. Stanford got to within three points on two occasions, but each time the Wolverines responded, including a 3-1 run over the final four points to grab a 25-18 win. Michigan hit an impressive .545 in the set as Paz paced the club with six kills, while Hunt added five.
With the win, Michigan advances to Saturday night's (Dec. 12) NCAA Regional Final against No. 3 Hawai'i, which defeated Illinois, 3-1, to advance. First serve for a trip to the Final Four is set for 8:30 p.m. PST with live coverage nationally on ESPNU.
N O T E S
• Michigan advances to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
• The Wolverines improved to 12-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
• The Wolverines handed Stanford just its second home loss this season and just its third loss ever at in NCAA play at Maples Pavilion. Stanford has now lost just twice at home in NCAA Regional action. Michigan joins 1991 national champion UCLA as the only teams to knock off the Cardinal at home in NCAA Regional play.
• Michigan ripped off eight service aces in the match, tying for its second-best performance in NCAA Tournament play of eight vs. Pacific on Dec. 4, 1999.
• Veronica Rood's .625 hitting percentage (10-0-16) tied for the second-best NCAA Tournament performance in program history, falling just shy of Beth Karpiak's (.632) against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 30, 2007.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
Opening statement ... "I am obviously extremely happy with the win and proud of what our team accomplished tonight. Stanford is a good team. I just thought we played a great match. We knew going in that there were certain things that we had to do. We had to play our game and we did that. I thought we were extremely well balanced offensively, and Lexi (Zimmerman) did a tremendous job of running our offense tonight."
On what it means for the program to advance to its first Elite Eight ... "It is a huge step, but honestly we aren't satisfied yet. I think what it does do is it reinforces what I have said about our senior class. They should be really, really proud of what they have accomplished. The legacy they have established at Michigan is a great one, and they keep adding to it."
On the upcoming match vs. Hawai'i ... "I don't know too much about them, but I expect to know more in the next 12 hours. We have to focus on what we do best. From what I have seen of Hawai'i, they do a lot of the same things that we do really well. They run a very fast offense, they serve well, they pass well. We need to go out and play our game tomorrow night. It should be a great regional final, as it should be."
U-M Junior Setter Lexi Zimmerman
On comparing the 2007 Michigan team that upset Hawai'i ... "Well, we are both playing in a big arena tomorrow night, but other than that I don't think there are any similarities between those teams and now. We are a different team now, and so are they."
