Michigan
12-0
Dayton
10-1
Wolverines Win Three Nailbiters to Outlast Dayton
9/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2009
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Michigan/adidas Invitational
Score: #6 Michigan 3, Dayton 0 (28-26, 26-24, 28-26)
Records: U-M (12-0), Dayton (10-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 19 -- vs. Oregon State (Crisler Arena), 3:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind senior Juliana Paz's (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) double-double (18 kills, 12 digs), the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team held off a pesky Dayton squad to run its season-opening win streak to 12 matches, sweeping the Flyers, 28-26, 26-24, 28-26, on Friday night (Sept. 18) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
In addition to Paz's stellar night, sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) chipped in 11 kills to go along with three aces on the evening. Meanwhile, sophomore libero Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) notched her third 20-dig effort of the season, while junior Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) dished out 40 assists.
The third set was a microcosm of the entire night as Michigan fought off two set points before rattling off three consecutive winners to earn the 28-26 set victory to take the sweep. Down 26-25, U-M got a Zimmerman kill down the line to swing the momentum back to the Wolverines and knot the game at 26-all. Senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) then found the floor to give the Maize and Blue match point before another Zimmerman kill won it.
The Flyers ran out to a quick 7-2 advantage in the second set and held on to a lead throughout most of the match. Down 19-15, the Wolverines came alive, reeling off four straight points to forge a 19-all tie. From there, the two teams traded leads three times down the stretch before a kill by Rood and an attack error by the Flyers gave U-M a 26-24 win.
In set one, the Wolverines squandered a 10-5 early advantage as Dayton scrapped its way to a 17-17 tie. Facing set-point at 24-22, the Wolverines rallied behind Paz and Hunt, who combined for four kills, with Paz providing a dramatic service ace to ice the 28-26 victory.
The Wolverines are back in action on Saturday (Sept. 18) when they take their undefeated record over to Crisler Arena for the first time since 2007, hosting Oregon State at 3:30 p.m. In a match that will decide the Michigan/adidas Invitational champion, admission is free and MGoBlue.com will provide live stats and live radio coverage.
N O T E S
• Michigan runs its winning streak to 12 matches to start the 2009 campaign. The Wolverines have started each of the past three seasons 13-0.
• Michigan extends its program record of consecutive sets won to 27.
• Michigan has now won 52 straight regular-season matches against non-conference opponents.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the victory over Dayton ... "I thought we competed. We didn't play great, necessarily, but credit Dayton; they are a very good team that takes you out of what you want to do. They make it hard to stay in system, but we found a way to compete when the match was on the line. I am proud of our players for competing and winning ugly. You have to find a way to do that sometimes and tonight was a classic example of that."
On having to battle from behind in each of the three sets ... "I didn't have to say much to the girls. They knew that we had to play point for point. Dayton is a really good, very competitive team and our team outplayed them, which is impressive."
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
