Michigan
3-0
Tennessee
3-1
Zimmerman's Triple-Double Leads Michigan Past Tennessee
9/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2009
Site: Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center)
Score: #7 Michigan 3, Tennessee 1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14)
Records: U-M (3-0), Tennessee (3-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 5 -- at Xavier - Xavier Invitational (Cincinnati, Ohio), 5:30 p.m.
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) registered her first career triple-double to lead the seventh-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team to a four-set win over Tennessee Friday afternoon (Sept. 4) in the opening match of the Xavier Invitational at Cintas Center. Zimmerman hit .588 with 11 kills and added match highs of 17 digs and 42 assists in the 25-20, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14 victory.
Senior outside hitter Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) had a double-double with a match-high 18 kills coupled with 10 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Courtney Fletcher (Duluth, Ga./Northview) added a career-best nine kills and sophomore libero Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) posted 15 digs. Michigan held Tennessee to less than .100 hitting efficiency in the three sets the Wolverines won, including a -.033 mark (7-8-30) in the third set.
The teams split the opening two sets in virtual mirror images of each other, with each set tied at 7-7 before the winner took control to win 25-20. Paz rifled seven kills in the first set and hit .500 (5-0-10) in the second to pace the Wolverines, while Tennessee found its greatest offensive success by far in set two, hitting .303 (12-2-33).
U-M trailed 6-4 early in the third set before embarking on a 6-0 run, capped by a Zimmerman kill, that shifted the momentum in the Wolverines' favor and led to a convincing 25-16 win. Fletcher posted four kills in five swings in the set, while Zimmerman added seven digs.
The fourth set again found the teams tied at 7-7, then 8-8, before Michigan took over and closed out the match, 25-14. Paz, Zimmerman and sophomore outside hitter Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) each had four kills in the frame as U-M hit a sizzling .467 (17-3-30).
Michigan continues action in the Xavier Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 5), facing the host Musketeers at 5:30 p.m. Online coverage will include a U-M blog as well as live stats and video, courtesy of Xavier.
N O T E S
• Lexi Zimmerman's triple-double (11 kills, 17 digs, 42 assists) is the first by a Wolverine since Nov. 12, 2004, when Lisa Gamalski had 11 kills, 27 digs and 48 assists against No. 5 Minnesota. Michigan has never had a kills-digs-blocks triple-double.
• Michigan had a season-high five players with double-digit digs against Tennessee: Lexi Zimmerman (17), Sloane Donhoff (15), Megan Bower (13), Alex Hunt (10) and Juliana Paz (10).
• Courtney Fletcher set a career high in kills for the second straight match. The sophomore middle blocker, who entered the season with career high of seven kills in a match, posted nine kills today against Tennessee after registering eight against Kansas State last Saturday (Aug. 29).
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
