Michigan
18-9, 6-7B1G
Nebraska
18-4, 10-3B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 25 | 25 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 2 |
| Michigan | 21 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
U-M Comes Back from Two Sets Down to Upset No. 4 Huskers
11/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, #4 Nebraska 2 (21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-13, 15-9)
Records: U-M (18-9, 6-7 Big Ten), NU (18-4, 10-3 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,365
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 3 -- vs. Iowa (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the second straight home match, the University of Michigan volleyball team went to five sets with a team ranked in the top five. Down 2-0, the Wolverines fought all the way back to take a five-set win over No. 4 Nebraska Friday night (Nov. 2) at Cliff Keen Arena. Set scores were 21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-13 and 15-9.
Lexi Erwin
Junior Molly Toon (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) was the story. She had a career-high 25 kills while hitting .435. She was one of three Wolverines in double figures in kills, as junior Lexi Erwin (Spring, Texas/Woodlands College Park) had 18 and classmate Jennifer Cross (Scarborough, Ontario/Birchmount Park Collegiate) added 14 terminations. Sophomore Lexi Dannemiller (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) had a season-high 64 assists and made it a double-double with 14 digs. Junior Ally Sabol (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) had a season-high 19 digs, while Erwin and freshman Tiffany Morales (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) had 10 apiece. Cross had a match-high seven blocks in the win over the Cornhuskers.
U-M took the early 2-1 lead in the fifth set on an Erwin kill. Nebraska went up 4-2 on a block, but Michigan tied it at four with a kill from freshman Krystalyn Goode (River Hills, Wis./Nicolet). Michigan made its big run with the set tied at six. A Cornhusker attack error and kills from Goode and Erwin gave U-M a 9-6 lead and forced Nebraska to call timeout. A block from Cross and Dannemiller gave Michigan an 11-7 advantage. Erwin's kill made it 13-8. A Cross kill set up match point at 14-9 and an attack error from Morgan Broekhuis completed the Wolverine comeback.
Nebraska jumped out to a 2-0 lead, hitting .381 in the first set and .333 in the second. The first set featured 16 ties and eight lead changes. The last tie came at 19-all as the Cornhuskers scored two straight points after that score. A Cornhusker attack error made it 22-21 NU, but the Huskers scored the final three points off the set, capped off by a Meghan Haggerty kill. Two long runs highlighted the second set. Nebraska scored the first 10 points and had a 17-4 lead after back-to-back Michigan errors. Down 23-11, the Wolverines rallied with seven straight points off Erwin's serve. Toon had two kills and Cross two blocks in that run. Nebraska eventually got to set point at 24-19 and closed out the set on a Lauren Cook kill.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the match's third set off a Cross kill. Michigan went out in front 12-8 on a termination from fifth-year senior Claire McElheny (Westfield, Ind./Brebeuf Prep). Nebraska tied it at 12, but U-M came back and took a 19-15 lead on a solo block by Cross. A Toon kill put Michigan up 23-19 and the Wolverines clinched the set on a Cross kill at 25-21. Cross had seven kills in that set, while Dannemiller added 18 assists.
Michigan blitzed the Cornhuskers in set four, hitting .343 compared to .000 for Nebraska in the 25-13 win. Tied at seven, U-M went on a 10-1 run, highlighted by two blocks from Cross and a pair of kills from Goode. A service ace by freshman Kelly Murphy (Marietta, Ga./Walton) gave the Wolverines a 20-10 lead. Toon had a kill to make it 23-11 and Michigan forced the fifth set on a McElheny termination. Toon had seven kills in that fourth set.
U-M hit .326 in the match, compared to .256 for Nebraska. Michigan had 10 team blocks and outdug the Cornhuskers 72-70.
Michigan will host Iowa this Saturday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. The match marks the annual "Rock the House" Event featuring an in-arena DJ. Fans will have the opportunity to text in song requests, and commemorative t-shirts will be given to the first 500 fans in attendance.
NOTES
• Tonight's win is the first for the Wolverines over a top-five opponent since U-M defeated No. 4 Stanford in four sets on Dec. 11, 2009, in the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan won for the first time down 2-0 in a match since Sept. 25, 2010, when the Wolverines defeated Minnesota in five sets by scores of 13-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23 and 16-14.
• Michigan moves to 4-3 on the year in five-set matches.
• Michigan defeated Nebraska for the second time in school history and the first time since Aug. 28, 2009.
• Michigan hit .471 in the match's fifth set.
• Molly Toon obliterated her career high in kills, posting 25 terminations. Her previous career high was 15, which she accomplished on two occasions, including last Saturday's (Oct. 27) win at Indiana.
• Lexi Dannemiller was one assist away from tying her career high. She had 64 tonight and her career high is 65 set Oct. 8, 2011, against Minnesota.
• Dannemiller also recorded her 10th double-double of the season and 25th in her career with 64 assists and 14 digs.
• Lexi Erwin had her 13th double-double of the year and 22nd in her career, as she had 18 kills and 10 digs.
• Jennifer Cross had seven blocks on the night, including three solo blocks. That is a season high in solo blocks, and she has seven or more blocks seven times this year.
• Ally Sabol had a season-high 19 digs in the win. She eclipsed her then-season high of 18 set against No. 1 Penn State on Oct. 20.
