Michigan
15-6, 5-5B1G
Ohio State
19-3, 8-3B1G
No. 23 Wolverines Drop Rivalry Match to No. 6 Buckeyes
10/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» All four sets were decided by two points, including sets three and four finishing at 28-26 in Ohio State's favor.
» Carly Skjodt recorded her second career double-double (11 kills, 16 digs), and Carly Warner had an assist-dig double-double with 35 and 13, respectively.
» Lindsey Lerg broke her single-game career record in digs with 18, and Adeja Lambert led Michigan in attacking with a .429 average, just shy of her career high.
» Krystalyn Goode and Abby Cole partnered on seven of Michigan's eight total blocks.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #6 Ohio State 3, #23 Michigan 1 (25-23, 23-25, 28-26, 28-26)
Records: U-M (15-6, 5-5 B1G), OSU (19-3, 8-3 B1G)
Attendance: 1,800
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 30 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 23rd-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 28-26, 28-26) Big Ten Conference match to the visiting No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday evening (Oct. 24) from Cliff Keen Arena.
Aside from freshman Carly Skjodt, who recorded her second career double-double, two Wolverines racked up double-digit kills in the match, with two additional Michigan players tallying double-digit digs.
No. 6 Ohio State entered the arena in the first set with an offensive attack, garnering a lead that it did not relinquish. Despite multiple scoring runs from the Michigan offense and a .316 first set attack average for U-M, Ohio State took the first set by a 25-23 score.
Michigan answered back in the second set of the match, taking an early lead and maintaining it despite a tie game at 10-10. Overall, the momentum swung in favor of the Wolverines, as Michigan tallied 16 kills and forced five OSU errors to take a 25-23 victory of their own. Skjodt led the offense in set two, picking up five kills on a .250 average. Sophomores Adeja Lambert and Claire Kieffer-Wright also recorded two kills apiece on a .500 average, while junior Abby Cole registered four.
Despite leading the majority of the third set, with a lead as high as five points at times, Michigan was overcome by Ohio State late in the set. The visiting Buckeyes out-hit Michigan .326 to .167, forcing a bitter 28-26 third-set defeat of the Maize and Blue. Despite the score, U-M's Lambert again had an effective outing, leading her teammates with four kills on a .600 average. In addition, senior Krystalyn Goode and Cole connected on four blocks, while senior libero Lindsey Lerg led all players with six digs.
Trailing 2-1 heading into the fourth set, Michigan again came out strong offensively to take an early lead, though Ohio State tied the game at 4-4, and a battle ensued from there. Despite 10 lead changes and a tie game at 26-26, Ohio State took home the 28-26 fourth-set victory and the match by a 3-1 score. Led by Goode and Cole, the Wolverines recorded a game-high four blocks in the fourth set.
In spite of the loss, Skjodt picked up her second career double-double in the match, racking up 11 kills and tying her career-high 16 digs.
Along with Skjodt, Cole and Lambert also tallied double-digit kills in the effort. Cole led Michigan with 16 kills, while Lambert picked up 11 and led her team with a .429 attack average to fall just short of her career high. Senior setter Carly Warner also guided the offense with 35 assists, while freshman setter Maddy Abbott also tallied 14.
Defensively, Cole and Goode led the Maize and Blue from the net, partnering on seven blocks for seven block assists each. Kieffer-Wright and sophomore Katherine Mahlke also connected on a block late in the match to bring Michigan's total to eight.
From the back row, Lerg broke her single-game career record with 18 digs, while Skjodt tallied 16, and Warner added 13. Warner's digs also awarded her a double-double, as she recorded both double-digit assists and digs on the night.
The loss to No. 6 Ohio State signals the end of a four-game homestand for Michigan, which will take to the road next week for four-consecutive away matches. First up on U-M's schedule is a match on Friday (Oct. 30) at Northwestern. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CDT from Northwestern's home court inside Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
