Michigan
16-3 (5-2)
Northwestern
7-12 (0-7)
No. 18 Michigan Sweeps Northwestern in B1G Road Play
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 12, 2016
» Setter MacKenzi Welsh tallied 31 assists and three kills to propel the Wolverines to a .314 team kill percentage.
» The sweep is Michigan's 10th of the season and second in Big Ten play.
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: #18 Michigan 3, Northwestern 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-13)
Records: U-M (16-3, 5-2 B1G), NU (7-12, 0-7 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 15 -- vs. Wisconsin (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team clinched its 10th sweep of the season and second in Big Ten Conference play on Wednesday night (Oct. 12) with a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-18, 25-13) over the Northwestern Wildcats inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
With nine players tallying kills, Michigan earned a .314 team attack average for its highest kill percentage since a four-set victory over Colgate in mid-September.
Senior Kelly Murphy led the charge offensively in the win, totaling nine kills at a .318 clip. Junior Adeja Lambert followed pace with another seven, while junior Claire Kieffer-Wright and senior Abby Cole picked up six apiece. Guiding the offense was freshman MacKenzi Welsh with 31 assists and three kills on six swings.
Defensively, Michigan tallied 10 team blocks for the first time since a victory over Iowa earlier this season. Cole and Keiffer-Wright each picked up four to lead the front row.
From the back row, Murphy and sophomore libero Jenna Lerg led all players with 10 digs apiece, while freshman Tiffany Clark added nine. Lerg has now earned double-figure digs in 17 matches this season and led Michigan in all 19.
The Wolverines took the first point of the day on a Northwestern attack error, and the following kill from Lambert gave Michigan a two-point lead. The Maize and Blue then rallied for a 12-8 lead to force a Northwestern timeout on kills from Murphy, Welsh, Lambert and junior Katherine Mahlke. Despite the stoppage in play, Michigan cruised on to a 25-17 first-set victory.
A kill from Cole continued Michigan's run in the second set, but Northwestern kept pace early. Tied at 5-5, a service ace from Murphy and a kill from Lambert put the Wolverines up by two and forced a Wildcat timeout. From there, Michigan extended its lead slowly until a 5-1 run closed out the set with the Wolverines on top, 25-18.
Following the break, Michigan exploded offensively, going on a 9-3 run and burning both of Northwestern's timeouts early. With no more opportunities to stop the Wolverine rally, Michigan used a .408 attack average and kills from seven different players in the third and final set to take the game, 25-13.
Another B1G win and another B1G sweep! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/1SbTGxpCI2
-- Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) October 13, 2016
The No. 18-ranked Michigan Wolverines will return to play on Saturday (Oct. 15) when they host the visiting No. 1-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The match, which represents Michigan's second against a No. 1-ranked opponent this season, is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve inside Cliff Keen Arena. [ Tickets ]
Communications Contact: Katie Gwinn Hewitt
