Kornacki: U-M Feeds Off Crisler Crowd to Reach Sweet 16
12/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It was the pivotal point in the pivotal third set of the match, and Michigan volleyball trailed, 20-19, in the see-saw session with Oregon.
The partisan crowd at Crisler Center decided it was time to fire up the Wolverines for the first time Friday night (Dec. 2) with the classic chant:
"Let's go Blue! Let's go Blue! Let's go Blue!"
This wasn't a going-through-the-motions cheer. It came from deep down, and loudly, becoming a maize and blue roar.
Michigan's players heard it all right, and responded, going on a 6-3 run from there to take the set, 25-23. Kelly Murphy fired a kill shot to tie it, and Carly Skjodt blocked a shot to clinch it.
"It's a big advantage playing at home," said senior co-captain Abby Cole. "I think our fans are definitely taking advantage of that, and that's really important for us. At that point in that game, we really didn't have any doubts of losing.
"But it was a reminder that we were at home, and this is our house. That's kind of a pride thing, and that's what it comes down to, and we're not going to be beat in our house."
The Wolverines then took a spirited fourth set, 25-17, and are headed for the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012. That was the year Michigan made it to the national semifinal game for the only time in program history.
"We're really pleased to advance," said Wolverine head coach Mark Rosen. "It's all about finding any way you can to advance, and I'm just really pleased with how we fought."
Michigan doesn't know yet whether it will host in the upcoming regional tournament but received some good news when Kansas, one of two teams ranked ahead of it in the Texas quadrant of the bracket, was upset Friday night by Creighton.
Junior Claire Kieffer-Wright had a monster performance for the Wolverines. She had a career-high 20 kills with a .720 attack percentage and also blocked a team-high seven shots.
"Claire did an unbelievable job tonight of just finding ways to get kills," said Rosen. "She was really efficient, and then that fed everyone else. They focused so much on her that it opened everyone else up."
Kieffer-Wright laughed when asked if it was the best match of her career, and said, "I think there's more to come. I don't want to hang my hat on this match, but I'm really happy that we got the win.
"It's a credit to my teammates, who played really well. I couldn't get 20 kills without a great setter, great defense and teammates and all of this support."
The Wolverines dropped the first set, 25-22, but then took the second set, 25-17, before going ahead by taking the next set, opening the gates to victory.
"Oregon did exactly what we were concerned that they could do in the first set," said Rosen, who has taken Michigan to the NCAA tourney in 15 of his 18 seasons. "But what I was really proud of was how our players flipped that. We served really aggressively from the second set on and started defending them. We made some really good adjustments with blocking them. They were taking us apart a bit."
The Wolverines got on a roll after faltering in the early going.
Rosen pointed to the .395 attack success of his team compared to a splendid .364 by the Ducks in a thrilling third set that featured 10 tie junctures.
"That's just good volleyball going back and forth," said Rosen. "But we had 20 kills. When you think that we scored 25 points in that set and 20 of them come off clean kills by us, when you earn that many points that's huge. They only had 16 kills. We were behind most of that set but fought really well."
Sophomore difference-maker Skjodt (pronounced SCOTT) made some clutch plays throughout and had the block that clinched the set with the 25th point.
"We spent the whole season always one or two points behind," said freshman MacKenzi Welsh, "So, we've gotten really good at catching up and coming back from those, and that block (by Skjodt) was a huge turning point for us, and we've practiced that all season."
Kieffer-Wright credited Skjodt for making a critical adjustment on that play, adding, "Carly's my hero and really came through with that block. It was sweet."
Cole said: "Oregon played really well from the right side. They were very efficient over there, and that's something we were kind of struggling with throughout the match. So, identifying that adjustment, one, and, two, with Carly making that change and making that adjustment, I mean that's a pretty big point to make it on.
"Emotionally, it was definitely exciting for all of us."
Kelly Murphy (right) and Cori Crocker
The Wolverines fell behind, 4-0, in the fourth set, and the Ducks were threatening to force a fifth set. But Michigan picked it up immediately after Murphy scored the first point with a dramatic kill.
Michigan won important points on lengthy back-and-forth exchanges between the two teams.
Cole fired a kill off a ball that popped up so high that it nearly hit the bottom of the overhead scoreboard, giving the Wolverines a 12-8 lead.
"The really high balls are something I've struggled with," said Cole, a first team All-Big Ten selection. "Throughout this match especially, all my teammates were telling me, 'Attack high.' On that ball, it was kind of, well, here we go. I'll see how their advice works."
Rosen said, "That play showed the aggressiveness that we had that won the match. We talk about how aggressive teams have got to win those crazy, weird, out-of-system points. It's amazing how many kills you get when you're the aggressor on the court."
Another example of that was a block by Skjodt that put Michigan ahead, 19-16, and started the 7-1 run that won the set and the match.
"Winning long rallies is like a serving run," said Kieffer-Wright. "It's a big motivator and energy lifter. To be the one that ends that and the crowd's really going wild, and we had a great crowd, so it's great to have it."
Cole added, "It was an emotional turning point."
It has been a season in which the Wolverines made great strides, beginning the season unranked in the AVCA poll but rising as high as No. 13 during the season and entering the NCAA Tournament ranked 17th.
Playing in the nation's premier volleyball conference has a way of getting a team ready for top competition. Michigan (23-10) finished sixth in the Big Ten (11-9) but showed enough to get seeded 12th in the national tourney. It had three wins over top-15 teams, and lost tight, five-set matches to Wisconsin when it was No. 1 and Minnesota when it was No. 2.
"Mark says it all the time," said Cole, "but it's prepared us really well. We're playing the top teams in the country in regular conference play, and so when we get to the tournament, we're set up to make a big run."
Oregon had been 5-6 this year against top-25 teams but couldn't handle the Wolverines once they found their groove and fed off the Crisler crowd of 2,072.
"We became one machine working really well together," said Kieffer-Wright.
And so the Wolverines move on to the Sweet 16, dreaming of a long run.
• Michigan Takes Down Oregon in Four to Move to Round of 16
