Michigan
11-1
Colgate
3-7
No. 23 Michigan Defeats Colgate, Sweeps Home Tournament
9/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2016
» Junior Adeja Lambert recorded double-digit kills for the first time this season, earning a career-high .647 kill percentage.
» Michigan finished the match with a season-high 16 team blocks.
» The 3-1 victory pushes Michigan to an 11-1 record through non-conference play for the eighth time in program history.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Michigan/EMU Challenge
Score: #23 Michigan 3, Colgate 1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-9, 25-14)
Records: U-M (11-1), CU (3-7)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 23 -- vs. Nebraska (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite falling behind 1-0, the No. 23-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team used a .421 team attack percentage to defeat Colgate by a 3-1 score (22-25, 25-23, 25-9, 25-14) in the Wolverines' final match of the Michigan/EMU Challenge tournament on Saturday (Sept. 17) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
Overall, the Wolverines earned a .421 team kill percentage in the effort, committing just seven errors through four sets. The Maize and Blue also recorded a season-high 16 blocks, and almost every player tallied a dig in the outing.
Senior Abby Cole was the offensive spark plug for the Wolverines in the effort, recording a season-high 19 big kills at a .486 attack average and notching a season-high nine blocks. Junior Adeja Lambert followed her lead with a season-high 11 kills at a career-high .647 clip.
In addition to the offense from Cole and Lambert, junior Claire Kieffer-Wright tallied eight kills on the night, while senior Kelly Murphy and sophomore Carly Skjodt added seven apiece. Guiding that offensive showing was freshman setter MacKenzi Welsh, who totaled 47 assists.
Sophomore libero Jenna Lerg anchored the back row defensively, recorded her 12th double-digit dig outing of the season with 12, while eight players recorded a block from the front row in the victory. Along with Cole's nine blocks, freshman Cori Crocker came up big with six, while Kieffer-Wright added five to the mix.
Colgate come out of the gate swinging hard offensively to take an early lead, stunning the Michigan offense and forcing the Wolverines to take a timeout when trailing 13-8. Despite a .306 attack average in the set and seven kills from Cole, it was the Raiders who took set one by a 25-22 score.
Trailing 1-0, Michigan jumped out to its first lead of the day at 4-3 in the second set, but Colgate quickly tied things up. From there, the teams played point for point until Colgate pulled away at 16-14, forcing a Michigan timeout. Following the stoppage in play, the Wolverines rallied to overcome the deficit and go ahead 20-18, but the Raiders responded to tie the score at 21-21 and force another Michigan timeout. Coming out of the huddle, big kills from Skjodt, Lambert and Kieffer-Wright propelled the Wolverines to a 25-23 second-set victory.
Despite a slow start, the Wolverines dominated the third set of the match with a .542 kill percentage, as both Lambert and Cole picked up four kills apiece. Nearly every Wolverine tallied a kill in the game, but it was the five team blocks that held the Raiders to -.087 attack average as Michigan took the set handedly, 25-9.
A 2-1 lead gave Michigan the momentum heading into set four, and the Wolverines took it in stride. A battle at the beginning of the set allowed the Eagles to tie the game at 5-5, but Michigan rattled off six straight points on a Lambert serving spree to go up 11-5. From there, the Maize and Blue offense was unstoppable, and the Wolverines used a .542 kill percentage in set four to take the game, 25-14.
The victory is Michigan's third straight and gives the Wolverines an 11-1 record heading into Big Ten Conference play next week. It is just the eighth time in program history that Michigan has begun the season with an 11-1 record or better.
Claire closes it out!! Michigan wins the fourth set, 25-14, to improve to 11-1 on the year!! pic.twitter.com/xAWmmrfsGh
-- Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) September 18, 2016
No. 23-ranked Michigan will return to action on Friday (Sept. 23) when they host reigning national champion Nebraska to kick off Big Ten Conference play. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at the Wolverines' home court inside Cliff Keen Arena.
Communications Contact: Katie Gwinn Hewitt
