Michigan
13-6, 3-4Big Ten
Rutgers
5-14, 0-7Big Ten
Michigan Picks up Road Win at Rutgers
10/13/2017 9:50:00 PM | Volleyball
» Three players finished with kills in double figures; Carly Skjodt led trhe effort with 13.
» Michigan recorded a season-high 11 service aces.
» Adeja Lambert finished with 10 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Site: Piscataway, N.J. (College Avenue Gym)
Score: Michigan 3, Rutgers 1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-18, 25-16)
Records: U-M (13-6, 3-4 B1G), RU (5-14, 0-7 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 14 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.) 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With three players totaling kills in double figures and a season-high 11 service aces, the University of Michigan volleyball team defeated Rutgers by a 3-1 score (25-12, 22-25, 25-18, 25-16) on Friday night (Oct. 13) inside College Avenue Gym.
Three players finished the match with kills in double figures and junior outside hitter Carly Skjodt led the Wolverines with 13. Senior middle blocker Claire Kieffer-Wright added 12 kills at a .450 attack average, and senior outside hitter Adeja Lambert totaled 10 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Michigan also recorded a season-high 11 service aces in the win, with Kieffer-Wright and sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh both totaling four apiece. Defensively, junior libero Jenna Lerg led all players with 19 digs.
Rutgers took the first two points of the match before Michigan rallied for a 7-1 scoring run capped off by a kill from sophomore Cori Crocker to take a 7-3 lead and led to an early Rutgers timeout. From there, the Wolverines used multiple scoring runs and a .458 team-attack percentage along with five kills from Skjodt to quickly take set one, 25-12.
The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the second set, which forced Michigan to take its first timeout of the match. Unlike the first set, Michigan was held to just a .071 attacking average and totaled just seven kills to Rutgers' 16. The set featured 10 tie scores and three lead changes, and though the Wolverines led late at 19-18, it was the Scarlet Knights who rallied for a defining lead at 20-19 and used the momentum to take set two, 25-22.
A kill by Crocker gave Michigan an early lead coming out of the break, and the Wolverines dominated the third set from that point on. Leading by as many as nine, Michigan used a .464 attack average and five kills from Skjodt to earn a 25-18 third set win.
Michigan jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the fourth set on a service ace from Kieffer-Wright, which led to a Rutgers timeout. Every hitter recorded a hit in the set, as the Wolverines totaled 17 kills and held the Scarlet Knights to a .073 hitting percentage. Four kills and eight digs from Lambert along with four kills by Kieffer-Wright proved key as the Wolverines took set four, 25-16.
Overall, Michigan finished with a .308 team hitting percentage and 10 total blocks.
The Wolverines will get back in action tomorrow night (Oct.14) when they face off against No. 2-ranked Penn State at the Nittany Lions' home court in State College, Pennsylvania. The contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m., and fans can watch the match streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required).
