Michigan
13-7, 3-5
Penn State
17-1, 7-1
Michigan Falls in Road Match at No. 2 Penn State
10/14/2017 9:19:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan out-blocked Penn State, 8-6.
» The blocking effort marks the first time this season that Michigan has out-blocked a ranked opponent. Â
» Carly Skjodt led the Wolverine offense with 12 kills.
Site: State College, Pa. (Rec Hall)
Score: No. 2 Penn State 3, Michigan 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14)
Records: U-M (13-7, 3-5 B1G), PSU (17-1, 7-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Oct. 18 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.) 7 p.m. Â
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite a strong team blocking effort and 12 kills by junior outside hitter Carly Skjodt, the University of Michigan volleyball team (13-7, 3-5 B1G) fell to the No. 2-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (17-1, 7-1 B1G) on Saturday night (Oct. 14) in straight sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-14) inside Rec Hall.
Michigan finished the match with eight blocks to Penn State's six, marking the first time this season that the Wolverines have out-blocked an opponent ranked in the AVCA Top-25.
Senior middle blocker Claire Kieffer-Wright led the blocking effort with five block assists and sophomores Cori Crocker and MacKenzi Welsh each finished with three apiece.
Offensively, Skjodt posted a team-high 12 kills, while Crocker finished with six kills at a .357 average. Welsh also totaled three kills on four swings for a .750 hitting percentage.
Penn State took an early lead in the first set, going up by a 10-5 score and forcing Michigan to call timeout. A .367 team hitting percentage allowed Penn State to maintain a strong lead, and though freshman server Natalie Smith led the Wolverines on a 5-0 run late in the set to close the gap, the Nittany Lions took the first set, 25-17.
Following a Penn State service error to begin set two, the Nittany Lions jumped out to an early lead before a kill by Skjodt and a Penn State error tied things up at 6. From there, the teams traded points and the score was tied four times before the Nittany Lions pulled away for a defining lead at 12-10. Though Michigan continued to keep the score close, a 5-0 run put Penn State up, 20-14, and burned both of the Wolverines' timeouts. Despite six kills by Skjodt and a .314 team attack average, Penn State took set two by a 25-18 score.
Coming out of the break, the Nittany Lions used a 7-3 run to jump out to another early lead and coerce Michigan into calling timeout. From there, Penn State dominated the remainder of the match, using a .303 attack average and holding Michigan to just seven kills in set three. With the Wolverines unable to garner any momentum, the Nittany Lions took the third set, 25-14, for a clean 3-0 sweep.
The Wolverines will return to action on Wednesday (Oct. 18) when they make a day trip to East Lansing, Michigan, for a midweek match against in-state foe Michigan State. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and fans can watch the match live on ESPNU.
