Michigan
18-11, 8-9
Michigan State
19-7, 12-5
Michigan Downs Rival No. 8 Michigan State in Straight Sets
11/15/2017 10:18:00 PM | Volleyball
» The victory is the Wolverines' first over a top-25 opponent this season.
» The 3-0 sweep is Michigan's second consecutive home sweep over Michigan State and 11th sweep of the 2017 season.
» Sophomore Sydney Wetterstrom recorded a career-high 15 kills in the win.
» Junior Carly Skjodt led all players with 17 kills and added 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the year.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score; Michigan 3, No. 8 Michigan State 0 (25-20, 29-27, 25-23)
Records: U-M (18-11, 8-9 B1G), MSU (19-7, 12-5 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 18 -- vs. No. 15 Purdue (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind a career-high 15 kills from sophomore Sydney Wetterstrom and a match-high 17 kills and 12 digs from junior Carly Skjodt, the University of Michigan volleyball team defeated the No. 8-ranked Michigan State Spartans in straight sets (25-20, 29-27, 25-23) on Wednesday night (Nov. 15) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
The victory is the Wolverines' (18-11, 8-9 B1G) first win over a top-25 opponent this season. Additionally, the 3-0 sweep marks Michigan's second consecutive home sweep of rival Michigan State and its fourth consecutive home win over the Spartans. Overall, the sweep is the Wolverines' 11th of the season.
Individually, Skjodt led all players with 17 kills, while Wetterstrom totaled a career-high 15 kills. Sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh guided the offense to a .291 team attack percentage with 42 assists.
Skjodt also recorded 12 digs in the match for her sixth kill-dig double-double of the season. Junior libero Jenna Lerg also finished with 12 digs, which led all players.
Michigan got off to a quick start, jumping ahead to an early 7-2 lead behind the serving of senior Claire Kieffer-Wright, who picked up two service aces early on. The teams then traded points before a block by Wetterstrom gave the Wolverines an 11-6 lead, which forced Michigan State to call a timeout. Though the Spartans cut Michigan's lead to just three points at 17-14 and again at 23-20, six kills from Wetterstrom and four from Skjodt allowed the Wolverines to lead the entire set and hang on for a 25-20 first set win.
After a back-and-forth start to the second set, Michigan State managed to pull ahead to an 11-8 lead before the Wolverines called a timeout. Michigan then rallied for a 5-2 run to tie the score at 13, and the teams played nearly point for point from there. With 25 tie scores and 14 lead changes, the second set featured diving plays and do-or-die efforts, including a long rally where senior Katherine Mahlke crashed into the scorer's table to keep the ball in play. Despite the lack of true momentum swings, Michigan surged late with back-to-back kills from Mahlke and Wetterstrom to clinch a pivotal second set, 29-27.
Michigan State took an early lead in the third set before kills from Skjodt and freshman Kiara Shannon flipped the score and put the Wolverines up, 6-5. The Spartans then tied the score on 10 different occasions, but Michigan responded with a go-ahead point each time. After the teams traded points to force a tie score at 22, Skjodt took control, recording a kill and service ace for consecutive points and a 24-22 Michigan lead. The Spartans took the next point on a timely cross-court kill, but a Michigan State service error followed to give the Wolverines a 25-23 third set win.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
The Wolverines take down the No. 8 Spartans, 3-0! #GoBlue ???? pic.twitter.com/b8Vf2mUhfB
— Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) November 16, 2017
Michigan will return to action on Saturday (Nov. 18) when the Wolverines play host No. 15-ranked Purdue on senior night. First serve against the Boilermakers is set for 7 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena, and fans can watch the contest streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required).
