Michigan
10-3, 0-1Big Ten
Minnesota
12-0, 1-0Big Ten
Wolverines Take a Set Off No. 1 Gophers But Fall in Four
9/22/2017 11:01:00 PM | Volleyball
» Carly Skjodt led the Wolverine hitters with 13 kills, while Cori Crocker posted a team-high .429 attack percentage.
» MacKenzi Welsh posted her third double-double of the season with 41 assists and 12 digs.
» All three of Michigan's losses this season have come to teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavilion)
Score: #1 Minnesota 3, #20 Michigan 1 (25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-8)
Records: U-M (10-3, 0-1 Big Ten), MINN (12-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 24 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 2 p.m. CDT (TV: ESPN)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team dropped its Big Ten Conference opener to No. 1-ranked Minnesota in four sets (25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-8) on Friday night (Sept. 22) at the Golden Gophers' home court inside Maturi Pavilion.
Senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt led the Wolverines with 13 kills, while junior libero Jenna Lerg posted 18 digs in the defeat.
Michigan quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Minnesota rallied with a 3-0 run to come from behind and go ahead, 10-8. The Wolverines were then forced to play catch-up and tied the score at 12-12 and 13-13 before the Gophers inched ahead and maintained the lead for the remainder of the set. Senior Adeja Lambert led the Wolverines with four kills in the opening set, but Michigan was held to a .163 hitting percentage as Minnesota claimed a 25-18 victory.
The Wolverines jumped out to another early lead in the second set and forced Minnesota to take its first timeout of the match as a kill by sophomore Cori Crocker and a Gopher attack error gave Michigan a lead at 12-9. Minnesota then rallied to tie the score three times before going ahead 16-15 and maintaining the lead from there. The set featured nine ties and two lead changes, but it was Minnesota which used a .316 attack average to force a 25-18 second-set win.
Michigan dominated the first half of the third set, going up by as many as eight points thanks to five kills from Skjodt and three aces by senior Claire Kieffer-Wright. Despite a healthy lead and just four Wolverine errors, however, Minnesota rallied late to tie the score at 21-21. From there, two kills by Lambert and one by Kieffer-Wright gave the Wolverines the offense needed to take set three, 25-22.
Minnesota began the fourth set on a 9-0 run, which forced the Wolverines to burn both timeouts early on. A kill from senior Katherine Mahlke finally put the Wolverines on the board, but the Gophers used a .565 hitting percentage with just one attack error to close out the match, 25-8.
Along with Skjodt's 13 kills, Crocker finished with 11 kills at a team-leading .429 percentage. Sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh earned her third double-double of the season with 41 assists and 12 digs, while Kieffer-Wright tied her career high with three service aces.
The loss snaps Michigan's four-match win streak, and the Wolverines are now 0-3 against opponents currently ranked in the AVCA Top 25.
The Wolverines will return to action Sunday (Sept. 24) with a match at No. 5 Wisconsin to wrap up the weekend road swing. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CDT inside UW Fieldhouse, and fans can watch the contest live on ESPN.
Join the 2017 Michigan volleyball team for its Big Ten Conference home opener on Friday, Sept. 29 against Ohio State inside Crisler Center! » Information
