Michigan
15-7,8-4Big Ten
Northwestern
10-14,1-11Big Ten
Michigan Outlasts Northwestern in Thrilling Five-Setter
11/2/2019 11:30:00 PM | Volleyball
» The win was Michigan's second five-set victory of the season.
» Sydney Wetterstrom led the way with 16 kills, while Paige Jones (15) and Jess Robinson (11) finished with double-digit kills.
» Cori Crocker's 14 kills set a new career high.
» Michigan got 44 assists from MacKenzi Welsh and 16 digs from Natalie Smith.
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, Northwestern 2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-8)
Records: U-M (15-7, 8-4 B1G), Northwestern (10-14, 1-11 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Nov. 6 -- vs. Michigan State (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Despite a sluggish start, the University of Michigan volleyball team rallied late and outlasted Northwestern in five sets (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-8) Saturday (Nov. 2) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The win pushed Michigan's record to 15-7 overall and 8-4 in Big Ten play.
Fifth-year senior Cori Crocker was firing on all cylinders on offense, finishing the match with a career-high 14 kills while hitting .500. Leading the offense in kills was senior Sydney Wetterstrom with 16, while sophomore Paige Jones added 15 and freshman Jess Robinson added 11. The four players with double-digit kills marked back-to-back matches that the Wolverines had four players reach double-figures in kills.
Junior Natalie Smith had a match-high 16 digs to lead the defense, while senior MacKenzi Welsh had 44 assists, four kills, four digs, and two aces.
With the match hanging in the balance, the teams locked in a back-and-forth battle to start the fifth set. Tied at 4, Michigan separated itself from Northwestern with a 6-2 run to go ahead, 10-6. The Wolverines put the finishing touches on the match with a 5-2 run to win, 15-8.
Michigan battled from the outset of the opening set, but fought back and overtook Northwestern for the first time at 19-18. After a brief tie at 19, the Wolverines used a 6-2 run to close out the set and secure the 25-20 win.
Set two followed a similar script as the first, with the Wolverines falling behind early and having to scrap back into the match. Trailing by as many as seven, U-M battled back to knot the score at 23. The final two points went Northwestern's way, finishing the set at 25-23 and evening the match at one set apiece.
With the match tied at 1, the Wolverines put together a strong showing from start to finish, hitting .250 with two aces while holding the Wildcats to a match-low .161 to secure a 25-20 third-set victory.
Going into the fourth set with a 2-1 lead, Michigan once again stumbled out of the gate. Northwestern built as much as a three-point lead at 15-12, but the Wolverines scratched their way back and tied the score at 17, 19 and 23. The Wildcats clawed their way to a 25-23 victory and forced a decisive fifth set.
Michigan will return home on Wednesday (Nov. 6), when it hosts rival Michigan State in the Wolverines' final game at Crisler Center this season. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. and it will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
