Michigan
14-10,7-8Big Ten
Penn State
18-7,11-4Big Ten
Wolverines' Comeback Effort Falls Short Against No. 15 Penn State
11/12/2021 10:43:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan and Penn State played in front of a sold out Cliff Keen Arena.
» Jess Mruzik led the Wolverines with 14 kills and added 12 digs and three aces.
» Paige Jones added 13 kills and 12 digs.
» Michigan will host Rutgers on Saturday (Nov. 13) at Cliff Keen Arena.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #15 Penn State 3, Michigan 1 (24-26, 25-23, 19-25, 22-25)
Records: U-M (14-10, 7-8 B1G), PSU (18-7, 11-4 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 13 -- vs. Rutgers (Cliff Keen Arena), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team put up a tremendous fight against No. 15-ranked Penn State on Friday (Nov. 12), but ultimately fell in four sets (24-26, 25-23, 19-25, 22-25) to the Nittany Lions in front of a sold out Cliff Keen Arena.
Sophomore Jess Mruzik led three Wolverines with double-doubles on the night, pacing the team with 14 kills while adding 12 digs and three aces. Senior Paige Jones registered a double-double of 13 kills and 12 digs and sophomore Scottee Johnson had 39 assists and 13 digs. Redshirt junior libero Hannah Grant topped Michigan in digs with 19.
Michigan started its role of comeback kids in the first set, falling behind Penn State by seven points at 22-15. The Wolverines fought their way back with an 8-1 run to tie the match at 23. U-M was never able to catch the advantage and PSU came away with a 26-24 opening-set victory.
Set two followed a similar storyline, as Penn State got out to an early lead and looked to have things in hand. Down 21-13 after trailing by as many as nine, Michigan went on another 8-1 run to cut the PSU lead to just one point. After a kill from junior May Pertofsky knotted the score at 22, the Wolverines flipped the advantage in their favor thanks to a kill from Mruzik. After another Pertofsky kill put U-M at set point, the junior picked up an ace to end the set and give the Maize and Blue a 25-23 victory.
The two teams played tight throughout the first set, trading blows until the match was tied 18-18. That was when Penn State made a run of its own, outscoring Michigan 7-1 the rest of the set and winning 25-19.
U-M made things interesting once again in the fourth, falling behind by six at 22-16 before another run made things interesting. The Wolverines were able to cut the deficit to just two at 22-20, but Penn State lurched back ahead with two consecutive points to put the score at 24-20. With Pertofsky back at the line, the junior picked up her second ace of the night and had the Michigan faithful buzzing. However, an overturned call on the final play gave Penn State the 25-22 victory.
Both teams showed strong defense on the night, but it was Penn State that held the advantage in blocks (9.5-8) and digs (73-61). The Nittany Lions also topped the Wolverines in hitting percentage (.291 to .203) and assists (60-45). Both teams finished the night with eight service aces.
Michigan returns to Cliff Keen Arena on Saturday (Nov. 13) at 6 p.m. for a showdown against Rutgers. The match will be streamed live on B1G+.
