U-M Outlasts No. 7 Arizona State to Complete Barbara Kalbus Invitational

Sunday, February 25

Irvine, Calif.

1:00 PM PT

Michigan

12-6

Arizona State

14-4

Arizona State

Michigan

Alison Lock (Michigan Photography)

U-M Outlasts No. 7 Arizona State to Complete Barbara Kalbus Invitational

2/25/2024 7:46:00 PM | Water Polo

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Alex Whisnant

IRVINE, Calif. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (12-6) wrapped up the Barbara Kalbus Invitational with a gritty 9-8 win over No. 7 Arizona State on Sunday (Feb. 25) at Anteater Aquatics Complex to finish ninth at the tournament.

Alison Lock paced the Wolverines on the scoresheet, tallying three goals in a little over a quarter to notch her second hat trick of the 2024 season. Kata Utassy logged a team-high four points, scoring twice and chipping in two assists. Utassy also racked up a squad-best three steals. Lulu Hirschfield added two critical go-ahead goals to bolster Michigan's winning effort. Alex Brown came up big in the top-10 matchup by registering 11 saves, her eighth double-digit save start of the season.

The first quarter was a defensive battle with the first score coming with 55 seconds remaining in the period as Kaia Levenfeld converted a penalty shot to put U-M in front 1-0 heading to the second frame.

Arizona State tied the game at the 5:00 mark before Hirschfield put Michigan ahead with her first score of the contest, making the score 2-1 with 3:21 to go in the opening half. After another Sun Devils goal tied the game again, Lock beat the clock and scored with one second left to boost the Maize and Blue to a 3-2 halftime lead.

ASU was poised to grab the momentum coming out of the break as it found the back of the net to tie the game for the third time, 3-3. Lock scored her second to briefly give Michigan a one-goal edge before the Sun Devils scored with 4:04 left in the frame, knotting the game at four. Michigan took control with a critical 4-0 run, powered by goals from Hirschfield, Lock and Utassy, to make the score 8-4 in favor of the Maize and Blue with 7:33 in the fourth.

The Sun Devils pulled one back at 5:05 before Lola Ciruli provided an insurance goal at 3:54 to push Michigan's lead back to four, 9-5. Arizona State scored three straight goals over the final 1:44, but the comeback fell short as Michigan held on for the 9-8 win, finishing with a 3-1 record for the tournament.

U-M will return to action on Saturday (March 2) when it heads to the East Coast for Conference Crossover. Michigan will meet Brown at 11 a.m. for the first of three conference matchups in Princeton, N.J.