#20 Colorado State Sweeps #17 Michigan With Offensive Showing

  0 Wendy Mayer | September 08th, 2017 | Big Ten, College - Women's Indoor, Division I Mid-Major, News

MATCH STATS

  • No. 20 Colorado State def. No. 17 Michigan 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-18)
  • Colorado State moves to 7-1; Michigan drops to 6-2
  • Fort Collins, Colorado
  • Attendance: 2,917
  • Box Score

 

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – No. 20 Colorado State hit at a nearly .400 clip as a team en route to a sweep of No. 17 Michigan Friday night.

The Rams hit at a .396 clip, including an error-free .500 effort in Set 3, while holding the Wolverines to a .234 clip on the night. Colorado State also managed five more kills (48-43) and one more ace (4-3), while both teams put up four blocks.

A trio of Ram players registered double-digit kill tallies in the sweep, led by senior outside hitter Sanja Cizmic‘s 13. Redshirt freshman outside Breana Runnels (12) and sophomore middle blocker Paulina Hougaard-Jensen (11) followed. Hougaard-Jensen hit at .611 clip, with no errors in 18 swings, while also putting up a team-best four blocks. Sophomore libero Amanda Young registered 14 digs to pace CSU in the backcourt.

Senior middle Claire Kieffer-Wright put up a team-best 12 kills and hit at a .421 clip for the Wolverines. Redshirt sophomore middle Cori Crocker (9) and junior outside Carly Skjodt (8) followed. Sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh managed three blocks and two aces to pace the team, while junior libero Jenna Lerg pulled up a team-leading 13 digs.

CSU got off to a good start in the match with a 6-0 run, including two kills and a block by Runnels. Michigan narrowed the gap to one at 14-13 on a Welsh ace, but the Rams countered with three straight points, including two on Wolverine miscues to push the margin to four at 17-13. Another 3-0 run, which including a pair of UM miscues, gave Colorado State a 22-17 advantage. Down 24-19, Michigan got a pair of blocks from Crocker to stay alive in the set, but Hougaard-Jensen ended it with a kill the following point.

A pair of Skjodt putawayss helped Michigan to an early 4-1 lead in Set 2, but CSU quickly turned things around with six-straight points, featuring two kblocks and a kill by Hougaard-Jensen. A trio of Wolverine errors put Colorado State up five at 14-9. Michigan knotted the score at 15 with a 6-0 run, including kills from three different players. The Rams went up three at 18-15 and held the advantage the rest of the way in a 25-22 win. Cizmic registered the final two kills of the set.

Colorado State got a trio of kills from Cizmic and three aces en route to a 12-6 advantage in Set 3. Michigan never really recovered after that, closing to within four at 12-8, before falling 25-18.

 

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Michigan Athletics

Despite a 12-kill effort by senior middle blocker Claire Kieffer-Wright, the No. 16-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team fell to the No. 25-ranked Colorado State Rams in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) on Friday evening (Sept. 8) inside Moby Arena.The loss is Michigan’s second of the season. Both losses have come against opponents currently ranked in the AVCA top 25.

Colorado State launched an offensive surge right out of the gate, going on a 5-0 run to begin the match. The Wolverines fought to come back within one point at 14-13, but the Rams held Michigan to a .219 team attack average in the set and took set one, 25-21.

Sophomore Cori Crocker put Michigan on the board early in the second set with a tip kill that resulted in a 4-1 run, but the Rams rallied to force a lead at 7-4 along with a Wolverine timeout. Michigan rallied, however, to force a one-point game at 15-14 and tied the score at 15-15 on a slide kill by Kieffer-Wright. The teams played nearly point for point from there, until CSU forced a defining lead at 23-20 and ultimately took the set by a 25-22 score.

Colorado State continued to dominate in the third set, despite four kills by Kieffer-Wright and three by sophomore Sydney Wetterstrom. Holding the Wolverines to just a .184 attack average in the third and final set of the night, the Rams surged to a 25-18 third-set win and upset the Maize and Blue in straight sets.

Overall, Kieffer-Wright led the Wolverines with 12 kills, while Crocker added nine and junior Carly Skjodt picked up eight. Kieffer-Wright also finished the match with a team-leading .421 attack percentage.

Junior libero Jenna Lerg paced Michigan with 13 digs, and sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh led the Maize and Blue with three block assists.

Following a day of no competition due to a scheduling conflict, the No. 16-ranked Wolverines will return to action Sunday (Sept. 10) to face off against Ball State in their final match of the CSU Tournament. First serve is set for 10 a.m. MDT at Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State.

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About Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer has worked in athletics media relations for the last 20 years. The Northwest Missouri State alumna is currently senior writer for Volleymob.com after spending the last 15 years with Purdue athletics.

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