MATCH STATS
- #23 Michigan sweeps Auburn (25-18, 27-25, 25-16)
- Michigan (9-1), Auburn (5-6)
No. 23-ranked Michigan Wolverine volleyball team swept the Auburn Tigers 3-0 (25-18, 27-25,25-16) in the opening match of the Michigan/EMU Challenge in Ann Arbor. The Wolverine’s sweep is the team’s seventh for this season– so far. sThis weekend marks the end of non-conference play.
Abby Cole, Senior middle blocker, marked the victory with 13 kills, and the only Wolverine to earn double-digit kills for the night. This is the fourth time this season alone Cole has led the team in kills, and her sixth double-digit performance so far.
The Wolverines stole an early lead in the first set, while forcing Auburn errors. Michigan’s offense was on a roll, working like a well-oiled machine that Auburn couldn’t slow down- even with a time out. The Tiger timeout at 13-7 wasn’t enough to slow Michigan’s momentum, as the Wolverines quickly took the 25-18 win.
Auburn came alive in the second set, fighting until the very end. Although they were down 6-1, the Tigers caught up to tie 11-11. In the offensive struggles, the teams remained close with eight lead changes. Michigan was almost looking at set point with a 23-21 lead, but Auburn’s time out slowed the momentum down. Auburn tied the game 25-25, but two Tiger errors gave Michigan the set.
Both Michigan’s offense and defense proved too much for the Tigers to handle in the third set. The Wolverines jumped to a 10-5 lead, and the blockers at the net wouldn’t let any Tiger shots past with 5 team blocks and 2 solo blocks from Claire Kieffer-Wright ended the match.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Michigan Athletics
What You Need to Know
» Senior Abby Cole recorded double-digit kills in the outing for the sixth time this season, while Jenna Lerg tallied double-digit digs for the tenth-straight match.
» The Wolverines held the Tigers to just a .104 attack percentage in the victory.
» The sweep is Michigan’s seventh so far this season.
Site: Cliff Keen Arena (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Event: Michigan/EMU Challenge
Score: #23 Michigan 3, Auburn 0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-16)
Records: U-M (9-1), AU (5-6)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 17 — vs. Eastern Michigan (Cliff Keen Arena), 11 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team picked up its ninth win and seventh sweep of the season with a 3-0 victory over Auburn (25-18, 27-25, 25-16) to kick off the Michigan/EMU Challenge Tournament on Friday night (Sept. 16) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
Senior Abby Cole led the offense in the victory with 13 kills — the team’s only double-digit kill performance on the night. Behind a .481 attack percentage, Cole’s effort marks the fourth time this season she has led the Wolverines in kills and her sixth double-digit kill performance on the year.
Following Cole’s lead at the net were junior Adeja Lambert and sophomore Carly Skjodt, who both tallied eight kills apiece, along with junior Claire Kieffer-Wright, who recorded seven. Freshman Cori Crocker also added six to the mix on a .364 kill percentage, while freshman setter MacKenzi Welsh picked up a career-high four on six swings.
Defensively, sophomore libero Jenna Lerg led the back row with 12 digs, marking the ninth time this season she has led the team with double-digit digs. Freshman defensive specialist Tiffany Clark also tallied 10 on the evening for her third career double-digit dig outing.
From the net, Kieffer-Wright led Michigan in blocks for the eighth time this season, tallying two solo blocks and three block assists. Crocker also added four on the night, while Lambert picked up three.
Michigan jumped out to a lead in the first set on an Auburn error and a kill from Cole, setting the tone of the match early on. Kills from Kieffer-Wright, Lambert, Welsh and Crocker extended the lead to six as Auburn called a timeout at 13-7 to slow the pace of play. Four terminations from Cole and Crocker in the first set proved too much, however, as the Wolverines cruised to a 25-18 set victory.
The second set was hard fought on both sides, as the Tigers erased a five-point deficit on a 6-1 rally to tie the set at 11-11. From there, Michigan and Auburn played point for point, tying the 12 times and forcing eight lead changes. With the score tied at 21-21, Michigan rallied for two straight points on kills from Skjodt and senior Kelly Murphy, but an Auburn timeout forced a change in momentum and allowed the Tigers to tie the set at 24-24 and again at 25-all. Consecutive Auburn attack errors, however, pushed Michigan ahead 27-25 and gave the Wolverines a two-set lead heading into the break.
Up 2-0, the Maize and Blue came out swinging in the third and final set to go ahead 10-5. Armed with the lead, Michigan’s presence at the net overwhelmed the Auburn offense, which hit for just a .051 average in the third set of the day. Five team blocks by the Wolverines including two solo blocks from Kieffer-Wright were the difference-maker as Michigan took set three by a 25-16 score to clinch its ninth win of the season.
Up Next: The No. 22-ranked Wolverines will return to play on Saturday (Sept. 17) when they wrap up the Michigan/EMU Challenge tournament. Michigan will host Eastern Michigan (11 a.m.) in the first match of the day before returning at night to take on Colgate (7 p.m.) in the tournament finale. Both matches are to be played at the Wolverines’ home court inside Cliff Keen Arena.
Wolverine Stats
Abby Cole (13 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks)
Carly Skjodt (8 kills, 9 digs)
Adeja Lambert (8 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks)
Track the Wolverines at @umichvball on Twitter, @umichvball on Instagram and on Facebook
Courtesy of Auburn Athletics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Auburn volleyball dropped a 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-16) match at No. 23 Michigan Friday night in Cliff Keen Arena on the first day of the Michigan Challenge.
“We did a really good job getting Michigan out of system, but didn’t take advantage of those opportunities,” head coach Rick Nold said. “Michigan is a good team and we need to clean up our game and not give away easy points.”
Auburn (5-6) was led by sophomore Brenna McIlroy with 10 kills, while freshman Gwyn Jones, junior Courtney Crable, and senior Breanna Barksdale had six each. Barksdale tied a match-high with five blocks, while libero Jesse Earl led all student-athletes with 16 digs.
Michigan’s (9-1) Abby Cole had a match-best 13 kills, while Jenna Lerg and Tiffany Clark had 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 5-2 advantage in set one and pushed a five-point run to go up 15-7. A kill by Crable sent Auburn on an 8-2 run, cutting the Michigan lead at 17-15. UM regrouped after a timeout and pressed for a 25-18 set win.
Michigan kept its momentum and took a 10-5 lead in the second stanza. Auburn, however, responded with a 9-1 rally and took its first lead of the match at 14-12. The team’s battled back and forth until a Wolverine run gave the home team set point at 24-21. The Tigers weren’t done and with a trio of kills by Crable and a service ace fromTate Pember, Auburn took set point at 25-24. The Wolverines responded and closed the set with a 3-0 run to win 27-25.
A solo block and kill by Stephanie Campbell put the Tigers ahead early in the third at 3-2, but the Wolverines responded with a major run to go up 9-4. Auburn battled back with some scrappy play and came within one at 13-12. UM responded with a run to go ahead at 20-13 and the Wolverines took the match with a 25- victory.
Up Next: Auburn returns to competition Saturday with a pair of matches at the EMU Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Tigers take on Colgate at 10 a.m. CT and follow with a 6 p.m. CT match vs. Eastern Michigan.
Tiger Stats
Brenna McIlroy (10 kills, 2 aces, 8 digs, 1 block)
Courtney Crable (6 kills, 1 dig)
Gwyn Jones (6 kills, 2 digs, 4 blocks)
Follow the Tigers on Facebook, Twitter @AuburnVB and Instagram @auburnvolleyball
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