MATCH STATS
#22 Michigan defeats Iowa (25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17)
Michigan (12-2, 1-1), Iowa (10-4, 0-2)
The Michigan Wolverines volleyball team, ranked No. 22 on the AVCA Coaches Poll, defeated Big Ten competitors Iowa Hawkeyes in 4 (25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17) at home on Saturday to claim their first conference win of the season.
In just their third 4-set match of the season, three Wolverines finished with double-digit kills for the third time this season, and the team tied the season-high 16 blocks. Michigan players Adeja Lambert and Kelly Murphy each had 12 kills, and senior Abby Cole tallied 11.
Cori Crocker finished the match with her career-high 8 blocks. The Wolverines finished the match with a .335 kill percentage.
The Hawkeyes were out-blocked 16-9, but had 2 more kills than Michigan, 55-53.
The Wolverines played a strong game in the first and second sets, taking out Iowa 2-0. In the third set, the Hawkeyes started to put up a fight, challenging the Wolverines offensive game. Iowa was able to claim their first lead of the match. Although Michigan gained the lead back, they couldn’t maintain it as the Hawkeyes put away 4 straight points to tie the game. Iowa controlled the rest of the set to claim their only set victory in the match.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Michigan Athletics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A career-high eight-block outing from redshirt freshman Cori Crocker and three Wolverines with double-digit kills propelled the No. 22-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes (25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17) on Saturday (Sept. 24) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
The win is just Michigan‘s third four-set match of the season and marks the Wolverines’ first Big Ten Conference victory of the year.
For just the third time this season, three Wolverines finished the match with double-digit kills as junior Adeja Lambert and senior Kelly Murphy led the charge with 12 apiece, while senior Abby Cole tallied 11. Junior Claire Kieffer-Wright also added nine kills on the night, while Crocker picked up five at a .714 clip, and freshman MacKenzi Welsh tied her season-high four.
Defensively, the Wolverines tied their season-high 16 blocks with a dominating net presence. Crocker led the team with a career-high eight blocks on the day, while Cole added six and Murphy and Lambert each picked up four.
From the back row, however, nearly every player tallied a dig in the effort. Sophomore libero Jenna Lerg, who led the Wolverines with eight digs, snapped an 18-match streak of double-digit dig outings.
Using a .355 kill percentage in the first set of the day, the Wolverines jumped out to a 7-1 lead to force an early timeout by Iowa. From there, the stage was set as Kieffer-Wright and Murphy picked up four kills apiece to push Michigan to a 25-21 first-set victory.
Up 1-0, Michigan again jumped ahead in set two, garnering a 5-1 lead, before the Hawkeyes rattled off three straight points to cut the deficit. Despite Iowa’s offensive push, every Michigan player who had an attempt in set two finished the game with an attack average well more than .400. Overall, Michigan‘s .538 kill percentage in the second game came at the hands of Cole and Lambert, who had five and four kills, respectively.
In spite of a 2-0 Michigan lead going into the break, Iowa came out in set three ready to battle. A Hawkeye kill to start the set marked Iowa’s first lead of the entire match, but Michigan quickly regained the lead on an Iowa attack error and a kill from Crocker. The Wolverines then fought to maintain a lead, but four consecutive Hawkeye points tied the game at 9-9 and gave Iowa the momentum needed to go ahead. Though the Wolverines were never down more than three, Iowa controlled the rest of the set, forcing game four with a 27-25 third set win.
Following set three, Michigan again jumped out early in the fourth and final set of play, going up 11-6 to force an Iowa timeout. The stoppage in play was insufficient, however, and Michigan cruised on to a 25-17 victory and the Wolverines’ first conference win of the year. Led by Crocker and Cole, the Wolverines totaled seven team blocks in the final game to hold Iowa to .000 attack average.
Up Next: After nearly a full week of practice, Michigan will return to Big Ten action on Friday (Sept. 30) for its first conference road trip of the season as the Wolverines head to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a match at Rutgers. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
Wolverine Stats
Kelly Murphy (12 kills, 2 aces, 5 digs, 4 blocks)
Adeja Lambert (12 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs, 4 blocks)
Abby Cole (11 ills, 2 digs, 6 blocks)
Claire Kieffer-Wright (9 kills, 2 digs, 3 blocks)
Keep up with the Wolverines on Facebook, @umichvball on Twitter and @umichvball on Instagram
Courtesy of Iowa Athletics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Iowa volleyball team battled, but fell to No. 22 Michigan, 3-1, Saturday night in Cliff Keen Arena. The Hawkeyes fall to 10-4 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play with the loss, while the nationally-ranked Wolverines improve to 11-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference action.
“I was talking to the group after the match about how I was proud of their competitiveness, their fight, and their fire,” said UI head coach Bond Shymansky. “It just took us an hour to get a jump start. You compete against Big Ten teams on the road, and they there are big tasks all the way through. We just came out and didn’t really execute early on.”
Michigan came out hot in set one, scoring five straight points to take a 7-1 lead. The Hawkeyes climbed their way back within striking distance with a 5-2 rally with kills from freshman Cali Hoye (2), sophomore Reghan Coyle (1), and seniors Lauren Brobst (1) and Ashley Mariani, and a block by Mariani and redshirt freshman Meghan Buzzerio. The Wolverines fought back, taking a seven-point lead to force an Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes responded with a 6-2 run to behind kills from Brobst (2), Coyle (1), Hoye (1), and junior Jess Janota (1) to pull within three, 24-21. Iowa could not overcome the deficit; however, as the Wolverines held on to win, 25-21.
The Wolverines utilized a 5-1 run to grab an early lead in set two. The Hawkeyes rallied, scoring three straight points on a pair of Coyle kills and a Wolverine attack error to pull within one, 5-4. Michigan responded with a 5-1 swing to create distance (12-7). They held on from there, fighting off a late 4-1 Iowa run to win the set, 25-19. Michigan hit .538 in the set and utilized four service aces and four blocks to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Michigan grabbed an early 8-4 lead in set three, before the Hawkeyes clawed their way back. Iowa used an 8-1 run to take a 12-9 advantage. Brobst registered two blocks and a kill, Janota recorded a pair of kills and a block assist (Coyle), while senior Loxley Keala served an ace. Michigan fought back, registering a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. Back-to-back kills by Coyle and Hoye tied the set, 22-22, before Michigan used a pair of kills to take a 24-23 lead. After an Iowa timeout, the Hawkeyes went on a 4-1 run behind kills from Mariani and Brobst and a block assist by Janota and Keala to seal the, 27-25, set-three victory.
After a back-and-forth battle to start set four, the Wolverines utilized a 10-2 run to take a 17-8 lead. Iowa rallied late behind back-to-back blocks from Coyle and Janota, but could not overcome the deficit as Michigan went on to win the set, 25-17.
“I really like how we stuck with it tonight, which I think is really important,” said Shymansky. “There were a lot of good things happening. It was just our serve and pass game early on. That’s about nerves. As a coaching staff, that’s something that we have to work at to lead our group better and make sure they are better prepared and feel that confidence.”
Brobst led the Iowa offense with 13 kills, while Janota added 10, and Mariani and Buzzerio each registered nine. Keala dished out a team-high 47 assists, junior libero Annika Olsenpaced the team with 19 digs, and Janota tied her career high with a team-high six blocks.
Up Next: The Hawkeyes return to action on Wednesday, hosting Maryland at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. First serve is set for 7 p.m. (CT).
Hawkeye Numbers
Lauren Brobst (13 kills, 2 blocks)
Jess Janota (10 kills, 6 blocks)
Ashley Mariani (9 kills, 2 blocks)
Meghan Buzzerio (9 kills, 2 digs, 5 blocks)
Follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook, Twitter @IowaVolleyball and Instagram @iowavolleyball
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