Michigan def. Pittsburgh 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 15-9)
- Michigan moves to 24-9; Pittsburgh ends the season at 30-2
- Michigan advances to Sweet 16
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Box Score
Courtesy: Michigan Athletics
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — With the match tied at 2, and the season on the line, the University of Michigan volleyball team pulled off a gritty win over host Pittsburgh (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 21-25,15-9) on Saturday evening (Dec. 1) inside the Petersen Events Center.
The Wolverines advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history, and the first time since 2016. U-M will face off against Texas on Friday (Dec. 7) in Provo, Utah, the home of No. 4-seeded Brigham Young.
The five-set match marked Michigan’s fifth of the season and first since a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin on Oct. 27. With the win, the Wolverines are now 3-2 in five-set matches this season.
Pitt took the first point of the fifth frame on a Panther kill, but Michigan was steady at the net and worked to come from behind with three blocks for a 5-3 lead and a Panther timeout. Following the stoppage in play, another block and a kill from senior Carly Skjodt pushed the Wolverines ahead to a four-point edge. Michigan totaled six blocks and took advantage of nine Pitt errors in the set to maintain a lead, and though the Panthers rallied late, the Wolverines took the set, 15-9, and the match.
The teams traded points to begin the first set, but a Pitt block followed by a Panther kill put the home team up early, 6-3. Pittsburgh extended its lead to five, 13-8, with a service ace that Michigan answered with a timeout, but a Panther kill followed and pushed the lead to six. With just 10 kills at an .065 team hitting percentage, the Wolverines never regained the lead and dropped the first set, 25-19.
Michigan regrouped and began the second set on a 5-1 run before Pitt worked from behind to tie the score at 7. Neither team took a significant edge again until back-to-back Panther kills put Pittsburgh ahead, 17-15, but Michigan responded with a 3-0 run that included consecutive aces from freshman Paige Jones to regain a lead, 18-17. A tie score at 19 forced a Michigan timeout before a kill from Skjodt and a double-block from sophomore Kiara Shannon and junior Katarina Glavinic put the Wolverines back on top once more. The Panthers eventually fought off one set point with an overturned call on a Pitt challenge, but a 25-22 second-set victory allowed Michigan to even the match. Skjodt posted seven kills in the second frame alone as the Wolverines hit for a .286 clip.
A 5-2 run that featured back-to-back aces from sophomore Natalie Smith jumpstarted the Wolverine third set, and they rode the momentum to a 14-8 lead which forced Pittsburgh’s second and final timeout. Michigan was firing on all cylinders in the third set, posting a .458 team attack average behind six kills from Skjodt and four from Jones to maintain a lead and rally for a 25-17 set victory.
With Michigan leading the match, 2-1, neither team gained more than a two-point lead in the fourth set until Pitt used a 3-0 scoring spurt halfway through and went ahead, 17-14. Michigan trailed by as many as four, 20-16, but closed the gap and came within one, 21-20, on a Panther attack error. Despite the late surge and six kills in the frame from Skjodt, Pitt used a late 4-1 scoring run to clinch set four, 25-21.
Skjodt finished with a match-high 20 kills, which marked her 11th 20-kill performance of the season, and Jones added 11 kills for her 20th double-digit kill effort of the year. Redshirt junior Cori Crocker also posted nine kills at a .615 hitting percentage, while junior setter MacKenzi Welsh tied her career high with seven kills at a match-high .778 attack percentage. Welsh also totaled 47 assists in the effort.
Led by a career-high eight blocks from Shannon, the Wolverines combined for 12 blocks in the win. Skjodt added a career-high six block assists, while Glavinic posted five to mark a Michigan best.
Michigan had four players total digs in double figures for the first time since Nov. 10, including a team-high 20 from senior libero Jenna Lerg. Smith and Skjodt both registered 13 digs, and Jones added 10. Both Skjodt and Jones finished with a kill-dig double-double.
The Maize and Blue totaled seven service aces, including three from Smith to tie her career high. Welsh and Jones each added two.
Courtesy: Pittsburgh Athletics
PITTSBURGH – A historic year for back-to-back ACC Champion No. 11 Pitt (30-2) ended with the Panthers’ only five-set loss of the season, falling 3-2 in a battle with No. 18 Michigan (24-9) in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Second Round Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
After the Panthers won the first set, 25-19, the Wolverines responded by winning the next two frames, 25-22 and 25-17. Pitt forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win in the fourth, but could not hold on and fell, 15-9, in the final frame.
Pitt finished the year with its highest single-season winning percentage (.938, 30-2) and its most wins since going 32-6 in 1990, in addition to the Panthers’ second consecutive ACC Championship – its first outright.
Playing in what would be her final match as a Panther, senior setter Kamalani Akeo secured sole possession of third place in the Pitt record book with 3,956 career assists. She posted 28 against the Wolverines.
Redshirt senior libero Angela Seman completed her Pitt career with the second-most digs of any Panther in program history with 1,851. She dug Michigan 23 times.
Junior right side Nika Markovic led the Panthers with 19 kills against Michigan, pacing the team in the statistic for the fifth consecutive match. In a starting role for the Panthers, redshirt sophomore outside Zoi Faki had career highs of 12 kills and 23 digs.
Michigan had the upper hand in hitting percentage (.221 to .181), despite Pitt having the advantage in kills (62-58), assists (62-57), digs (76-72) and blocks (13.0-12.0).
This marks the third consecutive year with a season-ending loss in the NCAA Tournament Second Round for Pitt.
Set One: No. 11 Pitt 25, No. 18 Michigan 19
The set saw three early ties, until a 3-0 run gave the Panthers a 6-3 lead. Pitt extended its lead to 14-8 following a 4-0 run, capped by a Faki kill. A 3-0 run made it 22-15 for Pitt, and the Panthers sealed the deal with a kill from Williams with a 25-19 win.
Pitt hit just .152 in the set, behind three kills apiece from Layne Van Buskirk, Markovic and Faki.
Set Two: No. 18 Michigan 25, No. 11 Pitt 22
A 5-1 Michigan run gave the Wolverines an early advantage, but Pitt was able to tie the set (7-7) using a 6-2 run of its own. The Panthers took their first lead of the frame (12-11), following back-to-back Markovic kills. They kept the lead until a 4-0 Michigan run put the Wolverines back in front, 19-17, but kills from Williams and Markovic knotted the score again (19-19). Another 3-0 surge put Michigan ahead, 22-19, and then a 3-1 run ended the set with the Wolverines on top, 25-22.
Michigan had the slight advantage in hitting percentage, .286 to .256.
Set Three: No. 18 Michigan 25, No. 11 Pitt 17
Michigan used a 5-0 run to reach a 6-2 lead, and extended it to 10-4 following a 4-1 run. The Wolverines kept the momentum and reached a 23-15 lead after a 3-0 run and claimed the set decisively, 25-17.
The Wolverines hit a blistering .480 in the fourth set with 16 kills on 25 attempts with just four errors. Pitt could not find footing on offense, with just 10 kills and four errors to hit .222.
Set Four: No. 11 Pitt 25, No. 18 Michigan 21
Pitt retained its composure and used a 3-0 run to gain a 5-3 lead early in the fourth. Despite a 4-0 Michigan run and ties at 7, 10 and 12, a 4-0 run put the Panthers back in front, 14-12. Pit used runs of 3-0 and 3-1 to reach a 20-16 lead, and stayed in front for the remainder of the set, winning 25-21.
The Panthers had their best set in terms of hitting percentage, posting .275 with 15 kills, four errors on 40 attempts. Markovic led the way with six kills.
Set Five: No. 18 Michigan 15, No. 11 Pitt 9
Although the Panthers were able to gain a 3-2 lead, the deciding blow came in the form of a 9-0 run by the Wolverines, who ultimately gained an 11-3 advantage. Pitt was able to cut its deficit to 13-9 following a 7-2 surge, but could not overcome the margin and fell, 15-9.
Nebraska def. Missouri 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-18)
- Nebraska moves to 25-6; Missouri ends the season at 24-7
- Nebraska advances to the Sweet 16
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Box Score
Courtesy: Nebraska Athletics
LINCOLN, Neb. – In her final home match, senior All-American Mikaela Foecke had 16 kills without an error to lead the No. 6 Nebraska volleyball team to a 25-14, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of No. 24 Missouri in a second-round NCAA Tournament match in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,382 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. With the win, Nebraska advances to the NCAA Regional Semifinal, where the Huskers will face No. 10 Kentucky on Friday.
Foecke was brilliant for Nebraska, which won its 10th straight match to improve to 26-6 on the season. She had 16 kills on 24 error-free swings, hitting a season-high .667. The senior from West Point, Iowa, moved from sixth to fourth on Nebraska’s all-time kills list on the night, passing Husker legends Jordan Larson and Nancy Metcalf (Meendering). Foecke also had a pair of aces for the second straight night and added four digs and seven blocks. Including Friday’s sweep of Hofstra, Foecke totaled 25 kills without an error in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, hitting .543 while chipping in four aces, 13 digs and 10 blocks.
While Foecke had a match-high 16 kills – her highest total in any of her 10 NCAA Tournament matches at the Devaney Center – sophomore Lexi Sun totaled 11 kills on a .333 attack percentage, while classmates Jazz Sweet and Lauren Stivrins had eight kills apiece, with Stivrins matching Foecke with a .667 attack percentage. Behind Foecke and Stivrins, who combined for 24 kills on 36 error-free swings, Nebraska hit .384 in the match. The total was the Huskers’ sixth-highest of the season and top mark against a ranked opponent, as Nebraska hit over .350 for the fifth straight match. Freshman Nicklin Hames set the efficient and balanced Husker attack, nearly missing a double-double with 37 assists and nine digs. Senior Kenzie Maloney paced the Husker defense with 12 digs, while Stivrins had a match-high six blocks.
Nebraska out-hit Missouri by .168, as the Tigers were limited to a .216 attack percentage one night after hitting a season-best .412 against Arizona. Leketor Member-Meneh and Kylie Deberg both finished in double-figure kills with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Riley Sents had a match-high 16 digs, but the Huskers out-dug the Tigers 41-38 and out-blocked Missouri 8-4. With the loss, Missouri finished its season with a 24-8 record.
Set 1: After falling behind 3-0, Nebraska rattled off four straight points, keyed by a Sun kill and ace, and a Foecke kill. The run became 8-1 after Foecke and Stivrins stuffed a Mizzou attack, and Stivrins terminated a kill to make it 8-4. Stivrins added another kill before a Megan Miller ace, and Hames posted blocks on back-to-back plays to put NU up 12-5. A kill by Sweet made the lead eight at 16-8, and Foecke put the Huskers up by nine, 19-10, with her fourth kill. A pair of Missouri attacking errors increased the Husker lead to 23-13, and NU closed it out with a kill by Sun and ace by Hames for the 25-14 win. The Huskers hit .333 and held Missouri to .061. Foecke had five kills on six swings, and the Huskers had four blocks and three aces.
Set 2: The beginning of the second set played out almost exactly as set one did. Missouri took a 3-0 lead before the Huskers went on an 8-1 run to take an 8-4 lead, and Missouri called timeout. Foecke had three kills, while Sun, Stivrins and Sweet all added one. Stivrins and Foecke also combined for a block for the Big Red. Missouri responded better this time around, however, coming back to tie the score at 10-10 with a solo block and back-to-back kills by Deberg. Kills by Sweet, Sun and Foecke kept the Huskers in the lead, and Sweet hammered an overdig before a Missouri hitting error made it 17-13 Huskers. Missouri scored three of four points to get within 18-17, but Foecke recorded another kill and an ace on back-to-back rallies to restore a four-point lead at 21-17. Sun gave Nebraska set point at 24-21 with a pair of kills down the stretch, and Schwarzenbach clinched the 25-22 win with her first kill of the night. Nebraska scored 17 of its 25 points on kills with Foecke and Sun each posting six while hitting .545 and .500, respectively.
Set 3: Foecke and Stivrins continued their dominance, combining for three early kills and a block to put the Huskers up 5-2. After a Missouri kill, Nebraska ran off four straight points with kills by Foecke and Hames and a block by Foecke and Stivrins, and the Huskers led 9-3. Foecke and Hames tacked on the Huskers’ sixth and seventh aces of the night to put the Huskers up 14-6. Missouri went on a 4-0 run, which Schwarzenbach ended with a kill. The Huskers led 18-14 before taking control of the match with a 5-1 spurt to go up 23-15. Stivrins, Foecke and Sun combined for kills on four consecutive rallies, and the Huskers closed out their fifth sweep in a row, 25-18.
Up Next: The Huskers move on to face 10th-seeded Kentucky in an NCAA Regional Semifinal match next Friday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. No. 2 Minnesota will play 15th-seeded Oregon in the other match.
Nebraska Post-Match Notes
- Nebraska won its 10th straight match and fifth in a row by sweep.
- The Huskers moved to 72-3-1 all-time against Missouri, including 16 straight wins and wins in 60 of the last 61 meetings.
- Nebraska is now 110-31 all-time in the postseason after winning its eighth straight postseason match.
- The Huskers are 75-7 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament, including a 20-2 record at the Devaney Center. Nebraska has won 12 straight home matches and 52 of the last 55.
- The Huskers will make their 34th NCAA regional appearance in 37 trips to the NCAA Tournament. That is tied with Stanford for the most all-time regional appearances.
- The Huskers have advanced to a regional in 24 of the last 25 seasons and in 18 of John Cook‘s 19 seasons as head coach.
- Mikaela Foecke and Kenzie Maloney are 18-1 in their NCAA Tournament careers.
- Mikaela Foecke had 16 kills in the match on a season-high .667 attack percentage. With her 16 kills, Foecke now ranks fourth in school history with 1,604 kills, as she passed Jordan Larson (1,600) and Nancy Metcalf Meendering (1,603) during the match. Foecke’s 1,604 career kills are the second-most by a Husker in the rally scoring era, trailing only Sarah Pavan’s school-record 2,0008 career kills.
- With her 16 kills against Missouri, Mikaela Foecke now has 233 kills in her NCAA Tournament career. Foecke passed Cris Hall (219) and Allison Weston (227) during the match to move up to fourth on Nebraska’s postseason career kills list, five shy of Jordan Larson (238) for third place.
- Mikaela Foecke‘s 16 kills were her most in a home NCAA Tournament match, eclipsing the 13 kills she had in a first-round matchup with New Hampshire in 2016.
- Foecke also added two services aces to pass Annie Adamczak (130) for eighth on the all-time career aces chart at Nebraska with 131.
Courtesy: Missouri Athletics
LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 24 Mizzou Volleyball (24-8) saw its 2018 campaign conclude Saturday evening, as No. 7 Nebraska proved to be too much in a sweep (25-14, 25-22, 25-18) inside the Devaney Center.
Despite the Tigers’ offense improving each set, the Cornhuskers were that much better throughout the night. Nebraska hit .333 or higher in each set played, including a match-best .469 hitting mark in set three.
#ShowMe Top Performers at No. 7 Nebraska
Leketor Member-Meneh: 11 kills, 3 digs
Kylie Deberg: 10 kills, 5 digs, 2 total blocks
Alyssa Munlyn: 7 kills on .400 hitting, 2 total blocks
Riley Sents: 16 digs, 2 assists
Andrea Fuentes: 30 assists 6 digs
Hear From Head Coach Wayne Kreklow
On Saturday’s matchup against the Cornhuskers…
“Obviously we’re disappointed with the outcome. We felt going in that it was going to be a tough match. Obviously it was as they’re (Nebraska) a good team and they’re here for a reason. I thought they did a really good job of putting pressure on us with their serve. It got us out of system and didn’t allow us to get in a flow. That was tough for us. I was really proud of our group and how they continued to battle. From a coaching standpoint, that’s all I can ask from our players.”
#MIZ Takeaways
- Mizzou dropped its all-time NCAA Tournament record to 15-15.
Despite the loss Saturday, the Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in their fifth straight visit to the big dance (2013, ’15-18).
- Overall, Mizzou has advanced to the second round in 10 of its 15 all-time NCAA Tournament trips.
- Early in the second set, Sents produced her seventh dig of the match and the 1,000th digs in her career at Mizzou.
- Sents enjoyed another strong campaign defensively as the Tigers’ starting libero, finishing with 400-plus digs for the second consecutive season.
- Deberg tallied 10-plus kills in each NCAA Tournament match this weekend. Overall this year, she posted double-digit kills in an impressive 28 of 32 matches played.
- Munlyn was fantastic on offense in both matches this weekend, posting 17 kills (one error) on .593 hitting.
- Munlyn closes her legendary career at Mizzou as the program’s all-time leader in total blocks (634), block assists (516), blocks per set (1.27) and hitting percentage (.388). Additionally, she ranks second all-time in career solo blocks (118).
- This year, Munlyn’s 143 total blocks (fourth), .394 hitting percentage (fourth), 116 block assists (fifth) and 1.20 blocks per set (10th) all ranked top 10 in the Mizzou individual single-season record book.
- Deberg’s 59 service aces ranked third all-time in single-season Mizzou history. It stood as the most aces by a Tiger in a single season since 2002.
- Deberg finished the 2018 campaign with 522 points, the most by a Tiger since 2016 (Melanie Crow – 532).
- Collectively this season, Mizzou’s .263 hitting percentage (sixth), 428 block assists (seventh) and 298 total blocks (tied for ninth) all ranked top 10 in single-season team history