Balanced Offensive Attack Leads Michigan Over Rival Ohio St. in 4 Sets

Match Info

• Michigan at Ohio State (Big 10 Match)
• Columbus, Ohio
• Michigan improves to 14-8 (4-6 Big 10); Ohio State drops to 11-10 (4-6 Big 10)
• Attendance: 4,538
• Box Score

The visiting Michigan Wolverines used a balanced offense to defeat the host Ohio State Buckeyes in four sets. Set scores were 25-23, 25-22, 26-28, and 25-19. Carly Skojdt led the offense with 18 kills while Katherine Mahlke, Adeja Lambert, and Claire Kieffer-Wright each added 10 kills. Setter MacKenzi Walsh led the Michigan offense to a .385 hitting efficiency by dishing out 44 assists to go along with 15 digs. The Wolverines improved to 14-8 (4-6 Big 10) and will return to action on Friday, October 27th when they host Iowa.

Operation #BlockTheBuckeyes x 2 = COMPLETE ✔️ pic.twitter.com/nRt1wcrrEV

— Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) October 22, 2017

In a match that was statistically very even, Ohio State actually led the match in aces 4-3, blocks 12-8 and digs 56-53. Although both teams hit for a high percentage, Michigan with the advantage .385 to 347, it was the Wolverines who led in kills 61-52 and assists 55-50 and that was the difference in the match.

Ashley Wenz led the Buckeyes with 18 kills while Lauren Witte and Luisa Schirmer added 9 and 8 kills respectively. Setter Taylor Hughes handed out 44 assists to go along with 11 digs, while Hannah Gruensfelder led the defense with 20 digs. With the loss, Ohio States dropped to 11-10 (4-6 Big 10) and will return to the court on Friday, October 27th to host Purdue.

Press Release:

Courtesy of Michigan Athletics

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four players totaled kills in double-figures and three posted double-digit digs as the University of Michigan volleyball team (14-8, 4-6 B1G) defeated Ohio State Buckeyes (11-10, 4-6 B1G) in a four set rivalry win (25-23, 25-22, 26-28, 25-19) on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 22) inside St. John Arena.

Junior outside hitter Carly Skjodt led the Wolverine offense for the fourth-straight match, posting 18 kills and leading all players. Senior outside hitter Katherine Mahlke led the offense with a .450 hitting percentage and totaled ten kills with just one error.

Overall, four players totaled double-digit kills in the win. Along with Skjodt and Mahlke, seniors Adeja Lambert and Claire Kieffer-Wright each recorded 10 apiece.

» Carly Skjodt led Michigan for the fourth-straight match, posting 18 kills at a .350 attack average.

» Katherine Mahlke led the Wolverines with a 450 attack average and totaled just one error in the effort.

» The victory caps off a four-match road swing and marks the second time this season that Michigan has defeated Ohio State.

Guiding the Wolverines to a .262 team attack average was sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh, who totaled 44 assists and led Michigan with 15 digs for her 20th career assist-dig double-double.

Defensively, Michigan registered eight team blocks and had three players finish with digs in double figures.

A kill by sophomore middle blocker Cori Crocker gave Michigan the first point of the day, but the Buckeyes came from behind to tie the score at 5. With 15 tie scores in the first set and the teams playing point for point, Michigan was unable to regain the lead until an Ohio State ball-handling error gave the Wolverines a lead at 19-18. The lead was short-lived, however, as a Michigan service error tied the score once again and a Buckeye kill gave Ohio State back the lead at 20-19 and forced a Michigan timeout. Following the stoppage in play, a kill by Lambert once again tied the score at 23, and back-to-back kills by Skjodt gave the Wolverines a 25-23 first set victory.

The Wolverines took an early lead in the second set, and though the Buckeyes cut that lead to just one point at 9-8, Michigan used kills by Sydney Wetterstrom, Mahlke, Skjodt and Lambert to extend its lead to five at 20-15. Despite the Maize and Blue offense, Ohio State rallied for a 7-0 run to flip the score and take a 22-20 lead, before Michigan responded with a four-point run, including a kill by Lambert and three-consecutive Buckeye errors to regain the lead, 24-22. A kill by Lambert then gave the Wolverines a 25-22 second-set win.

Michigan jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set thanks to a kill by Mahlke and three-straight service aces by junior libero Jenna Lerg. Following an Ohio State timeout, however, the Buckeyes came from behind to tie the game at 9 and again at 10 before forcing a lead at 11-10. A kill by Crocker allowed Michigan to tie the score once more, and a cross-court kill from Mahlke gave Michigan back a lead at 12-11. From there, the Wolverines maintained a lead through the rest of the match, until Ohio State surged late to take a lead at 25-24. With the score tied three more times, it was the Buckeyes who came up with a third 28-26 set victory.

Back-to-back kills by Skjodt and Welsh gave the Wolverines an early lead in the fourth set of the day, and the Wolverines maintained a lead from there. Though Ohio State cut the deficit to just one point at 15-14, the Wolverines used a 5-1 scoring run to force a 20-15 lead and a Buckeyes timeout. From there, a kill by Lambert and three kills from Skjodt along with a double block from Crocker and freshman Kiara Shannon gave Michigan the momentum needed to clinch set four, 25-19.

The Wolverines will return to play on Friday (Oct. 27) when they take on the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes in what will mark the start of a three-match home stretch. First serve for Friday’s match is set for 6 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena, and fans can watch the contest streamed live on the Big Ten Network.

Press Release:

Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball team put up a tough fight but it was not enough as the squad fell to Michigan, 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 26-28, 25-19), on Sunday afternoon in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes are 11-10 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten while the Wolverines move to 14-8 (4-6 B1G).

Ashley Wenz tied her career high with 18 kills for her fifth straight match as the Buckeyes’ offensive leader. She also tied her career mark in blocks with eight rejections. Lauren Witte and Luisa Schirmer finished with nine and eight kills, respectively. Madison Smeather tallied a career-best eight block assists and tied her career high for total blocks (8). Taylor Hughes had 43 assists and Hannah Gruensfelder notched a match-high 20 digs. Ana Beatriz Franklin served up three aces.

As a team, Ohio State recorded 12 blocks, the sixth time this season the Buckeyes have reached double digits.

SET 1: Back-to-back service aces by Franklin gave the Buckeyes a 7-5 edge to start the afternoon. The two teams kept the set close with 15 ties deep into the rally, eventually locking the score at 23-all. An error and kill broke the tie as the Wolverines got the win, 25-23.

SET 2: TTUN went ahead 19-14 to send Ohio State to its bench. A breather was just what the Buckeyes needed as an 8-1 run, which featured consecutive blocks by Witte and Wenz, gave them a 22-20 lead. Unfortunately, the Wolverines responded with the final five points to take the set, 25-22.

SET 3: The crowd had a thriller on their hands in the third. It looked like things would go in Michigan’s favor as it had a 24-21 advantage. A bad set, Wenz-Smeathers block and Wenz kill locked the score at 24-24. The squads exchanged the next four points for 26-all. Once again, Wenz and Smeathers came through with a rejection at the net and Wenz laid the ball down hard for a sweet 28-26 victory.

SET 4: The Buckeyes burned a timeout early as they were down 8-4. Ohio State fought to get within a pair, 16-14. TTUN recovered quickly and went on to get a 25-19 triumph.

The Scarlet & Gray prepare to host No. 17 Purdue on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. ET.