'M' volleyball conquers fears with wins in North Carolina

The final score doesn't show it. You can't see it in the box score, and there are no official stats to track it.

But it can make a difference between a victory and a defeat.

It is confidence, and the Michigan volleyball team has been struggling to find it of late.

So when Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi saw his team blow a 14-12 lead in the first game of a best-of-five match against Duke on Friday, he was a little worried.

"We had a good lead in that first game, and we let them back into the match by dropping the game," Giovanazzi said. "We were 5-4, and the confidence was still up in the air. I was kind of worried about how that would affect our confidence."

But what Giovanazzi witnessed could be the turning point of the young season for the Wolverines. Instead of buckling under the pressure, Michigan came back to sweep the next three games, 15-13, 15-13, 15-7. The Wolverines then defeated North Carolina on Saturday in a five-game thriller, 14-16, 15-10, 15-6, 12-15, 15-5.

The key to the weekend could have been the strong play of freshman Sarah Behnke. With outside hitter Karen Chase sidelined with a disc problem for the second straight weekend, Giovanazzi looked to Behnke to step it up - and she responded.

The freshman recorded a career high 18 kills against Duke, then turned in another 15 against the Tar Heels. But her most important contribution was her consistent passing.

"Along with the obvious, which is attacking, (Behnke) is just passing and digging the ball really well," Giovanazzi said. "Our ball handling gets a lot better with her in the lineup."

The improved passing gave middle blocker Sarah Jackson a chance to show why she was a preseason All-Big Ten selection. The senior recorded a career-high 23 kills against North Carolina and added 13 against Duke.

"Sarah is without question one of the premiere quick attackers in the conference," Giovanazzi said. "The problem with that is, when the passing goes down, it's really difficult to get the ball to her. But we passed really well because Sarah Behnke's in the lineup."

The solid passing made Jackson's solid play seem natural.

"I felt good, but I didn't feel like I was having the best match of my career," Jackson said. "This weekend was the first time I played my true position, because the coaches were trying me out at a couple of different positions. I felt really comfortable."

All of this adds up to one thing for the Wolverines - increased confidence.

"This weekend was really good for helping with the confidence," Giovanazzi said. "We controlled the course of the weekend. When we lost games, it wasn't because we got outplayed at any point, it was because we gave up points where we shouldn't have."

09-22-97