Volleyball touches off Big Ten season on sour note, drops two

By Jon Zemke
Daily Sports Writer

A second season is a chance for a team to correct whatever has been troubling it in the beginning of the season and start anew. It's a team's chance to forget the whippings it may have endured and concentrate fresh on the upcoming opponent.

"We are in a second season, and we are rediscovering who we are the hard way right now," Michigan volleyball coach Greg Giovanazzi said.

"We are really having a tough time. We had a lot of teams at the start of the season that we played better against, who have rolled over in the final game similar to what we've done the last two games. We've been pushed and haven't really responded in the final games."

Illinois gave the Wolverines their worst defeat of the young season Saturday.

The first game was back and forth, as both teams streaked ahead of each other and traded points until they were tied at 15. Michigan lost its poise, and the game to Illinois, as the Wolverines allowed the Fighting Illini to serve out the next two points.

It was all downhill from there as Michigan lost its composure, allowing Illinois to race out to 10-1 lead. The Wolverines sputtered on to a 15-3 loss in the second game.

The third showed slight improvement, but Michigan still dropped, 15-4.

The Wolverines put up an attack percentage of .136, 200 points lower than the Fighting Illini's attack percentage. Chase led the way with 14 kills and Ebert chipped in nine digs. Freshman Shannon Melka also contributed 16 assists to lead the team.

"I'd say they've lost confidence," Giovanazzi said. "The focus part is definitely lost. I want to know the root of that, and my observations tell me that there's a crisis of conflict because of all the different people being used. People have been underperforming and I think it just creates a dynamic out there that isn't very confident."

Friday night, the Wolverines opened the Big Ten season against Purdue in Cliff Keen Arena.

Michigan put on a clinic for the Boilermakers in the first game, handily putting them away, 15-6. But it was all downhill from there for the Wolverines, as they were dropped in the next three games, 12-15, 8-15 and 8-15, respectively.

"Tough," Giovanazzi said. "Really tough match. They did a great job of supporting their weaknesses. There were a lot of rallies that they kept alive with just pure hustle and great coverage after one of their players got blocked. I really thought that was the difference - the hustle."

The Wolverines fell behind early in the middle two games, 8-4 and 10-3, respectively, before they embarked on a short-lived comeback.

Michigan kept it close at the beginning of the fourth game, trading points with Purdue until the teams were tied at five points apiece. Michigan let go after Purdue raised its level of play,

WARREN ZINN/Daily

The Michigan spikers lost to Purdue and were swept by Illinois this past weekend as they kicked off their Big Ten campaign.

09-28-98