Kacor set marks last weekend

For the Daily

Last weekend the Michigan volleyball team split two matches against No. 9 Iowa and No. 2 Minnesota.

The Wolverines fell against Minnesota, 3-15, 3-15, 10-15, last Saturday night, but swept Iowa, 15-8, 15-2, 15-10.

Not only did the victory over Iowa snap Michigan's two-match losing streak, but it was also one of the most successful games of the year for sophomore Nicole Kacor.

Kacor, who plays outside hitter, "played the best blocking game she has had all year," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "Her blocking was a big factor for us."

Against Iowa, Kacor had 14 kills, 14 digs, and three blocks, bringing her career totals to 276 kills and 272 digs. This raises both her kills-per-game average and digs-per-game average to over 3.7.

JOANNA PAINE/Daily Despite this weekend's split to Iowa and Minnesota, Michigan maintains a positive attitude for this upcoming weekends games against Purdue.

"Kacor is a great competitor. She goes for everything and really drives to succeed," freshman, Dana Chapman said. "She is a really big competitor. She really wants to have everyone do well."

"Nicole has really stepped up this year. She has helped the team tremendously," junior teammate Sarah Behnke said.

In addition to a great game played by Kacor, Alija Pittenger also had an exceptional serving game. She served five aces, four of them in game one.

Not only did Kacor do well in the game against Iowa, but she also reached the 300 kill mark against Minnesota.

"It wasn't that we played bad against Minnesota," Rosen said. "They are ranked No. 2 and are one of the top teams in the country."

Behnke agreed.

"I don't think we played much differently against the two teams, Minnesota just forced us into a lot more errors," Behnke said.

Despite the split this weekend, the team has remained positive.

"This team has been really tight this year," Rosen said. "They are learning to play and compete better together. We really feel good about it. Our court personality has gotten a lot better in the past 2-3 weeks."

Perhaps due to the newfound camaraderie, Rosen and rest of the team are really looking forward to the upcoming games this weekend. Michigan plays No. 6 Purdue on Friday at 7 p.m., and No. 4 Wisconsin on Saturday.

Overall, the team has a pretty good feeling about the upcoming match against Purdue.

Rosen, Chapman and Behnke all think that they have a pretty good chance at winning.

When the two teams met a month ago, Michigan lost in five tough games (15-8, 11-15, 2-15, 15-7, 12-15). This time, however the team is confident that they will come out on top.

11-03-99