Spikers remain resilient until end

The last few seasons the Michigan volleyball team has had a problem winning in the Big Ten. They would do well in the non-conference, or "pre-season" schedule, as the Wolverines refer to it.

But the truth is Michigan can compete, but couldn't win in its own conference. As close as their resilience could bring them to the brink of winning, it never seemed like it was enough.

This was punctuated towards the end of this season.

After being swept by Ohio State, Michigan's Big Ten record plummeted to 4-12 (12-13 overall) and brought their losing streak to five matches.

"Ohio State was a setback," Michigan volleyball coach Mark Rosen said. "We didn't play well or execute at all, we didn't play very hard, and our effort was low."

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily Freshman Katrina Lehman and the Wolverines beat Michigan State this weekend to capture the 'State Pride" flag. The win sparked a weekend sweep that finished with the Wolverines above .500 for the first time since 1997.

Those words forced the Wolverines to make a decision on their season. The consistent development and all-out effort that Michigan had prided itself on was in question by their own coach, none the less.

The Wolverines had to make a choice about how they were going to finish out their season: step up or roll over.

Michigan went 3-1 in their last four matches and finished the season with three more wins in the Big Ten than last year.

More importantly, their resiliency that had kept them close in matches all year was resilient enough to stick around when they could have easily given up on this year.

"There were plenty of opportunities, especially late in the year, to just pack in the season and say, 'Look we're not going to the tournament, we haven't played as well as we'd like, let's just give up,'" Rosen said. "And we never did."

It would have been easier for this year's squad to pack it in, because they were only graduating two seniors. The core of the team would be returning for next season.

But the thought never entered Michigan's mind. They upset an Illinois team that had beaten them in four games earlier this year and was in the upper echelon of the Big Ten.

The Wolverines dropped their next match to Indiana, but their resolve never left, even though as hard as they tried, they couldn't find the answer to winning back-to-back matches in the Big Ten.

"I don't think you could ever find exact answers," Rosen said. "We'd love to. If we could we'd write a book and make a million dollars."

But at the very end, in their last homestand, in front of the largest Cliff Keen crowd in two seasons, Michigan finally began to realize why they were so resilient. The Wolverines did against Michigan State, one of the premier programs in the conference, none the less.

"We got our clocks cleaned," Michigan State volleyball coach Chuck Erbe said. "It was a real quick evening.

"We were made to look inept. Michigan had a lot to do with that tonight. They played really well and made us look inept."

Michigan really started to come together as a team and play good cohesive volleyball to go with their all-out attitude.

Their win against the Spartans and then the Wolverines' sweep of Northwestern to close out the season finally showed the progress they were making.

"Towards the last half of the conference season we started to get a lot better," Rosen said. "It's tough in this conference because it doesn't always translate into wins."

It was Michigan's resiliency that allowed them to see that progression this season, instead of waiting until next season to try again.

But waiting for next season would have been uncharacteristic for this team. They would have had to roll over and die, something Michigan never did in '99.

"I thought that resilient attitude was the characteristic of our team," Rosen said. "It's the one that I am the most proud of."

11-29-99