Weekend sweep halts late-season progress

By Adam Kaplan

Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan volleyball team was on a roll after beating No. 25 Michigan State and No. 13 Ohio State last week. This past weekend, the Wolverines brought this spirit of confidence into their road matches against No. 8 Minnesota and Iowa.

But Michigan fell short this weekend, losing 3-1 to Iowa (15-8, 15-12, 2-15, 15-12), and 3-0 to Minnesota (14-16, 10-15, 13-15). Don't let this fool you - the Wolverines played competitively.

On Saturday night, Michigan faced a deceptive team in Iowa. The Wolverines were frustrated by Iowa's unorthodox style of play.

"It was hard for us to get into any rhythm because Iowa had no rhythm to its game," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "We ended up playing their style - anytime you are forced to play another team's style, you pay the price."

Michigan players said they were unprepared for the Hawkeyes.

"We weren't accustomed to playing this style before," senior outside hitter Sarah Behnke said. "We never played with this style in practice."

Part of Michigan's problem was that its attack was not balanced. Behnke led the team with 25 kills and 15 defensive digs. But, senior outside hitter Alija Pittenger was the only other player to post double digits in kills, with 11.

Things went a little better on Friday night against the Golden Gophers. Michigan was able to play a style more to its liking against Minnesota. Despite losing 3-0, Rosen was pleased with his team's performance.

In the first game, the Wolverines were up 13-12, but Michigan could not put the Golden Gophers away. Minnesota rallied to win that nail-biter, 16-14.

Behnke and junior Katrina Lehman led the team with 10 kills apiece. Pittenger finished with 16 digs, a match high.

On the downside, freshman outside hitter Chantel Reedus, who has emerged as an offensive force this year, was injured. Rosen said, she might have a stress fracture in her foot.