Spikers split Big Ten road matches

By Edrick Lopez

For the Daily

The Michigan volleyball team had a bittersweet weekend. After defeating Illinois 3-0 (15-8, 15-10, 15-10) on Friday to obtain its first Big Ten conference win in three tries, the 25th-ranked Wolverines lost to Purdue, 3-1 (15-7, 16-14, 10-15, 15-10) on Saturday.

"It was a good news, bad news weekend," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said.

Katrina Lehman led the way for Michigan in both games. Against the Fighting Illini she scorched the net with a hitting percentage of .476 while also producing a match-best four aces. On Saturday, she terrorized the Boilermakers with a .378 hitting percentage and a career-best 20 kills.

"She had a great weekend," Rosen said. "She showed her competitiveness by stepping up big this weekend."

Purdue snapped the Wolverines two game winning streak with its victory on Saturday. Rosen gave credit to the Boilermakers for their 3-1 victory, saying they played "very well".

"We didn't execute as well as we wanted to," Rosen said. Purdue "did better defensively".

Junior outside hitter Nicole Kacor led the Wolverines with 21 kills. "She did a good job on defense and her attacking was solid," Rosen said.

The game on Friday was a different story. Michigan (1-3 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) won at Illinois for the first time since Oct. 11, 1997, when the spikers won 3-0. The Wolverines' vicious attack proved to be too much for the Fightin Illini (0-4, 9-6). Their .336 (63-20-128) hitting average was their fourth-best of the season and best against a Big Ten opponent.

Michigan registered 63 kills to just 39 for the Fighting Illini.

This game "showed how well we can play in the road, against a Big Ten opponent," Rosen said.

In game one the Wolverines stormed out of the gate with a 3-0 lead. The Fighting Illini then responded with a run of their own to cut the lead to 3-2.

Thunderous kills from seniors Sarah Behnke and Joanna Fielder, incited a 7-2 Michigan run, that pushed the lead to 10-4. Thanks in large part to Lehman's serving, who recorded to aces in the stretch, the Wolverines went on a 4-1 run and then proceeded to hold off an Illinois run to win the first game.

Game two was a tight one in which both teams refused to give up. After five lead changes, Michigan finally put the game away on two points off Nicole Kacor's serve followed by a clutch kill by freshman Nicole Poquette.

Game three was neck and neck all the way until a 7-0 Michigan run, highlighted by four consecutive points off the serve of senior outside hitter Alija Pettinger, increased the score to 10-4. Following a timeout, the Fighting Illini rallied to make a 4-0 run, which forced a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines then regrouped and went on to win the set (15-10) and the match (3-0).

Next, Michigan takes on Indiana on Friday, at 7 p.m. in the annual "Rock the House" match at the Cliff Keen Arena.