Volleyball swept again in latest Big Ten weekend

By Kristen Fidh

Daily Sports Writer

It is called the actor-observer effect. Human nature bids people to blame others for mistakes and claim all accomplishments. Defeated by Iowa this past Friday and Minnesota on Saturday, the Michigan volleyball team knows how to lose with humility.

Coming off a close loss to Iowa on Friday, the Wolverines prepared to face their toughest match of the year on Saturday. First-place Minnesota hoped to intimidate Michigan as the team is only seventh in the conference.

"Minnesota wasn't going to give us anything," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "Everything we take will have to be earned."

The Wolverines (3-7 Big Ten, 12-8 overall) lost in three games to the Golden Gophers 5-15, 9-15 and 9-15, but, aside from the sloppy first round, games two and three arguably showed the best team work Michigan has utilized thus far.

"We really had nothing to lose," sophomore Katrina Lehamn said. "Minnesota is ahead of us in every single poll. In the locker room we decided to just put everything out on the court and play our hardest."

Freshman Erin Moore and senior Shawna Olson briefly stepped on the court, aiding the team in scoring and defense while Nicole Kacor and Sarah Behnke consistently rotated.

"We were trying to stabilize something, shuffling a lot as we tried to find domination," Rosen said.

But leading the Wolverines was freshman Chantel Reedus. Racking up 10 kills and 11 digs for the game, Reedus showed the crowd at Cliff Keen arena exactly why she was selected in 1999's High School top 50 by Volleyball Magazine.

"It feels good to be able to come in and be able to play," Reedus said. "Every time I go up the girls cheer for me, and it really means a lot."

The previous night, Reedus was able to shine despite a loss to Iowa. Winning in five games, the Hawkeyes, sixth in the Big Ten, pulled out of a 2-0 Michigan lead going into the third game.

The Wolverines dominated games one and two as Iowa hugged the net, lacking in their hustle. Reedus was able to dominate the ball, leading the team to win 15-10 and 15-12.

To Michigan's dismay, the next three games were in Iowa's favor. Michigan failed in getting under the ball quick enough and in attacking the ball high enough, losing 6-15, 14-16 and 13-15.

Though Reedus was able to rack up a career-high 19 kills and 13 blocks, the team was not in unity.

"It was our attacking that made their blocking look good. I didn't think we attacked well at all in the last three games," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "I thought we had our attackers in one-on-one situations. And when there is one of our attackers to one blocker, I expect them to put the ball away, and they didn't."

Coach Rosen attempted a blocking strategy in game three by bringing in freshman Nicole Poquette for junior Shannon Melka.

"We were trying to get better blocking," Rosen said. "They had a big player matched up with our smallest player, Shannon, and we tried to spin the dial, but it obviously didn't work."

Looking to the future, the team prepares to face Penn State and Indiana on the road in the upcoming weekend.