Volleyball falls short twice on road

By Kristen Fidh

Daily Sports Writer

Junior outside hitter Nicole Kacor once said after a victory, "I hate to freaking lose."

After this weekend's road losses against Indiana on Saturday and Penn State on Friday, Kacor and the rest of the Michigan volleyball team returns to Ann Arbor frustrated.

The Hoosiers, who are tied with Michigan for seventh in the Big Ten, took the match in four games (11-15, 17-15, 15-7, 15-10), making the loss Michigan's fifth straight against conference opponents.

The Wolverines entered the court with high energy and strong attacking and bolted to a 5-0 lead in game one. This quickly fell as Indiana returned with a six-point scoring streak. The Hoosiers were able to tie the score at 10 apiece, but Michigan's fire returned, allowing Indiana to only score one more point en route to taking the game 15-11.

Junior setter Shannon Melka scored the final kill for game point. Melka hit .308 for the match and tied her career-best with 16 digs.

Despite her noteworthy performance, Michigan could not get past the Hoosiers' strong attacking.

"We tried to come out strong, but, unfortunately, it just didn't happen," senior captain Sarah Behnke said. "We tried to hustle the defense, but we weren't ready when the ball came around."

Michigan lost the next three games, frequently dropping its serve and giving up long point streaks. In games two and three, the Hoosiers racked up six-point leads and the Wolverines fell short in the comeback. Michigan did manage a five-point run in game four, but could not attack for the win.

Michigan coach Mark "Rosen tells us to focus on our side of the court, and we just failed to pull it off," Behnke said.

Despite the loss, freshman Erin Moore was able to tally career highs with 10 kills and five blocks.

Friday's match against the defending national champion Penn State was another failed Big Ten test.

Although senior Shawna Olson received her first intercollegiate start in hopes of aiding to the Wolverines' defense, Michigan dropped the match in three games 15-6, 15-10 and 15-10.

"Penn State played really well, but we just gave up too many point streaks," said senior Alija Pittenger, who leads the Big Ten in digs.

Hitting a percentage of just .029 in game one, the Wolverines struggled with consistency, drawing 11 errors compared to No. 11 Penn State's five.

Despite losing in the end, Michigan was able to out-kill the Nittany Lions in game two 18-17. Behnke performed an impressive nine kills, 12 digs and two aces, but team consistency was lacking.

"Our team has the ability to match Penn State, and in many runs we did," Behnke said. "But, in the end, it seemed that we just gave up."

Freshman Chantel Reedus, a strong outside hitter, posted a steady hitting percentage of .167 in game three, putting pressure on Penn State. Still, Michigan's blocking trailed 14-8 as the Nittany Lions swept the disgruntled Wolverines for the second time this season.