'M' spikers battle to second

By Albert Kim

Daily Sports Writer

With two key seniors injured, and the Pacific tournament in Stockton, Calif., to play, the No. 24 Michigan volleyball team had to turn to senior right hitter Alija Pittenger to lead the charge - from the left side.

Fortunately for the Wolverines, Pittenger had a great tournament, powering the team to a second-place finish - leading the team in kills and coming in second in digs.

"Alija did a great job. The right side isn't her forte, but she did it for the team, and played very consistently," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said.

Michigan defeated Maryland 3-0 (15-6, 15-7, 15-8) on Friday, Sacramento State 3-0 (15-7, 15-8, 15-10) on Saturday, and fell in a close match to No. 12 Pacific 0-3 (12-15, 13-15, 12-15) on championship Sunday.

"We competed very well and our young players stepped up," Rosen said.

Among the players that shined were freshman outside hitter Nicole Poquette and sophomore middle blocker Katrina Lehman. Poquette, a redshirt freshman, led the Wolverines in hitting percentage the first two matches, and added seven blocks the third match. Lehman led the team in blocks for the weekend.

"Nicole played very well, and showed a lot of composure," Rosen said.

Individual performances aside, Michigan played well as a team and gave reason for optimism.

"We competed very well the entire weekend, and we're in better shape than in the past," Rosen said.

The Wolverines have a tough road ahead of them in conference play. Six teams from the Big Ten - including No. 2 Penn State - are ranked in the Top 25, and another couple are very close. Michigan has been picked to finish fifth in the 2000 Big Ten Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll.

"The Big Ten is far and away the best volleyball conference in the country, and there are no easy games," Rosen said.

With no one dominant hitter, the Wolverines must look to a number of players to contribute at key times throughout the season. Depth is still a concern but shouldn't be a problem once the two seniors, Joanna Fielder and Sarah Behnke come back.

"We're very balanced, we've got seven or eight players that can put up big numbers on any given night," Rosen said. "You stop one person, you don't stop us. With the two seniors coming back we'll be really deep."

With the All-Sport Challenge this weekend at Cliff Keen Arena, the Wolverines are looking to continue improving, against a tougher field than last weekend.

Left or right, it doesn't matter. These Wolverines will be ready to play.