No. 21 Michigan bittten by Bucks, streak hits 20

By Albert Kim

Daily Sports Writer

Twenty and 21 could have been the magic numbers for the Wolverines on Sunday.

Michigan perhaps had its best chance to win a volleyball match at Ohio State ever. The Wolverines had lost all 19 of their previous meetings with the Buckeyes in Columbus and were never ranked higher than Ohio State going into those 19 matches.

They were hoping the 20th time, as well as being ranked No. 21, higher than the Buckeyes, would be the charm.

Unfortunately, Sue Calligaris had different ideas.

Calligaris had 16 kills to lead Ohio State past Michigan, 3-1 (11-15, 9-15, 15-11, 7-15), dropping the Wolverines to 0-2 in the Big Ten. Their other loss came at the hands of their other rival, Michigan State.

"We knew that both teams were going to be good, that's the challenge of the Big Ten," assistant Michigan coach Leisa Rosen said.

Starting the Big Ten season with two tough matches on the road is somewhat of a disadvantage, but it's not being used as an excuse.

"A volleyball court is a volleyball court, whether you're home or away," Rosen said.

The main concern for the Wolverines coming out of the match against the No. 25 Buckeyes is their consistency. They were in every game, but couldn't pull it out.

"We just need to get more consistent, we were in the match, but we gave up streaks of points," Rosen said.

Two of the few bright spots in the loss was the play of freshman Katrina Lehman, who led the team in kills and blocks, and sophomore Nicole Kacor, who was first in digs and second in blocks.

"Both Katrina and Nicole came ready to play," Rosen said.

But for the Wolverines, the start of the Big Ten season has been a rude awakening and the Fayetville and All-Sport Challenge Tournament wins seem eons away.

"The caliber of teams that we played before the Big Ten probably didn't prepare us as well as it could have," Rosen said.

The road will only get harder for the Wolverines, as they go on the road again this weekend against Big Ten foes Illinois and Wisconsin.

Before that, though, they will look to rebound when they host Toledo tomorrow.

The Wolverines aren't looking down. The season is still young, as is this team.

"I see this team getting better, and that's the next step we're going to take," Rosen said.