c e Wtichtivan ttil mbvm - . . . [CHIGAN 2 , ILLINoIS8 Dreisbach runs, Blue slides by Illini, 20-8 By Barry Sollenberger Daily Sports Editor Quarterback Scott Dreisbach is like- ly to win many games for Michigan with his right arm. But Saturday, he went a long way toward beating Illinois with his feet. The sophomore rushed for 77 yards on I I carries in the 12th-ranked Wolverines' 20-8 win over Illinois in front of 105,992. The victory marked Michigan's second straight league- opening win over the Fighting Illini. Last season in Champaign,, the Wolverines pounded Illinois, 38-14, to kick off the Big Ten season. Dreisbach earned most of his rush- ing total on one play Saturday. His 72- yard run down the Illinois sideline broke a scoreless tie early in the second quarter. Remy Hamilton's extra point gave Michigan (1-0 Big Ten, 1-0 over- all) a 7-0 lead with 13:01 left until half- time and the Illini (0-1 Big Ten, 0-1 overall) never got even again. "That's the longest I've ever run in my. career," Dreisbach said. "The cov- erage they were in was not right for the play. I put some moves on and they worked for the first time. Then I saw the end zone." Illinois nosetackle Paul Marshall wasn't pleased to be on the opposite side of Dreisbach's best run ever. "That was pathetic defense, is what that was," he said. "Defense comes down to tackling, and we didn't tackle on that play. We made the guy a super star, but to give him credit, he made a nice play." The run was the third longest by a quarterback in Michigan history. While Dreisbach's feet proved to be unlikely heroes Saturday, the Wolverines did not give up a touch- down to the Illini and sacked quarter- back Scott Weaver four times, three coming at the hands of defensive end David Bowens. "Our defense was magnificent," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "There's no question in my mind that the goal-line stand was the key." That stand occurred midway through the third quarter with the Wolverines nursing a 10-5 lead. Illinois had a first and goal at the Michigan 2-yard line and seemed poised to take its first lead of the game. But the Illini could not block Jarrett Irons. The Wolverine linebacker stopped fullback Rodney Byrd on first down for no gain. On second down, Weaver fumbled the snap and was knocked down by Irons for a two-yard loss. Then on third down from the four, Weaver hit tight end Matt Cushig near See ILLINOIS, Page 20A Michigan quarterback Scott Dreisbach eluded four tacklers to scramble 72 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter Saturday, putting the Wolverines ahead, 7-0. For openers, MichzganhL s houl behapp to wi ' h a w f you wanted to sum up Michigan's season-opening win over Illinois in one sentence, it might go like this: At least the final score wasn't 5-0. At least it was warmer outside than against Purdue last season. As college foot- 'all games go, Waturday's had about as much excitement as Celebrity Week on Wheel of Fortune. Or come to think of it, any RYAN week on Wheel of WHITE Fortune. It was White on the kind of game Target . at probably should have been shot and put out of its misery at halftime. But amidst the untimely penalties, the two blocked field goals, the fact that at halftime, Michigan's two lead- ing rushers were its quarterback and cornerback - coach Lloyd Carr has to be smiling. He may even be chuckling. It was the perfect season opener. And keep everything that happened Saturday in perspective - it was the first game of the year. A game that has traditionally been played against a non-conference opponent, and not necessarily a good one. There was no such patsy, or even Notre Dame or Virginia to open the 1996 campaign. There was Illinois. A Big Ten opponent in a Big Ten game with Rose Bowl implications. And those implications are amplified by the fact that the Wolverines haven't been to Pasadena since Jan. 1, 1993. Now, the Illini shouldn't challenge Michigan, or any team, for the confer- ence title, but for a Michigan team that is more focused on winning the Big Ten than its two previous incarnations, they could have been a problem. Those teams spoke, like all See WHITE, Page 20A EVAN PETRIE/Special to the Daily Chuck Winters and the Wolverines had Scott Weaver's Illini on the run, but the Wolverines admitted they weren't very sharp. M' volleyball spiked by No. 1 Hawaii, No. 6 UCLA Wolverines begin season 0-2, but Giovanazzi encouraged by performances and team's experience before crowd By Ryan White Daily Sports Writer One would expect that the Michigan volleyball team would be thrilled to open its season at the Wahine Classic in Honolulu. After all, the Wolverines are in Honolulu. But when the No. I and No. 6 ranked teams in the country are on the schedule, the trip becomes a little more daunting than just sitting under a palm tree sip- ping margaritas. Nonetheless, that is how the Wolverines had to open the season as they faced top-ranked Hawaii on Friday night and sixth-ranked UCLA on Sunday. Michigan (0-2) dropped both matches, but as loss- es go, these were encouraging for the Wolverines: The Wolverines fell in three games (15-11, 15-10, 15-9), but Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi wasn't wholly disappointed. "Despite the loss, there were a lot of good things we did against Hawaii," Giovanazzi said. "Linnea (Mendoza) showed a lot of maturity and played like a junior setter. Shareen (Luze) had a great night with a solid, all-around match. Sarah (Jackson) came on and did a nice job for us." Luze, a senior, and sophomore Karen Chase led the Wolverines with 10 kills each. Chase also shared, with Jackson, the team lead in blocks against Hawaii with three. Junior Linnea Mendoza led the Wolverines with 35 assists. Ljungquist had 12 kills and All-American Robyn Ah Mow finished the game with 47 assists. For Giovanazzi, though, one of the best things to come out of the match was that the Wolverines were forced to play in such a hostile surrounding. "Our composure was good at the start of each game, but when Hawaii got on a roll, things got inter- esting," Giovanazzi said. "It was a really good expe- rience to play before such a large and boisterous crowd." The No. 6 Bruins came into their second-round match against Michigan after having been upset by No. 25 Louisville the previous night. UCLA won the match in four games (15-8, 15-5, 7-15, 18-16), but again, Michigan pushed a high S.i . i , .,SbH n tiv i ? . ... . S m uix ' S ' x .:..tk, ..