2B - September 15, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com a 28 - September iS, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com * ,w 'M' wins third straight tourney By MARK BURNS Daily Sports Writer According to Chinese culture, three is a lucky number. It's been good fortune for the Michi- gan volleyball team this year as well. The Wolverines grabbed their third tournament of the year this weekend, winning 3-0 at the Pepsi Challenge in Ann Arbor. The team improved to 9-0--its third consecutive season with that starting mark. "We just played well enough to win this weekend," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "At times we played very well, but sometimes we just gave away too many points." Two kills from senior middle back Beth Karpiak helped the Wolverines jump out to a quick 5-1 lead against Auburn Saturday night. Karpiak had a stellar weekend, earn- ing All-Tournament honors with sopho- more setter Lexi Zimmerman for the third straight invitational., "I just tried to maximize my kills this weekend and limit my errors," she said. The Tigers held it close for a while in the first frame, but the Michigan offen- sive attack proved to be too much as the Wolverines won, 25-17. Sophomore setter Lexi Zimmerman led the way with four kills and 11 assists. The Wolverines found themselves in a dogfight in the second set. They strug- gled to get into a rhythm, exchanging points with the Tigers throughout the game. Auburn won the set 25-22. Conditions inside Cliff Keen Arena were extremely humid Saturday night, MEN'S SOCCER From Page 1B The Wolverines rebounded well against a tough Buffalo squad Sunday. The Big playin( week ago today, the Big Ten trum- peted a historic event on the front page of its weekly release. On Sept. 6, the Big Ten went 11-0, marking the first time every team won a game on the same day. Never mind that just two of those wins came against BCS teams - Penn State beat Oregon'State and Northwestern toppled' NATE a powerhouse Duke SANDALS squad - this was a big deal for the Big Ten. But fast-forwarding just one week paints a more realistic picture of the Big Ten, a storied conference in the midst of a significant downturn. The Big Ten went 7-3 two days ago, but the losses spoke louder than the wins. In his teleconference last week, Michi- gan coach Rich Rodriguez said he didn't agree with the perception that the confer- ence is weakening,but acknowledged that the only way to change peoples' opinion is to win big games. This week, that burden fell on the Big Ten's "Big Two," Ohio State and Michi- gan. The Buckeyes traveled to California to take on Southern Cal in a matchup that received almost as much hype as a National Championship Game. The Wolverines went down to South Bend to play a game that has more histori- cal significance than current ramifica- tions. Ohio State and Michigan won't be com- pared often this season, but both flopped on a big stage and further sullied the Big Ten's tarnished image. The Buckeyes were supposed to pres- ent a big test for Pete Carroll and his pack of five-star recruits. Sure, Beanie Wells didn't play, but Ohio State got flat- out trounced in a way that one key injury can't excuse. "I can't believe we screwed up so badly," Ohio State senior left tackle Alex Boone told USA Today after the game. "I feel like this is the national championship all over again: stupid penalties, stupid mistakes, roughing the passer, holding, offsides, personal fouls." Ten keeps j small Following blowout losses to South- eastern Conference teams in the last two National Championship games, that makes three straight choke jobs for the Buckeyes. Not exactly the best way to help out your conference. But the Big Ten didn't get any help from its other traditional power either. Sure Notre Dame isn't a powerhouse program anymore, but if Michigan had taken a win in South Bend, it would have marked a very visible victory for the Big Ten. Notre Dame is still a significantteam on the national stage, if for no reason other than its history. A road win in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus is still a big deal. Now it's not like the Big Ten was with- out some bright moments this weekend. Wisconsin picked up a nice win at Fresno State and Purdue put a scare into a tal- ented Oregon squad, taking the Ducks to double overtime. Despite the two bright spots, the Big Ten is in the midst of a crisis of confi- dence. What was once a perennial top-two conference is now perhaps the fourth best, behind the SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10. The Big Ten went 3-5 in bowl games last year. The SEC was 7-2, including Lou- isiana State's thrashing of Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game. The Big 12 was 5-3, and the Pac 10 went 4-2. Why does the Big Ten struggle so much against the other BCS conferences? Last bowl season, there was a lot of talk about the Big Ten being at a disad- vantage because of the rule against games after Thanksgiving. And it's true that the nation's best high school talent isn't in the Midwest anymore, making recruit- ing more difficult. But those factors don't combine to explain what happened at the Los Angeles Coliseum two days ago. The Big Ten doesn't have the talent to stack up against top teams from other conferences right now. Until its talent-level rises, the Big Ten will be perceived as a second-rate confer- ence. And it's hard to argue that's unfair. - Sandals likes the hidden '11" in the Big Ten logo, but still thinks the entire conference needs to step up its game. He can be reached at nsandals@umich.edu. Senior Beth Karpiak prepares to spike the ball, leading Michigan to a win against Auburn. which seemed to be an issue for both teams, especially the Wolverines. Michigan came out of the locker room sporting their white tops instead of their normal blue jerseys before the third set. "In the second set, I think we were a little distracted by the floor," Rosen said. "Football teams sometimes have to play in a driving rainstorm. We needed to just play through a little dampness on the floor." Michigan controlled much of the third set, forcing the Tigers into a tim- eout at 21-13. Auburn pulled back within one point, but then Michigan outside hitter Veronica Rood capped off the set with a monster kill from the right side of the court. Zimmerman blasted 12 kills and dished out 45 assists to help lead the Michigan charge past the Auburn They moved the ball quickly through the midfield and looked to create scoring opportunities early and often. Senior forward Jake Stacy connected 14 minutes into the game to give Michi- gan an early lead - and some of the confi- dence it had lacked in the previous game. Tigers, 3-1. Michigan convincingly swept its other two matches this past weekend, against Toledo and Oakland. Michigan needs three more wins to start the season 12-0 for the third con- secutive year, but those victories won't come easy. With Big Ten competition less than two weeks away, Rosen said the upcom- ing weekend's games against Albany and Arizona State will be a great warm up for his young Wolverine squad. "Western Kentucky is as good as any team we have played so far," Rosen said. "Albany plays more of a defensive style and they, too, have some legitimate athletes. And then, Arizona State has a new coach and they're alwa'ys lookingto knock off a Big Ten school so it should be a good weekend." "Itwas agreattestofourmentaltough- ness," said redshirt sophomore defender Matt Schmitt, who tallied two assists Sunday. 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