8A - Thursday, November 19, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Paz's 19 kills help. 'M' in five-set win AARON AWGSBURGER/Daly Junior Veronica Hicks will be key if the Wolverines hope to hold off the Lady Eagles. Blue hopes t build on fast start tonight By MARK BURNS Daily Sports Writer Mark Rosen had never recruit- ed a junior college volleyball player before - until Juliana Paz. Last year, Terry Gamble, then- coach of Iowa Western Com- munity College, pestered Rosen to take a look at the standout Paz. Despite the risk, Rosen still decided to take a chance on the outside hitter from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The decision has paid div- idends - maybe even more than Rosen initially anticipated. Last night, Paz showed why she's fifth in the Big Ten in kills, grabbing a team-high 19 in Mich- igan's five-set win over Michigan State at Cliff Keen Arena. "She had a great match, and she's a great competitor," Rosen said. "She played great last year but has elevated her level even, more this year. She's playing her best volleyball right now." The victory gave the 14th- ranked Wolverines (11-6 Big Ten, 23-7 overall) a season sweep over the Spartans and the State Pride flag for the third consecutive year. The flag flew in Lansing in 1990 over the Capitol Build- ing, and the winner of the series claims the flag after each year. After leading the match 2-1, Michigan State took much of the momentum in the fourth frame due to Michigan's ineffi- cient passing and serving, as well as five attack errors in the set. Rosen called a timeout with the score at 17-13, hoping to swing that momentum in the Wolver- ines' direction. But the effort backfired, as Michigan State (5-12, 17-12) pushed the match to a fifth and final frame. Southern Mississippi returns to Crisler for first time since 2007 WNIT percent from the perimeter, which led to the Lady Eagles' demise. That gives the Wolverines, who made 53 percent of their 3-point- ers in their home opener against Ball State, an advantage. In Borseth's last battle with the Conference USA By ZAK PYZIK foe,hedidn'thave So&h.JMiss. Daily Sports Writer to worry about any aggressive at Michigan The last time the Michigan perimeter shoot- Matchup: women's basketball team won a ing approach. SMU 2-1 postseason game was on March "We're used Michigan 2-0 26, 2008, head coach in Kevin to a faster pace," When: Today, Borseth's first year at the helm. Borseth said after 6 p.m. Their opponent that game - the NIT third- Where: Southern Mississippi - will make round game. Crisler Arena a familiar visit tonight to Ann "They play such Arbor. The Lady Eagles made the a slow pace. They same trip more than a year ago for come up and dribble, dribble and the National Invitational Tourna- wait for that ball screen, forever ment, and theyleftAnn Arbor with and ever, amen." their hopes of an upset dashed. In order to succeed, the Wol- The setting is the same: Crisler verines need to be effective at the Arena, a 7:00 p.m. start. arc. They also will attempt to take The Wolverines (2-0) hope to advantage of the boards against a make their first 3-0 start since Southern Mississippi squad that 2007, and the odds are certainly in had just 19 defensive rebounds in Michigan's favor. its last game, compared to Michi- Southern Mississippi (1-1) is gan's 31 against Marquette. coming off a loss to Southeast Mis- The Wolverines can also expect souri. The Redhawks shot near 50 to see another lopsided turnover ratio. They are averaging 25 forced turnovers through two games, and are ranked fourth in the confer- ence for steals, averaging 13 per game. Last time the two teams met, Michigan forced 22 turnovers while snatching 11 steals. "If you aren't hitting shots, you've got to get stops and we have to slow down the ball," junior guard Veronica Hicks said. "It's great that we were able to get some steals. We do a great job of picking the ball up and applying a lot of pressure." Michigan has relied on Hicks often in the last two games. Hicks has been patient and allowed plays to develop. She leads the teamwith eight assists and 28 points. Against Marquette, Hicks limped off of the court late in the second half, but the team did not release an injury report this week- end. Hicks had her leg wrapped and examined. After the game, Hicks said it was just a cramp. With Hicks healthy for game play, she and the rest of the Wolverines ran spark offensive magic. "We always talk about how the aggressive team has the best chance in a fifth set," Rosen said. "It's a sprint. You don't want to be tentative, and the last mes- sage we give them as they go out on the floor is to be aggressive." According to Rosen, the fifth set is a "roll of the dice," where anything can happen. Since the set is only to 15, ateam has a huge advantage if it grabs a few quick points. In the final set, Michigan never trailed after racing out to an early 4-1 lead. Sophomore Alex Hunt and senior Megan Bower each posted two kills in the final frame to give the Wol- verines the victory. Even though Michigan wasn't necessarily at its best tonight, the Wolverines found a way to win, and that's what has Rosen especially satis- fied with his team this late in the season. "We struggled a little bit pass- ing tonight and part of that is on Michigan State," Rosen said. "They are very physical and run a very tight offense. When they're in system, they are really hard to stop.... We found ways to compete even though we weren't passing that great and that was good for us." - JAKE FROMM/Daily Senior Juliana Paz was a junior college player before coming to Michigan. 0 0 Michigan not focused on record IT'S MICHIGAN-OHIO STATE WEEK, JUST IN CASE YOU HADN'T NOTICED. HAVE FUN RUSHING THE FIELD THIS WEEKEND. FOLLOW @MICHDAILYSPORTS FOR LIVE UPDATES FROM THE GAME. O idN iganNa It PRESENTS t h O L N EC LA SS I I D E NT AL MA p By CHARLES LILLY For The Daily The Michigan women's swim- ming and diving is not too wor- ried about wins and losses at this point of the season. After the Wolverines won their first four matches, they faltered in their next four with three of those losses coming to top swimming programs-Texas, Stanford and Florida. But Michigan coach Jim Richardson isn't worried about the .500 record. "Swimming is a funny sport," Richardson said. "It's not all about wins and losses all the time. Right now it's all about performance and improvement. A meet in October doesn't matter when February rolls around." With NCAA qualifiers selected based on individual performanc- es, a team's overall record takes a backseat. "I want each swimmer to have the best opportunity to qualify (for NCAA nationals)," Richardson said. The Wolverines have a young squad featuring 11 freshmen, who are still developing stroke and strength. "Even though we are young, I am very proud of the maturity of our swimmers," Richardson said. "One of the things I look for when recruiting is self-discipline. I am not here to babysit. I want ath- letes that have an inner-drive. My swimmers know what they have to do and they do it." This Friday, the Wolverines will get a chance to exhibit their maturity, as they travel to West Lafayette to compete in the Pur- due Invitational. Richardson said he wasn't as concerned about the outcome of the match as he is his team's continued growth. "Our primary goal is to develop ourskillsand haveeachswimmer's performances reflect their train- ing," Richardson said. "Especially this early in the season, it is impor- tant to train, compete, reflect, and then make the necessary adjust- ments to enhance our skills." Even though the team is young, they are led by senior Emily Han- son, who competes in the distance freestyle. "I think we are a very tightknit- squad," Hanson said. "Everyone is committed to training hard every- day." And Hanson knows something about dedicated training. This past summer, she represented the Unit- ed States National Swim Team in Rome, swimming the five kilome- ter and the 25-kilometer in open water. "It was an unbelievable experi- ence," Hanson said. "I learned alot and I believe it helped me grow as a person and a swimmer." Despite the team's .500 record, Hanson and her teammates believe this season can be a success. Senior Margaret Kelly, who competes in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley, is also very optimistic about the upcoming season. "This is my fourth year on the team and I can honestly say this is the hardest working team I've ever been a part of," Kelly said. G A J - rn Ar bor .. _' Y P .. r Jam' ,~ , Three sisters thrive on golf team ... ,, ,_ v SICK OF THE DORMS? CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO LIVE? Visit michigandaily.com/classifieds to see all of the great houses and apartments Ann Arbor has to offer on a convenient map! Also be sure to check out the Classified Pages for other great properties. By MICHAEL LAURILA For TheDaily Senior Ashley Bauer, captain of the women's golf team, is one of a kind. Sort of. If you take a second to look at the Michigan women's golf team roster, she's really one of three. Ashley has two sisters on the team - Meagan, a sophomore, and Shana, a freshman. The three have been competing with and against each other in a variety of sports since a very young age, and all three graduated from Grand Blanc High School. But there is a difference between then and now. "We were all on the same high school team and there were only six of us, so we took up half the team in high school. But coming here in college, you don't really expect that," Ashley said. "There are not too many situations where there are three of us are all together. College golf takes it to another level." And Ashley's job may be the most difficult. As a captain, she has to make sure that there is a clear line between treating her sisters as teammates and as fam- ily. "She has to have talks with us as a captain and then as a sister, so I think that puts her in a tough position," Shana said. "But she does fine, and we all knew coming into it what we were going to have to do. So far, it hasn't caused any problems." Added Ashley: "It's a tough thing to balance. I think I need to talk to them more as team- mates and not so much as sisters, because it's easier to get mad at sisters." The Bauers have the usual sib- ling rivalries, but since they are on the same team, they have a common interest - winning. "We always want to beat everybody out there," Meagan said. "We want to win, but we're always rooting for each other, especially since we're on the same team." With the conclusion of their fall season two weeks ago, the sisters have been taking a short break from golf. They will soon begin winter training sessions as a team, and the sisters also hit balls togeth- er. on the course, the sisters' dif- ferences show - though whether their favorite golf club is a sign of their personality is still up in the air. Ashley's favorite club is an eight-iron, Meagan's a seven- iron and Shana's the three-wood, a more aggressive choice. Ashley will be graduating with a degree in business, whereas Meagan isworkingtoward a nurs- ing degree. As a freshman, Shana is in the LSA program and still isn't sure what she will pursue. "As far as what we're doing here at school, there are differ- ent types of things, but all very similar," Ashley said. "Golf kind of brings it all together."