The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
October 5, 2015 — 3B

Wolverines sweep
weekend matchups

By ORION SANG

For the Daily

Led
by
senior
forward

Shannon
Scavelli’s
game-

winning goal, the Michigan field
hockey
team
pulled out a
2-1 victory
against
Indiana
on Sunday afternoon. The close
win capped off a weekend that
also included a 5-0 win against
Pacific.

The Wolverines (3-1 Big Ten,

9-3 overall) were locked in a
tight battle throughout Sunday’s
game against the Hoosiers (2-1,
6-5).

“Indiana is a good team,”

said Michigan coach Marcia
Pankratz. “We knew they were
going to come in here really fired
up.”

The
Wolverines
were
in

danger of falling behind early
if not for a save on an Indiana
corner by sophomore goalie Sam
Swenson, who only allowed one
goal over two
games
this

weekend.

But
while

Swenson
was
reliable

in
goal,

Michigan
struggled
to
get
its

offense going,
especially on
corners; they were 0-for-8 on
such opportunities.

Eventually, the Wolverines

got on the board when fifth-
year senior back Mackenzie
Ellis buried a penalty stroke
with 10 minutes left in the first
half.

Michigan
took
its
one-

goal lead into halftime but
lost it less than two minutes
into the second half when the
Hoosiers converted a penalty
corner. Indiana’s Kate Barber
slapped a shot past Swenson’s
outstretched stick, and the game

was tied once again.

Both teams missed multiple

opportunities to take a 2-1
advantage
before
Scavelli

notched
the
game-winning

goal with 13 minutes left. It
was Scavelli’s sixth goal of
the season, placing her well
on track to pass her career-
best total of seven from last
year. Scavelli will have at least
seven more games to notch her
seventh goal.

“It feels good,” Scavelli said.

“No matter who scores, as
long as we win, that’s the most
important thing.”

The Hoosiers pulled their

goalie
soon
after
Scavelli’s

goal but were unable to find
an equalizer. The hard-fought
victory was crucial for the
Wolverines, who jumped from
fourth to third in the Big Ten
standings.

“We pulled out an important

win,” Pankratz said. “I was
proud of the team for that.”

The Wolverines were sharper

against
Pacific
two
nights

earlier, as five different players

scored to lead
Michigan to a
5-0
triumph.

It
was
the

most goals the
Wolverines
have
scored

this
season,

and
they

netted
four

in the second
half alone.

Swenson posted her fourth

shutout of the season, and the
defense held the Tigers to just
four shots.

With
the
two
victories,

Michigan has now won nine
of its last 10 games, and looks
to
continue
its
momentum

into next week’s matchup with
Iowa.

“We need to continue to

work to get better on goal
scoring, transferring the ball
and prepare for Iowa’s tactics,”
Pankratz said. “It’ll be a good
week of preparation for us.”

‘M’ rallies past
Michigan State

Wolverines recover
after dropping first

two sets

By ETHAN WOLFE

For the Daily

With state pride on the line,

the sold-out crowd at Cliff
Keen Arena witnessed a thriller
Saturday night.

Coming off a 3-0 loss to

Michigan
State
in
East

Lansing in
the previous meeting Sept. 30
and with its Big Ten reputation
at
stake,
the
Michigan

volleyball team knew it could
not fall to 1-3 in conference
play. The Wolverines bounced
back to beat the Spartans 3-2 in
stunning fashion after falling
into a 2-0 hole early on.

The
Spartans
displayed

excellent blocking from the
first set, blocking seven shots
throughout
the
set.
The

Spartans took the set, 25-18,
with Michigan recording just
12 kills and a meager 15.6 attack
percentage.

The
second
set
was

competitive
until
Michigan

State went on a 4-0 run to take
a 20-16 lead, which led the
Wolverines to take a timeout.
The Spartans continued their
surge, finishing the set with a
victory 25-21.

Despite a 2-0 deficit, the

Wolverines responded strongly.

“After getting down, 2-0, we

just wanted to go after it,” said
sophomore
right-side
hitter

Katherine Mahlke, who ended
the night with 14 kills. “We
weren’t going to roll over and
let Michigan State take a 3-0
win over us.”

Down
2-0,
sophomore

defensive specialist Caroline
Knop
showcased
aggressive

hitting
and
unparalleled

intensity in the third set.

She finished the game with a
double-double of 13 kills and
17 digs. After the set was tied,
12-12, Michigan pulled ahead
with five straight points to lead,
17-12. The Wolverines closed
the set with a 25-20 victory.

Michigan was in the driver’s

seat for the fourth set, as a
dynamic offense pushed the
Wolverines to a dominant 25-13
win to tie the match.

The fifth and final set was

highlighted by the performance
of sophomore opposite hitter
Adeja Lambert, who had four
kills in the set. After falling
behind, 9-10, the Wolverines
rallied and scored six straight
points to win the set 15-10.

“When you have a team like

Michigan State, you always
have to give your best and go
hard all the time,” Lambert
said. “When we did that in the
final set, things turned around
really quickly.”

Added Michigan coach Mark

Rosen: “I’m really proud of
Adeja. She’s such a hard worker
— she’s just getting better every
day. I’m really proud of how
she’s developing. She’s still a
young player, but she’s carrying
a lot of the load right now.”

Although
Rosen
showed

enthusiasm over his team’s
victory,
he
stressed
the

importance
of
the
team’s

growth. Despite a 12-3 start
and being ranked No. 23 in the
country, they remain seventh in
the Big Ten standings.

“Michigan
State
is
very

physical,” Rosen said. “They’re
one of the more physical teams
in the Big Ten. As soon as we
spread them out, we started
to create more space between
their blockers so I thought that
was the biggest difference our
offense made.”

Added Mahlke: “Every point

is as important as the last so I
think our mentality was that we
didn’t want to give up even one.
I think going after every point
made the difference.”

‘M’ cruises past Toronto

Wolverines

break open home
exhibition game in

third period

By JASON RUBINSTEIN

Daily Sports Editor

Michigan hockey coach Red

Berenson said earlier this week
he wanted to find out what
kind of team he had after the
Wolverines’ top three point
scorers
either
graduated
or

signed with an NHL club.

If Sunday’s exhibition against

Toronto
was
any

indication,
the
wily

veteran coach found out in a
manner of seconds. Just 10 ticks
into the game, senior forward
Justin Selman took a pass from
senior forward Boo Nieves and
found twine for what he called
the fastest goal he has ever
scored.

“That’s one of those things

that is a kiss of death,” Berenson
said, “but tonight, it was good.”

The 13th-ranked Wolverines

cruised
from
there,
beating

Toronto 8-1. Michigan dominated
the Varsity Blues from the
opening puck drop, outshooting
them 21-3 in the first frame and
54-12 for the game.

“It’s a hard game to gauge,”

Berenson said.

Michigan’s
attack
was

dormant
for
a
while,
but

sophomore defenseman Zach
Werenski doubled the score
with five minutes left in second
period when he found a loose
puck outside of the dot and
sniped it past Toronto netminder
Michael Nishi. That’s when the
Wolverines started to run away.

Less than a minute after

Werenski’s
goal,
junior

defenseman Nolan De Jong
blasted one from the blue line

that Nishi never saw. And soon
after that, freshman forward
Brendan Warren lit the lamp
with a rebound opportunity.

Junior forward JT Compher

had a memorable start to his
season, after a slow start last
year, scoring two goals in the
third
period.

He first blasted
in a one-timer
and
then

sniped another
in with seven
minutes
remaining
in

the game.

“It’s
nice

for a lot of
guys
to
get

goals tonight,”
Compher said. “Overall, we are
happy with the amount of shots
we had.”

Last
season,
Michigan’s

defense was its Achilles’ heel.
But with a more experienced
unit,
and
the
addition
of

freshmen Nicholas Boka and
Joeseph Cecconi, it looked liked
a completely different group.

The defense often immediately
cleared the puck along the
boards when it entered the zone,
something the coaching staff
heavily preached prior to the
season.

One of the bigger storylines

heading into the season was

how freshman
forward
Kyle
Connor

would
adjust

to the college
game
after

dominating
the
United

States Hockey
League
for

three seasons.
It didn’t take
long to notice

there wasn’t much of a transition.

Connor was often in the right

place at the right time, had a
few point-blank chances and
seemingly always made the
smart play.

“He showed flashes of his

quickness, his fast release, and
he could’ve had a couple of goals
tonight as easy as not,” Berenson

said. “I think he’ll do great.”

Added Selman, Connor’s line

mate: “I think he jumped in and
made an impact. He’s living up
to his name so far and set up Boo
and I really well.”

Junior
goaltender
Zach

Nagelvoort got the start between
the pipes after Berenson refused
to name a starter earlier in the
week. Berenson said Nagelvoort,
senior
Steve
Racine
and

freshman Chad Catt would all
see time. So after Nagelvoort
stopped all three shots in the
first period, Berenson opted to
put senior Steve Racine in net
for the second period and Catt
for the third.

After the game, Berenson

didn’t say who he’d start for the
regular-season opener in two
weeks.

Racine saw just five shots

but let in a goal off a tricky
redirection, while Catt made
saves on each shot he faced. And
with an offense that already
looks like it has potential to be
better than last year’s, Berenson
has a reason to smile.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Senior forward Justin Selman scored just 10 seconds into Michigan’s exhibition game against Toronto on Sunday.

TORONTO
MICHIGAN

1
8

“He’s living up to
his name so far
and set up Boo

and I really well.”

‘M’ dominates in
Louisville meet

By SYLVANNA GROSS

Daily Sports Writer

Mason
Ferlic
knew
that

making his season debut in the
fourth cross country meet of the
year would be a test of how well
he has trained so far. When the
fifth-year senior came in first
place in a field of 213 athletes, he
passed that test.

He was one of just six athletes

to finish under 24 minutes with a
time of 23:51.52.

Saturday, the Michigan men’s

and women’s cross country teams
traveled to Louisville, Ky., to
compete in the Greater Louisville
Classic. The men’s 8,000-meter
race started off the day, and Ferlic
set the tone for the Wolverines.
His performance helped lead
the Wolverines to a second-place
finish to complement the women’s
first-place title.

“The plan was to delay the start

of the season because my track
season went so long,” Ferlic said.
“My focus is on the championship
season, so I felt like I didn’t need
the race experience but I just
wanted to get in some intense
training. So that’s what I did, and
it paid off.

“I feel like I’m the most fit I’ve

ever been, and I feel like I’m at
a point where I can sustain this
level and keep it going. This race
was an affirmation.”

Ferlic led a tight pack with just

10 seconds between him and the
seventh-place finisher, earning
his first individual victory since
the Notre Dame Blue & Gold
Invitational in 2014. His absence
has been noticeable in previous
events this season, even though
it gave several other athletes a
chance to shine.

Nine of the 12 Michigan

athletes competing made it into
the top 50. Fifth-year senior
Nick Posada (20th), redshirt
sophomore Micah Beller (38th)
and redshirt junior Jarred Bratley
(53rd) all ran personal bests.

Not to be outdone, the women

clinched not only first, but second
place as well, with junior Erin
Finn and senior Shannon Osika

recording times of 16:48.23 and
16:50.09, respectively. The two
led the Wolverines to a first-place
finish on the 5,000-meter course,
making this the eighth straight
time Finn has led the team to
victory.

Finn only realized it was her

teammate that was trailing her
during the last moments of the
race — something that made the
last half-mile more enjoyable.

“Racing against a different

team’s athlete is much different
than racing against your own,”
Finn said. “During the race, it
was harder than I thought — I
went in with slightly dead legs
from practicing too hard. It was
definitely a grind, but I just looked
ahead and told myself, ‘You’ve
done this before, you can do it
again.’ I knew it was going to hurt,
but I did it.”

On top of Finn’s resilience,

five athletes claimed personal
records, including Osika, junior
Gina Sereno (eighth), redshirt
sophomore Sophie Linn (16th),
her classmate Jamie Phelan (18th)
and senior Taylor Manett (25th).

Michigan women’s head coach

Mike McGuire has made the
Wolverines’ depth a consistent
factor on the team. According to
him this weekend was “their best
to date.”

“Last year we had a lot of

pressure ranked as No. 1, and
it got to our heads so we didn’t
race as well,” Osika said. “We’re
learning to race together and
feed off of each other. We are
exactly where we need to be
fitness-wise. We have been doing
some really great workouts and
I feel like our progression is
escalating.”

The course will be the site of the

NCAA Championships on Nov.
21, so the runners felt it helped
them prepare for championship
season. Both Michigan coaches —
Kevin Sullivan for the men’s and
McGuire for the women’s — are
focused on replicating this win.

And for the men’s squad,

they’re looking especially for
that Big Ten win after finishing
runner-up for the past two years.

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Erin Finn (#2) finished first in the women’s field at the Greater Louisville Classic.

FIELD HOCKEY

PACIFIC
MICHIGAN

0
5

INDIANA
MICHIGAN

1
2

“We knew they
were going to
come in here

really fired up.”

VOLLEYBALL

MICH. STATE
MICHIGAN

2
3