8 — Friday, December 2, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘M’ wins opener: ‘Five more rounds’

It started with a block on the 

left side, followed by another 
on the right. When American 
gathered 
for a third 
attempt, 
the 
Wolverines swatted that one, 
too, this time into the floor to 
take a commanding 12-5 first-
set lead. The towering front line 
of sophomore Claire Kieffer-
Wright, 
sophomore 
Carly 

Skjodt and freshman MacKenzi 
Welsh rejoiced along with the 
hometown Crisler Center crowd. 

It was that kind of night for 

the Wolverines, who made quick 
work of the Eagles in their 3-0 
victory in the first round of the 
NCAA Tournament.

Nearly three months ago, the 

Michigan volleyball team (11-9 
Big Ten, 23-10 overall) defeated 
American (15-1 Patriot League, 
27-7 overall) in the Panther 
Invitational, 
3-0. 
Thursday 

night, the Wolverines picked up 
right where they left off. No. 12 
Michigan came out in its NCAA 
Tournament debut with a 25-13 
first-set 
victory 
behind 
the 

strong play of Kieffer-Wright 
and senior outside hitter Kelly 
Murphy, who each tallied five 
kills in the set.

“It’s always hard in that first 

match of the NCAA Tournament 
to see how the nerves are going 
to be for the team, how we’re 
going to get into a rhythm,” 
said Michigan head coach Mark 
Rosen. “And I thought we did 
that really well.”

In the second set, though, 

the Patriot League champions 
fought back. 

Trailing 17-14 and later 20-17 

in the second set, Rosen was 
forced to call timeouts to get his 
team refocused.

“I don’t think in timeouts 

it’s about what we say, it’s more 
giving them a break, them talking 
with each other 
and just calming 
down,” 
Rosen 

said. 
“I 
think 

they responded 
really 
well 
to 

the change in 
momentum 
(at 

20-17).”

From 
there, 

the Wolverines 
came 
back 
to 

win the second 
set, 25-23, and cruised to a third-
set victory, 25-12, completing a 
win full of power and efficiency. 

Michigan finished with 51 total 

kills, only one shy of its season-
high in a three-set match. The 
attack was multi-dimensional, 
with three different Wolverines in 

double-digit kills — senior middle 
blocker Abby Cole (10), Murphy 
(10) and Kieffer-Wright (13).

Going 
forward, 
Michigan 

will face Oregon on Friday night 
at Crisler Center again, with a 
potential showdown with fifth-
seeded Kansas looming afterward.

“We’ll spend a lot of time in 

the next 24 hours preparing for 
(Oregon),” Rosen said. “They’re 
fast, they move around a lot. 
They’re very elusive in the way 
they come at you, and they’re 
athletic.”

But Rosen and his team don’t 

seem to be intimidated by any 
opponent going forward. They 
believe playing in the Big Ten 
— the conference with each 
of the top three seeds in the 
tournament and six of the top 16 
— has been the ultimate primer. 

“I think playing in the Big Ten 

is the best way to prepare for the 
tournament,” 
Kieffer-Wright 

said. “I really think that the 

teams in the Big 
Ten are the best 
you’re going to 
see all year.”

It 
was 
a 

routine 
win 

that took a bit 
of resiliency for 
Michigan. 
But 

after the game, 
Rosen and his 
team clearly had 
their sights set 

on bigger things.

In case there was any doubt, 

the 
Wolverines 
harbor 
the 

ultimate goal.

“National 
champions,” 

Kieffer-Wright said.

Added Rosen: “Five more 

rounds.”

In its first home NCAA 

Tournament match since 2009, 
the Michigan volleyball team 
put its offensive balance on full 
display.

Fifth-year 
senior 
outside 

hitter Kelly Murphy or junior 
outside 
hitter 
Carly 
Skjodt 

would rise up from the left side 
of the court to power a shot 
past American’s front line. Or 
senior middle blocker Abby 
Cole or junior middle blocker 
Claire Kieffer-Wright would 
elevate and thunder a kill 
down the middle. Anything the 
12th-ranked Wolverines tried 
offensively 
worked 
against 

the overmatched Eagles on 
Thursday night.

The first time these two 

teams met — in September at 
the Panther Invitational in 
Pittsburgh — Michigan swept 
American, 3-0, recording its 
most kills of the season for 
a three-set match with 52. 
They nearly equaled that total 
Thursday night, registering 51 
kills to the tune of a .406 kill 
percentage.

“That’s 
a 
lot 
of 
earned 

points,” said Michigan coach 
Mark Rosen. “You’re going to 
get a certain number of points 
from your opponent making 
mistakes or from errors, or 
you’re going to get points from 
blocking or serving aces. But 51 
kills in a three-set match is a 
big number. That just tells me 
how smooth we’re playing on 

offense.”

It was that way from the 

beginning of the game. Cole, 
a 
unanimous 
All-Big 
Ten 

selection and the Wolverines’ 
leader in kills per set at 3.16, 
didn’t add to the kill total until 
the Wolverines were up 20-8 in 
the opening set. Instead, it was 
Murphy, Kieffer-Wright and 
Skjodt who carried most of the 
responsibility on offense. But 
a player of Cole’s caliber was 
never going to stay silent for 
long.

“She was playing fine, we 

just didn’t set her much,” 
Rosen said. “Had we set her, 
she’d have been fine. We were 
creating some other stuff that 
then opened her up for later.”

It was clear that the third set 

was Cole’s turn to dominate, 
and she did just that. She opened 
the set with a kill and tallied 
another four points in close 
succession midway through the 
set to help the Wolverines pull 
away for good.

Overall, Michigan saw three 

players 
with 
double-figure 

kills – Cole, Kieffer-Wright 
and Murphy with 13, 10 and 
10, respectively, with Skjodt 
chipping in with eight of her 
own. All told, it was one of their 
most well-rounded attacking 
efforts of the season.

“We did a great job with 

rhythm and tempo,” Murphy 
said. “All the hitters did a great 
job tonight.”

While American came in 

with just two players averaging 
at least two kills per set, five 

such players — Cole, Kieffer-
Wright, junior outside hitter 
Adeja Lambert, Murphy and 
Skjodt — can be found on 
Michigan’s roster. The contrast 
between the two teams in this 
regard was evident Thursday 
night in Crisler Center. When 
the 
Wolverines 
managed 

to limit the production of 
sophomore Aleksandra Kazala, 

who came in averaging 4.37 
kills per set, the Eagles didn’t 
have anywhere else to turn. 

Judging by Thursday night’s 

performance, as well as the 
entire season, the multitude of 
attacking options appears to be 
one of the Wolverines’ greatest 
strengths, and they hope that it 
can lead them on a special run 
through the tournament.

Michigan cruises 
in first round of 
NCAA tourney

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Writer

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

The Michigan volleyball team took an early lead in the first set and then overcame a late deficit in the second, coasting to a first-round win against American in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Diverse attack leads Wolverines to their second-highest kill total of the season

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

Michigan’s offense spread the ball around throughout the night Thursday.

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

AMERICAN
MICHIGAN 

0
3

“I think they 
responded 
really well to 
the change.”

