8A — Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan sets new volleyball 
attendance record at Crisler

With 
8,137 
spectators 
in 

attendance, the No. 23 Michigan 
volleyball team drew its largest 
crowd in team history as it took 
down 
rival 

Ohio 
State, 

3-1, at Crisler 
Center 
on 

Friday night. 

The 

Wolverines 
more 
than 

tripled 
their 

previous 
record 
attendance 
of 2,673 from 
2009 and more than quadrupled 
the maximum attendance in 
their normal arena — the 1,800 
seat capacity Cliff Keen Arena. 

This was Michigan’s first 

and only match to be played at 
Crisler Center this season and 
its first regular season match 
played there since a 3-1 defeat 
against 
Nebraska 
in 
2015. 

Last season, the Wolverines 
hosted two NCAA Tournament 
matches there against American 
University and Oregon, both 
victories for the Wolverines.

Senior middle blocker Claire 

Kieffer-Wright 
remembers 

those 
games 
well. 
She 

appreciated the atmosphere the 
fans created then, even though 
it paled in comparison to Friday 
night.

“The last time we played (at 

Crisler) we had the first round 
and the second round of the 
NCAA Tournament,” Kieffer-
Wright said. “I felt like the vibe 
was going [then], but tonight 
was just an extra step up.” 

For 
those 
8,137 
fans 
in 

attendance — in addition to the 
15 Michigan volleyball players 
— it was clear that Friday’s 
match was going to be a special 
one from the moment of the first 
serve. 

The 
Wolverines’ 
student 

section was filled to the point 
that 
students 
had 
to 
find 

seating elsewhere. They were 
seen 
sprinkled 
across 
the 

upper section of the arena, still 
vigorously cheering along and 
enjoying the match. 

While the fans were very 

enthusiastic during the course 

of 
the 
entire 

match, 
the 

mayhem 
reached 

its pinnacle in the 
fourth and final 
set. 

Michigan 

was 
down 
17-11 

and went on a 
6-0 
run 
to 
tie 

the set. At that 
point, for every 
subsequent point 

the Wolverines scored, the fans 
went wild until the victory-
clinching point. The entire 
arena erupted in a collective 
cheer of approval louder than 
any other moment during the 
match.

During the Wolverines’ final 

run, players were also getting in 
on the fun as they were shown 
dancing on the big screen 
during breaks in play.

Kieffer-Wright, who was too 

focused on the match to get 
caught up in 
the 
dancing, 

thought 
that 
the 

environment 
pushed 
the 

players to win 
the match.

“It 
(made) 

the hairs on 
the 
back 
of 

my neck stand 
up,” 
Kieffer-

Wright said. “You just feel good 
and feel like comfortable and 
like, ‘OK, they’re ready for this 
next point and they’re ready to 
see us win.’ It’s just incredible. 
I love it.”

Kieffer-Wright 
led 
the 

Wolverines to victory after 
recording 
team 
highs 
in 

points, hitting percentage and 
blocks, with 19, .375 and nine, 
respectively.

Michigan coach Mark Rosen 

also noticed the impact of the 
crowd. The energy the fans 
brought was unlike any other 
home match Rosen had ever 
experienced during his time at 
the helm of the program.

While he loved the overall 

support 
of 
the 
fans, 
he 

specifically loved the student 
support 
and 
wants 
to 
see 

more matches with this type 
of turnout. In order to make 
that vision a reality, however, 
Michigan will first need to 
catch up with the rest of the Big 
Ten in terms of its volleyball 
arena size. 

“We see this [crowd size] 

all 
the 
time,” 
Rosen 
said. 

“Michigan State has that kind 
of 
crowd, 
not 
consistently, 

but they’ve had that before. 
Nebraska has it, Minnesota has 
it, so in our conference we play 
in front of that all the time.”

The team sold out Cliff Keen 

Arena for about half of its 16 
home matches last season, and 
Rosen believes that the team 
is easily capable of generating 
an attendance well above Cliff 
Keen Arena’s maximum, as 
shown by the turnout for the 

Ohio State match.

“There is work 

being done behind 
the scenes to try to 
get us into a bigger 
place,” Rosen said. 
“Hopefully 
we 

can keep pushing 
the agenda to get 
that done because 
we’ve 
outgrown 

Keen. There’s no 
question about it.”

For 
now, 
though, 
the 

Wolverines will take what they 
can get in terms of attendance 
and appreciate the amazing 
turnout they received for one 
match. 

“It’s a feeling you’ll never 

be able to replicate,” Kieffer-
Wright said. “A rivalry, just a 
great home crowd. …It just feels 
good to have the support of Ann 
Arbor and Michigan students.” 

It (made) the 
hairs on the 

back of my neck 

stand up.

It just feels 
good to have 
the support of 

Ann Arbor.

BENNETT BRAMSON

For the Daily

VOLLEYBALL

Marody eager for first full season on the ice

Fifty-three seconds into the 

third period Saturday night, 
Cooper Marody paused, just 
momentarily, after receiving 
a beautiful setup from junior 
defenseman Joseph Cecconi. 
Within seconds, he knocked 
a one-timer into the bottom 
right corner of the net, beyond 
the outstretched reach of the 
Western Ontario goaltender. 

The junior forward’s textbook 

goal — which came during 
the Michigan hockey team’s 
season-opening exhibition — is 
simply a microcosm of his style 
of play. His patience and ability 
to drown out surrounding noise 
while on the rink is a special 
characteristic of his game that 
many players find difficult to 
master.

And his new head coach, Mel 

Pearson, was quick to note that 
Marody’s style of play stands 
out.

“He’s so patient,” Pearson 

said. “He’s so smart with the 
puck, and he sees things that 
maybe even a person sitting 
in the stands wouldn’t see, let 
alone a person on the ice with 
all the commotion going on. 
He has a way of just slowing 
the game down, even when 
everything’s going crazy.”

Marody’s offensive prowess 

in the game extended beyond 
his goal, as well. He registered 
an 
assist 
in 
each 
period, 

characteristic of a seasoned 
forward who knows how to 
crisply set the puck up for his 
teammates in a way that is 
almost second nature.

As 
a 
veteran 
Wolverine, 

entering his third year on 
the team, it makes sense that 
Marody has the innate capacity 
to create these opportunities 
on the ice. There is something 
glaring, 
however, 
that 
sets 

Marody 
apart 
from 
his 

upperclassmen 
counterparts: 

he has yet to play a full 
collegiate season. And last year 
was the most extreme case of 
that, as his sophomore season 
was slashed in half.

It’s safe to 

say 
Marody 

didn’t 
expect 

his 
career 
at 

Michigan 
to 

take the course 
it did.

In the midst 

of 
his 
elite 

freshman 
campaign 
— 

when he netted 
24 points and 
played 
in 
32 

games — Marody fell ill with 
mononucleosis in mid-January, 
taking him off the ice for an 
entire month.

Though he was able to finish 

out his first season once healthy 
again, 
the 
illness 
resulted 

in a serious ramification for 
his sophomore year: he was 

academically 
ineligible 
to 

play 
for 
the 

Wolverines 
during 
the 
fall 

semester.

While Marody 

still 
practiced 

every day with 
the 
team, 
the 

time away from 
the sport he loved 
was painful. 

“Any 
time 
a 

sport you love gets taken away 
from you and you can’t play, if 
you’re a competitor you feel 
it,” Pearson said. “And I think 

(Cooper) felt it. I think it was 
tough on him last year. Now, 
he’s reenergized and he knows 
if he continues to do the things 
that he needs to do that he’s 
going to play and 
play all year, and 
be a big part of 
our team.”

Added Cecconi: 

“I’ve known Coop 
since before I got 
to school, and it 
definitely 
hurt 

him 
a 
bit 
not 

being able to play 
the first half of 
the season,” he 
said. “The first 
couple games of the season are 
times to adjust and get back 
into hockey. And for him not 
to have that was kind of a blow 

to our team and himself, but he 
came back strong.”

And 
come 
back 
he 
did. 

Starting with the Great Lakes 
Invitational on Dec. 29-30, 

Marody played 
out the final 
18 
games 
of 

his sophomore 
season. 
He 

notched 
15 

points through 
the end of the 
year, en route 
to being one of 
the 
standouts 

in an otherwise 
relatively 
lifeless 

Michigan offense.

Marody’s hat trick in the 

Wolverines’ 5-4 victory over 
Ohio State on Feb. 3 epitomized 

his resurgence. It was the 
most goals anyone on the team 
scored in a game last season.

Reflecting back on last year’s 

adversities, Marody couldn’t 
be more ready to move on and 
begin what he hopes to be his 
first complete season on the 
Wolverine roster. And a goal 
paired with three assists in the 
exhibition game is certainly not 
a lousy way to start.

“It 
was 
an 
unfortunate 

situation, but it’s over now,” 
Marody said. “I’ve learned a lot 
of valuable things from it, and 
I’m just looking to move forward 
from that. It’s obviously tough, 
but if you learn from it, and 
move forward. You’re a better 
person because of it.

“Hopefully, I’ll stay healthy 

the whole season. It will be 
my first full season here at 
Michigan, so I’m very excited 
about that. It will be good 
to continue to develop that 
chemistry with my linemates, 
and I’m just very, very excited 
to play a whole season.”

Marody 
had 
no 
way 
of 

foreseeing 
the 
path 
his 

collegiate hockey career was 
going to take, and without a 
doubt would have preferred for 
his sophomore year to take on a 
different narrative.

That being said, Marody’s 

rare circumstance allowed him 
to gain perspective — not just 
on this season, but for the rest 
of his life as well. 

“(I now know) that it could 

always be worse,” Marody said. 
“Like if you have a bad day at 
practice, you’re just lucky that 
you’re healthy and able to play. 
So if you don’t have a good day, 
if you don’t have a good shift, if 
you don’t have a good game, you 
can just be thankful that you’re 
playing and healthy. And then 
nothing else that’s wrong is 
that big of a deal. So to just keep 
that positive mindset, every day 
coming to the rink, no matter 
what happens.”

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Junior forward Cooper Marody netted a goal and notched three assists in the Wolverines’ season-opening exhibition against Western Ontario on Saturday.

He has a way of 
just slowing the 

game down.

It was an 

unfortunate 
situation, but 
it’s over now.

