The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 — 7
Paige Jones has been the difference in the Wolverines’ successful season
Last year, matchups with
Colorado State ended in two
losses for Michigan — one of
which was season-ending. This
year, however, the Wolverines
seemed to have flipped a new
page.
Despite all the talk about
about revenge and redemption
against the Rams, the difference
maker for Michigan was the
one person that thought none
of that — freshman Paige Jones
just wanted to win.
Coming into the game, the
outside hitter knew nothing of
the small rivalry. Though, to be
fair, she barely even knew that
the Wolverines played Colorado
State last year. But what she
did know was how much her
teammates wanted the game,
and she delivered accordingly.
In a career night, Jones
stunned the arena with a
personal-best 18 kills on .500
hitting percentage and seven
service
aces.
Though
her
services have always come as
a problem to opponents, they
don’t come without drawbacks
for Michigan. The jump topspin
serve that she does is a high
risk, high reward serve, but on
Saturday night, Jones reaped
all of the reward and little of
the risk.
“(Jones) has been trying to
find a rhythm
with that,” said
Michigan coach
Mark
Rosen.
“It’s a high-risk
serve,
and
if
you don’t hit it
just right, then
it takes off on
you.
And
you
look kinda silly,
like ‘Hey, I just
missed that by a
lot.’ But you just missed a little
bit on your hand.
“... Her contact was really
good, and I thought she got into
a really good rhythm tonight,
and that’s what she’s been
working on. And she’s been
working hard in practice and
in matches where she can get
that contact and control it and
tonight she did
a great job and
Colorado
State
paid the price.”
For the most
part, serving set
the tone early in
the match. The
game plan for
the Rams was
to serve hard to
get
Michigan
out of system.
And they succeeded early on,
as Michigan came out slow and
was unable to properly corral
the ball.
But
Jones
answered
immediately, getting aggressive
— despite being out of system —
hammering the ball home to set
the tone for Michigan to follow.
The
change
in
momentum
allowed
the
Wolverines
to
fight out of their
slump,
with
Jones
leading
the way with a
then-game-high
six kills.
The
turning
point
in
the
first set came at
13-10. The game
had been back
and forth, but Colorado State
had seen the better end of a few
closely contested rallies. But
with a kill and a series of serves
from Jones, Michigan went on a
seven-point run that shifted the
momentum firmly in its favor.
With control of the pace, the
Wolverines didn’t relinquish
the lead the remainder of the
set.
And if there
was any better
way to close out
the set, the team
wouldn’t
have
had it.
At
23-21
in
the
first
set,
Michigan
fell
into a scramble.
The dig hadn’t
come off clean
and junior setter Mackenzi
Welsh did a backwards jog to
get to the ball. In an attempt to
salvage the play, she did a two-
handed backwards bump to
send the ball high into the air to
Jones’ general vicinity.
As she had done all game,
Jones bailed out the out-of-
system play.
And then she
saw her turn to
serve again.
If it was any
testament to her
serving
skills,
no other play or
player managed
to
draw
the
attention of the
arena the way
Jones did as she
approached the
service line with the ball in
her hands. Ushering a wave of
silence and drawing everyone to
their feet, she delivered a serve
worthy of the attention. It was
an ace, her sixth of the night.
And even though her serving
was
mitigated
due
to
the
adjustments in the second set,
the Rams failed to shut her
down. Despite a still productive
set, her impact was forced to
just four kills and three digs.
While that’s what it says on
the stat sheet, the story on the
court was entirely different.
Jones attracted more attention
from the defense that freed
up senior outside hitter Carly
Skjodt
and
redshirt
junior
middle blocker Cori Crocker,
who Rosen stated were “at the
top of every scouting report.”
“They were committed on
(Jones) more,” Rosen said. “I
mean, when someone gets six
kills in the first set, they’re
going to focus on her some more
and I thought there were a lot
of times when they formed a
really good block and she found
a way to bang around them and
off of her.”
The third set was a return
to form for Jones after a brief
set out of the spotlight. Jones
tallied eight kills in the third
set alone. The next closest to
her on the team was Skjodt with
seven — for the entire game.
And it wasn’t long into the
third before she recovered her
groove, scoring the first earned
point for the Wolverines.
And in a more controlled
set than the first two, with
Michigan
leading
until
the end, Jones —
coming off of her
serve — curled
to
the
front
of the net and
ended the game
on
her
terms,
something
she
did the entire
night.
But if you ask
her, you won’t get the slightest
bit of a boast or gloat. Because it
wasn’t about her in her eyes. It
was a team win, and to her, that
was plenty.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Mark Rosen praised the play of his freshman outside hitter Paige Jones after she had a career night in Michigan’s win over Colorado State.
“(Jones) has
been trying to
find a rhythm
with that.”
“... she found
a way to bang
around them
and off of her.”
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
“And she’s been
working hard
in practice and
in matches.”
Michigan beats WMU
thanks to some heart
Sometimes, it takes a little bit
more than sheer athletic prowess to
take a match in the beautiful game.
While the Michigan men’s
soccer
team’s
match
against
Western
Michigan
ended
in
overtime jubilation, the road there
was not quite as rosy. At the 82nd
minute, Michigan coach Chaka
Daley brought the team together on
the sideline after conceding a game-
tying empty-net goal to Western
Michigan.
Along
with
senior
midfielders Robbie Mertz and Ivo
Cerda, Daley reminded the team to
calm down.
“We prepare for these moments
and we always say things can go
wrong and you prepare for those
times,” said Cerda, who scored the
game-winning header. “We make
sure we’re engaging in positivity
and encouraging each other. Doing
all the right stuff.”
To that point, the Wolverines
had not only squandered a 2-0
lead, but many other opportunities
to put the game away, as well —
sophomore forwards Umar Farouk
Osman and Mohammed Zakyi
both repeatedly got deep into the
belly of the Broncos’ defense in the
first half, but neither could blow the
game open.
Seventeen minutes in, Osman
raced
untouched
70
yards
downfield, but laid his pass just in
front of Zakyi. A few minutes later,
Osman sent a high pass across the
box. He watched for what seemed
like an eternity as Zakyi waited
and chopped the ball just right of
the Broncos’ goalie. The duo almost
connected again twice in the 59th
and 60th minute, but yet again
couldn’t finish.
“I thought we were a little bit
too impatient,” Daley said. “We
were trying to just run, run, run,
run and we didn’t show enough
patience in the buildup. When we
just go and don’t connect we all
have to run back 50, 60, 70 yards.
We wanted to show some patience
and composure.”
Western Michigan gave the
Wolverines its best shot — both
figuratively and literally. Rather
than buckling to the pressure of
being down 2-0, the Broncos were
the more patient team in the second
half, controlling the pace of the game
and even throwing in some shoves
and pushes to intimidate Michigan.
Historically,
the
Wolverines
haven’t fared well against their
in-state rivals from Kalamazoo. And
it certainly wasn’t easy for Michigan
to just pick it up after watching its
lead evaporate and getting tossed
around. But in doing so, Michigan
established itself as a team with
heart, unity and resilience.
“We have a mantra,” Cerda said.
“We like to stick together. Robbie
and I as captains make sure we
actually practice that ... Doing all
the right stuff. We don’t give up,
and we’re confident if things go
astray that we’ll be able to overcome
them.”
Hernandez, offense inspire confidence for ‘M’
Michigan women’s soccer
coach Jennifer Klein found
herself in a pickle in the
Wolverines’ final game of the
spring. Thanks to a number of
absences, the first-year coach
was missing all of her top-
choice striker options.
She analyzed her options,
and with no better alternative,
settled
on
using
then-
freshman
midfielder
Nicki
Hernandez
as
her
striker.
Hernandez put up a strong
performance,
convincing
Klein she had stumbled upon a
new winning formula.
Seven games into 2018, the
move looks like a stroke of
genius, as Hernandez has six
goals and four assists, leading
the team in both categories.
“I
think
because
we’re
getting her higher and into the
goal zone in and around the
net, she’s able to able to put
the ball in the net,” Klein said.
“She has good skill and she’s
not scared to shoot.”
Hernandez
started
12
games last year but managed
just a goal and an assist
as
sophomore
midfielder
Sarah Stratigakis and senior
forward Reilly Martin made
headlines for Michigan. Now,
Hernandez
has
elevated
herself to their level as the
team’s most important player
in non-conference play.
But
while
Hernandez
has been the best player,
Stratigakis and Martin have
been critical to her success.
The trio notched both the
goal and assist on five of the
Wolverines’ six goals in their
6-1 win over Central Michigan
on Friday night and regularly
practice in tandem to build
chemistry for game days.
Off the field, Hernandez and
Stratigakis are best friends,
helping to fortify their mutual
understanding.
“Having a close relationship
off the field really helps on the
field,” said Hernandez. “It’s
really important for us to know
each other. We always look for
each other and it’s good for us
to connect with each other,
especially in these upcoming
games because that’s how
we’re going to succeed.”
Coming off a three-game
losing streak — in which
Hernandez
and
Stratigakis
scored Michigan’s only two
goals — Klein knew she could
trust her offensive stars to
right the ship against Central
Michigan.
That safety net is what gives
Klein and the team confidence
heading into Big Ten play.
“Coming in with our new
staff,” Klein said, “we wanted
to
establish
an
attacking
identity and really try to
make sure we have options in
numbers going forward.
“They’re really thriving in
this system of play. I know
Strat and Reilly both have
been really impactful with
their years before and I think
we found a good spot for Nicki
and we’ve freed her up and
she’s been able to be creative
and impactful.”
But while the locker room
remained upbeat through the
Wolverines’
losing
streak,
the team needed a strong
performance Friday to regain
its
confidence.
Thanks
to
Hernandez,
Martin,
and
Stratigakis, that’s what it got.
“It
totally
(impacts
our
confidence) and that’s what
we were looking for coming
in,” said Klein.
That confidence is more
than coach speak. It’s obvious
in the way the team plays,
pressuring opponents at every
turn and always looking to
get forward, in contrast to a
defensive mindset preached
under coach Greg Ryan last
season.
But more than that, it’s
obvious in the players.
“In the Big Ten, if we go
down,”
Hernandez
says,
before pausing and cracking a
laugh, “which we won’t.”
In her current form, that
prediction might not be too far
off.
RIAN RATNAVALE
Daily Sports Writer
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Michigan coach Chaka Daley preached patience to his team on Saturday.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Nicki Hernandez has accumulated six goals and four assists for Michigan this season, leading her team in both categories.
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer