The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, October 9, 2018 — 7

The Michigan Daily Top 10 Poll 

Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with first-place 
votes receiving 10 points, second-place votes receiving nine and 
so on. 

1. Alabama: Ugh.

2. Georgia: Sick of these SEC schools 
scheduling cupcake games against teams 
like Vanderbilt.

3. Ohio State: Haskins directly translates 
to “has families.” We prefer loyalty to 
one family.

4. Notre Dame: Old Dominion vs. Notre 
Dame is gonna be a great playoff match-
up.

5. Clemson: Big bye week coming up for 
Clemson to get Kelly Bryant back and 
healthy for the rest of the season.

6. West Virginia: *Checks schedule* 
Oh yeah, Iowa State is gonna beat them 
somehow.

7. Washington: A 7-point win over UCLA 
is actually a loss. Sorry, we don’t make 
the rules.

8. Penn State: Congrats to James Frank-
lin, who likely took a huge moral stand 
after his team’s win over the bye week.

9. Texas: The Burnt Orange River Shoot-
out, imo.

10. LSU: Crazy that the Tigers finally 
have a quarterback and still lost a big 
game.

Paige Jones’ serve powers ‘M’ past Purdue

Paige Jones has found a new 
home inside Cliff Keen Arena. 
Hailing 
from 
New 
Bremen, 
Ohio — a 158-mile drive from 
Ann Arbor — Michigan’s 6-foot-
1 freshman outside hitter has 
dazzled all season long.
In her debut campaign, she 
has already notched 175 kills, 
108 digs, and 12 blocks in the 55 
sets she’s played. Perhaps even 
more impressive, her 22 service 
aces mark a team high. Jones is 
the only Michigan starter with 
a jump serve — a technique in 
volleyball where the player adds 
power and height to their serve by 
using a leaping approach to strike 
the ball. The jump serve is no easy 
feat; the fact that the ball must 
travel 30 feet from the service 
line to the net and cross above the 
7-foot-4 height of the tape makes 
the skill tough to master.
The Wolverines (15-2 overall, 
4-2 Big Ten), ranked No. 16 in 
the AVCA Coaches Poll, relied 
on Jones’ jump serve throughout 

the match to power them past No. 
14 Purdue (14-3, 3-3) on Friday 
in front of a packed Cliff Keen 
Arena. Jones stepped up when 
she was called upon, delivering 
a staggering five aces en route 
to Michigan’s 25-15, 25-16, 25-14 
sweep of the Boilermakers.
“Paige has been working hard 
on 
that 
serve 
— 
she 
hasn’t 
done it since her 
junior year of 
high school until 
this 
season,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
Mark 
Rosen. 
“When 
we played Penn 
State, they had 
a jump server 
who was ripping 
it, and I think her seeing another 
jump server who was ripping it 
was the best thing for her. She’s 
been trying to get comfortable 
with it, so she hasn’t really been 
bringing the pace that we’d like, 
but tonight she came blasting it.”
Added junior opposite Sydney 
Wetterstrom with a smile and a 

chuckle: “I’m glad she can serve it 
like that, because I tried it and it 
was not successful.” 
Jones’ serve swings momentum 
in Michigan’s favor when it 
needs it most. Her five-point 
service run in the first set put the 
Wolverines ahead for good. The 
run started with a bang — Jones 
gave Michigan a 
12-5 
lead 
when 
she 
unleashed 
a 
missile 
from 
the service line 
that bounced at 
the feet of the 
opposing 
libero 
after 
Purdue’s 
first 
timeout. 
Following 
the 
clean ace, the six 
Wolverines on the 
court threw their arms into the 
air and embraced each other in a 
huddle at the center of the court. 
When asked about the impact 
Jones’ serve has on Michigan’s 
entire approach, Rosen praised 
his freshman.
“We really need her serve,” 
Rosen said. “She’s going to be a 

bit more prone to error than other 
servers but I’m okay with that. 
Tonight she was really bringing 
it and certainly got into a good 
groove.”
Jones comes from a family tree 
full of athletes — her father played 
college basketball, her mother 
ran track, and both her older 
sisters play collegiate volleyball. 
Growing up, Paige competed in a 
trio of sports that kept her busy 
year-round before electing to 
focus on volleyball at Michigan.
“Paige was a three sport 
athlete from a really small town 
in Ohio who played basketball 
and ran track in addition to high 
school volleyball,” Rosen said. 
“She wasn’t a big name coming in, 
but we’ve known about her for a 
while. Those three sport athletes 
are a bit of a dying breed, which 
kept her off the national radar.”
With the Wolverines surging 
in the AVCA Coaches Poll, Jones 
has put her talents on full display. 
Once Michigan volleyball fans 
familiarize themselves with her, 
they’ll see exactly why her serve 
is the key to Michigan’s success.

DANIEL DASH
For the Daily

EVAN AARON/Daily
Freshman outside hitter Paige Jones used her newly-developed jump serve to help Michigan power past Purdue in straight sets on Friday night.

“She’s been 
trying to get 
comfortable 
with it.”

A victory marked by kills and comebacks

Spurts of intense cheering 
followed by bouts of focused 
silence characterized a thrilling 
fifth set that saw six lead changes 
and eight ties. 
The crowd couldn’t help it. 
It was the first five-set match 
the No. 16 Michigan volleyball 
team played all season. Despite 
an early three-
point 
deficit, 
the 
Wolverines 
clawed their way 
out thanks to a 
service ace from 
junior 
setter 
MacKenzi Welsh 
and 
kills 
from 
freshman outside 
hitter Paige Jones, 
junior 
outside 
hitter 
Sydney 
Wetterstrom and senior outside 
hitter Carly Skjodt. 
Michigan took the lead, but 
the teams fought a back and forth 
battle. Indiana then regained 
some momentum and scored 
three of the next four points, 
bringing the game to match point. 
But, the Wolverines prevented 
one match point on account 
of Skjodt’s kills and persisted 
through another after a Hoosier 
attack error was held up after 
review. 
Then 
it 
happened 
again. 
Another kill from Skjodt coupled 
with an Indiana attack error gave 
Michigan the victory, 16-14. 
“I would like to set Carly as 
much as I can,” said Michigan 
coach Mark Rosen. “That was 
certainly the game plan. At the 
end we made sure that was our 
game plan; she’s our senior.”
Skjodt effectively bolstered the 
Wolverines’ offense, achieving 
a career-high 71 swings and 
committing only four errors 
while hitting .352 en route to her 
personal-best 29 kill total that 
included six kills in the deciding 
set. And to top off the career 

night, she added 10 digs for the 
20th double-double of her career.
Indiana started the first set 
strong with a 3-0 run, which 
Michigan countered with its own 
four-point run. Still, no team 
gained an advantage, until a 5-1 
run allowed the Hoosiers to take 
a three-point lead. Indiana then 
quickly gained an additional 
point — emphasizing its new edge. 
The Wolverines called a timeout. 
Even 
with 
10 
kills 
from 
Skjodt in this 
set, Michigan’s 
.082 
hitting 
percentage 
could 
not 
combat 
the 
Hoosiers fierce 
momentum. 
Indiana won the 
first set, 25-19. 
Between 
the first and second sets, the 
Wolverines appeared to find their 
stride and momentum. They 
opened with a carefully balanced 
offensive attack comprised of a 
.351 team hitting percentage that 
stems from kills mounted by a 

variety of players, such as Jones, 
Welsh, Skjodt and sophomore 
middle back Kiara Shannon. 
Following a kill by Wetterstrom 
paired with a Hoosier attack 
error, Michigan secured a lead, 
which it held for the rest of the 
set. The Wolverines won the 
second set, 25-19.
Indiana came back in the 
third set with a fraction of 
its 
momentum. 
Though 
the 
Hoosiers 
jumped 
out to an early lead, 
they soon fell prey 
to a serving streak 
from Skjodt and 
a series of attack 
errors. 
Michigan 
enjoyed this lead 
for a time, but 
Indiana 
worked 
from behind and 
regained its former 
lead. In response, 
the Wolverines called a timeout. 
After the timeout, freshman 
middle back Kayla Bair fired up 
the team with a kill succeeded 
by three more during a 10-2 run 
that allowed Michigan to take the 
third set. 

This fiery spirit persisted into 
the fourth set. The Wolverines 
consistently maintained a four-
point lead. Despite this, Indiana 
managed to cut the gap, rack 
up four points in a row and take 
the lead. Michigan attempted a 
comeback, but Hoosier Breana 
Edwards closed the game with 
three kills. This play sent the 
Wolverines and Hoosiers into a 
thrilling fifth set. 
The 
crowd, 
stunned 
by 
Indiana’s 
comeback, 
cheered 
nervously 
as 
they 
prepared 
themselves 
for the game-
deciding 
set 
ahead. 
But 
the 
Wolverines, led 
by Skjodt, made sure the crowd 
went home happy. 
“These guys competed really 
well,” Rosen said. “You know, 
when the match was on the line 
and we needed big points, we 
came through.”

EVAN AARON/Daily
Senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt notched a career-high 29 kills in Michigan’s win over Indiana on Sunday.

Michigan’s win over Indiana on Saturday involved multiple clutch moments

MEGAN CHAPELLE
For the Daily

“At the end we 
made sure that 
was our game 
plan.”

“When the 
match was on 
the line ... we 
came through.”

Michigan bounces back, 
sweeps the Boilermakers

How do you bounce back from 
the toughest loss of the season in 
one of the most highly-anticipated 
matches of this year?
The No. 16 Michigan volleyball 
team (3-2 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) 
answered 
that 
question 
in 
resounding fashion on Friday night, 
grabbing a dominant, straight-set 
home victory over No. 14 Purdue 
(2-3, 13-3), 25-15, 25-16 and 25-14. 
The win over the Boilermakers 
came just five days after the 
Wolverines were handed their 
first home defeat of the season, a 
straight-set loss to No. 9 Penn State.
Playing 
in 
the 
familiar 
compounds of Cliff Keen Arena, 
Michigan jumped on Purdue from 
the very beginning of the match 
and cruised to its first victory of the 
season against a ranked opponent. 
Some familiar faces led the way 
for the Wolverines on Friday night, 
with senior outside hitter Carly 
Skjodt and freshman outside hitter 
Paige Jones leading the team with 
11 kills each.
In addition, junior outside hitter 
Sydney Wetterstrom came up with 
arguably her best performance of 
the season, notching 10 kills on 12 
attempts for a sparkling .833 hitting 
percentage. The trio of Skjodt, 
Jones and Wetterstrom combined 
for 39.5 points on the day, 6.5 better 
than the team total of 33 for the 
Boilermakers.
“Cliff Keen is a place where we 
are able to work hard together, on 
and off the court,” Skjodt said. “The 
stands and the fans in the stands are 
a big part of that. They know when 
to get loud and rowdy, and they 
know when to pull it back a little bit. 
I think that’s one thing that really 
attracted me to this school, even 
while going through recruiting, was 
the fan base and how passionate 
they are to represent Michigan.”
As has happened time and time 
again, the defense came through 

with a dominating performance by 
stifling the Purdue attack early and 
never allowing it to gain any sort of 
point-scoring momentum.
The Wolverines came into the 
match ranked fifth in the country 
and second in the Big Ten in 
holding opponents to a .144 hitting 
percentage. They limited fifth-year 
senior outside hitter Sherridan 
Atkinson, who came into the match 
leading the Big Ten with 4.25 kills 
per set, to only three kills on 16 total 
attempts throughout the match 
for the Boilermakers. Senior libero 
Jenna Lerg once again spearheaded 
the defensive performance, pacing 
all players with 16 digs. Skjodt 
added another seven from her 
outside spot, and junior setter 
MacKenzi Welsh followed up with 
six of her own.
“We’re able to use the energy (of 
the home fans) and take that with 
us when we’re up by a lot. It was still 
fun to play, and we appreciate how 
the fans don’t get quiet when we’re 
well ahead, which allows us to keep 
rolling,” said Wetterstrom. “That’s 
part of what has made this year so 
much fun, and we’re hoping that it 
only continues.”
After losses to the first two 
ranked opponents that it faced in 
conference play, the victory on 
Friday night was a welcome sight 
for Michigan and its coaching staff.
“(After the Penn State match), 
the girls were pointing out in the 
locker room that ‘we need to be 
better in these areas.’ They were 
solution-minded, 
and 
I 
think 
when anyone can do that, they’re 
moving in the right direction,” 
said Michigan coach Mike Rosen. 
“(Associate 
head 
coach 
Leisa 
Rosen) did a great job of putting 
them in pressure situations this 
week in practice, which helped us 
for this match.
“This is a talented team, and 
these guys believe that, which was 
a big key for us this week, and it will 
remain that way for the rest of the 
season.”

JAKE KARALEXIS
Daily Sports Writer

VOLLEYBALL

