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