The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Wednesday, October 30, 2019 — 7 June 19, 2016 June 1, 2017 Errors crucial in failed upset bid The Michigan volleyball team followed the example of its kills leader, sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones, on Sunday. Against No. 5 Wisconsin, the Wolverines’ upset hopes were dashed by a slew of errors and dominant play by the Badgers’ All-American junior middle blocker Dana Rettke. Jones had a game-high 21 kills for the Wolverines, showing some impressive spurts of genius against the heavily-favored Badgers en route to her second straight match with 20-plus kills. But she also led the team with nine errors in what ended up being a sloppy loss for Michigan. “I think we as a team were a little high-air,” said Michigan coach Mark Rosen. “... And that’s where I thought Paige could have been a little bit better.” “High-air” was a nice way of putting the Wolverines’ struggles. They totaled 29 attack errors to the Badgers’ nine. Michigan also had only one service ace and 12 service errors, giving away too many free points to a Wisconsin team that certainly didn’t need the help. The Wolverines were outhit by the Badgers, .372-.176, as well. And despite some solid runs throughout the game, Michigan’s passing was poor at times — a sin the Wolverines could ill-afford to commit against the sound and skilled Badgers. “A lot of teams don’t always capitalize in those situations,” Rosen said. “... We’re in trouble and we can kind of bang out of it and be OK. (Wisconsin) is a team where it’s hard to bang out of trouble.” But even in the desperation of a fourth loss in five games, the Wolverines were able to take solace in the bright spots that Jones and the rest of Michigan’s young stars exhibited. Even though Jones had difficulty with controlling the ball, she marked the fourth 20-kill match of her young career. “She’s scoring a lot for us right now,” Rosen said. “She’s carrying a big load for us.” Two other youngsters, freshman outside hitter May Pertofsky and freshman middle blocker Jess Robinson also had solid performances. Pertofsky and Robinson had eight kills apiece, but they combined for nine errors of their own. Even so, this front-court trio for the Wolverines has been learning and progressing at a strong rate. The difference in skill between the current iterations of both Michigan and Wisconsin is obvious; the Wolverines just aren’t on the Badgers’ level. But Jones and the other young players showed enough in the loss to give the Wolverines a positive outlook on the future, even if there are some growing pains along the way. “We’re very excited about what they’re doing,” Rosen said. “... I like how this team is progressing. I like how this team is approaching things, I like how they’re approaching losses.” ARTHUR POTTER For The Daily Quick Hits The Daily hockey beat used to run a video series during the 2011-12 season called “Quick Hits.” It was a series of one-on-one interviews with players that covered everyday life and all of its funny moments. But now, for budget reasons, it’s in written format. And for the first season in three years — despite the pleas of the editors — Quick Hits are back. For the second edition, The Daily sat down with three members of the sophomore class, goaltender Strauss Mann, forward Nolan Moyle and defenseman Nick Blankenburg — based on the frequency of their photos together on Instagram — to talk about some pretty spooky stuff. *** Tien was feeling really festive for Halloween and brought a cowboy hat and crown to interview the players. When they walked in, they noticed immediately. Blankenburg: Ooooh, a crown. Is that for one of us to wear? Mann: That crown is for you, Moyle. Moyle: No, that’s for you lad. Feeling that these first-time Quick Hits victims didn’t know what was going on, Tien Le and Molly “Michigan” Shea offered up a quick explanation of Quick Hits before getting into it. *** Molly: If the team was trapped in a horror movie who would be the first person to get killed/go missing? Blankenburg: Jack Olmstead. Moyle: Jack Leavy, for sure. Mann: Yeah, either one of those guys. Blankenburg: I think Olmstead and Leavy are definitely the main two. Moyle: Maybe Strauss. Mann: I feel like they’d think they had a smart idea to get out of there or something, and it would just go completely wrong. Tien: Okay, who on the team would be most likely to cry in a haunted house? Moyle: Jack Leavy. Again. Tien: Is he really easy to scare? Mann: Uhhhh... Moyle: He just wouldn’t know what to expect, and then he’d probably get terrified. Blankenburg: I feel like any being scared questions, or crying questions relate to Jack Leavy and Jack Olmstead. Moyle: Oh yeah. Tien: Molly had to get dragged out of a haunted house one time because she was so scared she was on the floor crying. Blankenburg: Oh. Mann: Nice, nice. Molly: Hey! I was really young! Molly: Do you guys believe in any conspiracy theories? Like is the moon landing fake? Is the Earth flat? Blankenburg: Uhh, I don’t know. I try not to get into that stuff. It’s not my cup of tea. Moyle: The Titanic was fake, I think. Molly: Woah. Mann: Yeah, that’s not up my alley. Blankenburg: I know Jake Gingell is a big, big, big conspiracy theory guy, so I think that’d be the guy you would ask. He watches alien documentaries and always talks about aliens and stuff like that. Tien: What’s the worst Halloween candy? Blankenburg: I don’t like candy corn. Mann: Really? You don’t? Blankenburg: Yeah, I’m just not a big fan of candy corn. Mann: Black licorice. A key fact left out is that Mann follows a very strict diet that doesn’t include any food otherwise touched by humans besides to cook it, so, in other words, no candy. Molly: Well that’s just the worst candy in general. Mann: Well, that’s any candy so… Moyle: I don’t know, those Rolo things are pretty heinous. Blankenburg *clearly offended by Moyle’s suggestion*: Wait, fruit roll-ups?? Fruit roll-ups are unbelievable. Mann: Tootsie Rolls?? Moyle: No, no, no. Blankenburg: Tootsie Rolls are sooooo bad too, though. Mann: They’re so good, sooo good. Tien: They’re a classic. Blankenburg: Tootsie Rolls are ... I don’t even know. Molly: What are you guys going to be for Halloween this year? Blankenburg: White Goodman. Molly: Who’s that? Blankenburg: He’s on the Purple Cobras from the movie ‘Dodgeball’. Mann: I’m going to be the Love Guru. Mariska Hargitay…. Mariska Hargitay. Blankenburg: I don’t know. We won’t really have the chance to go out here, I mean, Halloween is, Thursday? Yeah we’re going to leave for Ohio State. Oh! Maybe I’ll wear a nice costume on the bus or something. Maybe we should all do that. Mann: For Halloween, you (Blankenburg) can just be yourself. That’d be pretty scary. Head athletic trainer Brian Brewster walks into the room. Blankenburg: Hey! Should we do that, wear Halloween costumes on the bus? Brewster: I’d like to see you lead the charge on that. Blankenburg: I might, I might. Molly: Strauss, what did you honestly think of when Tien asked to race you at the meet the players skate? Mann: Ummm, I was just like ‘Uhh I really don’t wanna do this, but...’ Blankenburg: Actually, he got nervous. Afraid he was going to lose. Mann: Well, I did lose. I was just like, ‘I don’t know, I can be a nice guy and do it.’ It’s tough with all the goalie gear on. After the game, you (Tien), had me at my worst moment. Tien: In my story I said, ‘To be fair, you were in pads and stuff.’ Tien: What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you? Mann: Scariest moment…. Blankenburg: I think I thought someone was trying to break into my house. One time, when I was home alone, I was down in my basement, and someone rang the doorbell. And when you’re a kid, and you’re home alone, you automatically think someone’s trying to break into your house. But … it was just the mailman or something. Tien: Someone actually broke into my house two years ago. Blankenburg: Oh really? Tien: Two years ago in Ann Arbor, yeah. Blankenburg: Other than that fake break-in, I haven’t really had too much scary stuff. Moyle: I can’t think of anything like really scary. Mann: Uhhh ... I’m thinking. Maybe anytime my junior hockey coach talked to me. I was afraid I’d get traded or something. *long pause* But he was a good guy. Make sure you put that in there, please. Molly: Blankenburg and Moyle, if you had to be goalie for the day, who would you least want to face a shot from? Moyle: Johnny Beecher. Mann: Oh, for sure. Moyle: His shot split open Hayden’s head last week. Tien: Oh right, he had to get six stitches by his eye. Blankenburg: Slaker or Will. Moyle: Oh, or Becker. Molly: Alright, that’s all we have for you guys. Mann *shakes his head*: Good luck writing this story. We didn’t give you anything good. The hockey beat is back with Quick Hits, this time leaning into spooky season to unearth the team’s fears and frights With legs, Patterson aids offense As Tru Wilson took the handoff and cut through the teeth of Notre Dame’s defense, Shea Patterson sprinted downfield ahead of his running back. When Wilson approached the end zone, Patterson threw a block on the last remaining defender. Wilson coasted in for a touchdown. Early in the season, Patterson seemed reluctant to put his body on the line. He was hesitant to keep the ball even on read-options that appeared to be open for a keep. He certainly didn’t block for touchdowns like he did on Saturday or risk an eye-gouging on a quarterback sneak, like last week at Penn State. But now, Michigan’s senior quarterback is back to his fast and physical ways, and it’s been nothing but a boon to his team. “I think (the quarterback run) was especially important in this game and something we’d talked about and Shea embraced, and he read the ball,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Monday. “If both sides know that you’re running, having that quarterback as a potential threat for a runner is key. … I thought it was his fastest game he’s played as a runner and he’s moving around, scrambles. You could tell when he got the block that it was at least a distraction on Tru’s touchdown. He was really moving.” Some of Patterson’s early hesitance may have been due to an oblique injury sustained in the season opener against Middle Tennessee. Last week, Patterson said that the game in State College was the first time all year he was at 100 percent. Regardless of whether the early absence of the quarterback run was due to injury, missed reads or something else entirely, there’s no question that aspect of Patterson’s game is back. Against the Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish, he rushed for 41 and 28 sack-adjusted yards, respectively. And on Saturday, in a throwback to last year, Patterson kept the ball on a read-option in the second quarter for a 22-yard gain. The run set the Wolverines up with first- and-goal at the 2-yard line, eventually leading to a touchdown that put Michigan up, 17-0. “The quarterback run game is a pretty big part of what we do,” said redshirt freshman offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield. “And we missed a couple opportunities early in the season, weren’t able to hold the ball, but (Patterson has) done an unbelievable job of watching that film and picking up on the things he did wrong early in the season. And for him being the big leader that he is in the locker room ... just asserting himself like that is gonna be a big part of our success.” The presence of a dual- threat signal-caller gives the defense another thing to worry about and can confuse opposing teams with looks they haven’t seen. The re-addition of that element of Patterson’s game has opened up the Wolverines’ rushing attack after a few lackluster early-season games. And it’s been beneficial for Patterson, too. As he’s increasingly made the right reads and found success, his confidence has only grown. “I feel like he’s the best there is,” Wilson said. “He’s the man. But physically, mentally, his confidence is at a high, he’s throwing the ball as good as could be, I thought he threw the ball really well for being as rainy as it was. That’s really bad conditions. So yeah, I think he’s the man and he can do it all.” ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Editor ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Senior quarterback Shea Patterson had double-digit carries on Saturday. ALEC COHEN/Daily Sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones had a game-high 21 kills Sunday, her second straight matchup with 20-plus kills. ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily Sophomore defenseman Nick Blankenburg will be dressing up as White Goodman for Halloween this week. MOLLY SHEA Daily Sports Writer ...having that quarterback as a potential threat... is key.