The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, November 21, 2019 — 7

Lockwood making impact while hurt

Four rows from the ice at Munn 
Ice Arena, Will Lockwood laid 
back in his chair, forced to watch 
the game, once again, through the 
glass and from the stands. 
To his immediate left and 
right sat other teammates, extra 
players who weren’t dressing. 
But being grouped with fellow 
teammates who couldn’t make an 
impact wasn’t where Lockwood 
wanted to be.
Where he really wanted to be 
was a section over — where the 
visitor’s bench was filled with 
the remaining Michigan hockey 
players as they prepared for the 
Michigan State matchup.
He watched his teammates 
warmed up without him for the 
third straight game. He watched 
alternate captain Luke Martin 
skate over to the referees and 
shake hands — a role normally 
reserved for Lockwood. 
And as he watched the puck 
drop and the battle between the 
two teams begin, that’s when it 
hit him. 
He’d 
lived 
this 
before, 
watching his teammates take the 
ice while he looked on from the 
sidelines. Lockwood missed the 
second half of his sophomore year 
due to a shoulder injury that kept 
him from his team’s run to the 
Frozen Four.
Back then, he felt resentment, 
unsatisfied by the defined success 
he was not a part of. But now, as 
senior captain, the emotions of 
being sidelined hit harder.
“I hate it,” Lockwood said. 
“I absolutely hate it, I go to the 
games and it’s really hard to 
watch especially when the team’s 
not doing well. I feel like I could 
be out there making an impact for 
my teammates.”
Unlike two years ago, Michigan 
needs his impact. Through six 
Big Ten games, the Wolverines 
have managed to earn only one 
conference point and sit 14 points 
behind first-place Penn State.
The 
struggles 
have 
been 
capped by a lack of offense, 

which, as a natural goal scorer, is 
where Lockwood’s impact would 
lie. Last year, Lockwood lead the 
team in scoring with 16 goals. 
This year, he’s tied for the lead 
with three despite missing the 
last three games. 
“It’s 
hard 
on 
Will,” 
said 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. 
“He’s really disappointed that he’s 
not in the battle with his friends 
and his teammates. I know it’d be 
nice to have our leading returning 
goal scorer in. But you can’t use 
that as an excuse. We have to find 
ways to win hockey games, but I 
know it’s tough on Will.”
Last 
Saturday’s 
loss 
was 
particularly hard for Lockwood 
to watch. Sitting in the stands, he 
couldn’t do anything but watch as 
his team surrendered a goal in the 
opening two minutes of the first 
period. He slid a little deeper into 
his chair. 
And being in Munn Ice Arena 
presented a unique challenge for 
him. Before the game, a throng of 
familiar faces came to greet him 
before settling down and sitting 
in adjacent seats. In addition, 
friends and family not only of his 
own but his teammates’ as well 
began to surround his seat. The 
noise and distractions naturally 
followed. But Lockwood wanted 
his full attention to be on the 
Wolverines on the ice. 
So, 
when 
he 
disappeared 
from sight after a period, it was 
apparent where he was going. He 
found a different point of view to 
watch from.
“Well, I was sitting in the 
stands,” Lockwood said. “And 
I couldn’t really focus on the 

game. I actually went over to the 
zamboni doors and watched for a 
little bit. Then I watched the third 
(period) from the bench to have 
the best view of the game and as 
little distraction as possible.”
His dedication to the team 
didn’t end with him playing 
pseudo-equipment 
manager 
behind the bench for a period. 
During 
the 
intermission, 
he 
followed the team into the locker 
room and addressed them.
“I just told the team we have to 
be a hard team to play against,” 
Lockwood said. “It’s a rivalry 
game. I thought a lot of guys 
worked really hard. I don’t think 
that’s exactly our issue. I think 
when you’re playing in a game like 
that, you’ve kind of got to have a 
chip on your shoulder. And play 
towards that rivalry. But have a 
bit of a chip on our shoulder and 
a bit of an ego during the game.” 
This weekend, he’ll return to 
the lineup and skate alongside 
his linemates, freshman forward 
Johnny Beecher and sophomore 
forward Jimmy Lambert. Having 
Lockwood back is no instant fix 
for Michigan’s offensive woes, 
but his presence can only help. 
The Wolverines need Lockwood. 
Shifting from the stands 
to the zamboni doors to the 
tunnel leading to the bench, 
Lockwood, 
inch 
by 
inch, 
worked his way back to his 
team.
As his health followed the 
same 
gradual 
progression, 
the team couldn’t be more 
ready for him to be back. And 
Lockwood’s ready to prove 
that he returned for a reason.

Michigan ready for Notre Dame test

After reaching the second round 
of the NCAA Tournament each of 
the past two seasons, the Michigan 
women’s basketball team has 
high expectations for the 2019-20 
season, highlighted by a program 
goal of making it to the Sweet 
Sixteen.
The 
Wolverines 
will 
have 
the chance to notch their first 
high-profile victory on Saturday 
against Notre Dame after opening 
the season with four games 
against 
mid-major 
opponents. 
The Fighting Irish aren’t the 
powerhouse that made seven of the 
last nine Final Fours — they have 
opened the season 3-2, with home 
losses to No. 15 Michigan State and 
No. 23 Tennessee — but Michigan 
isn’t taking last year’s NCAA 
Tournament runner-up lightly.
“That’s a game for us that we 
circle on our schedule regardless 
of how great their start was this 
year,” said Michigan coach Kim 
Barnes Arico. “I know right now, 
their record is not what they want 
it to be, but their schedule has 
been incredibly difficult and they 
graduated everyone that really 
contributed on that Final Four 
team last year.”
Despite losing all five starters 
from a season ago — and its top five 
scorers — Notre Dame’s roster is 
far from barren. Its starting lineup 
consists of three top-25 recruits 
from the past two seasons in 
forward Sam Brunelle and guards 

Katlyn Gilbert and Anaya Peoples, 
and two graduate transfers — 
Marta Sniezek from Stanford 
and Destinee Walker from North 
Carolina. These five could cause 
trouble for the Wolverines because 
of the mismatches they create 
— four are guards, and the only 
forward, Brunelle, has attempted 
40 3-pointers this season.
“It’s gonna be a tough matchup 
because their ‘4’ and ‘5’ are really 
guards, and they’re gonna face-
up, they’re gonna try to take you 
off the bounce,” Barnes Arico said. 
“We gotta constantly be moving 
… because we’re gonna have our 
posts match up with guards, and 
that’s gonna be difficult at times.”
While these mismatches could 
create trouble on the defensive 
end, Notre Dame’s lack of size 
plays right into Michigan’s biggest 
strength 
offensively: 
interior 
scoring.
“As tough as it’s gonna be for 
us to defend them because they 
don’t really have any true posts, 
it’s gonna be a challenge for 
them to defend us,” Barnes Arico 
said. “I think Naz (Hillmon) is 
playing exceptionally well inside. 
I think Izabel Varejão gives them 
something that they don’t have, a 
6-foot-5 post. How are they gonna 
defend that? How are they gonna 
defend Naz’s strength inside? So I 
think they’re gonna have matchup 
problems with us as well.”
The 
Wolverines 
will 
also 
need to clean up their offensive 
play in order to limit fast-break 
opportunities for the Fighting 

Irish. Michigan got away with 
turning the ball over 61 times over 
four games and giving up double-
digit points off turnovers in each of 
its last two games. 
Barnes 
Arico 
identified 
transition defense as an area 
needing 
improvement. 
The 
Fighting Irish have scored double-
digit points off turnovers in 
each of their five games despite 
shooting under 50 percent in all of 
them. Allowing them to get out in 
transition often could spell trouble 
for the Wolverines.
Michigan can alleviate some 
of 
Notre 
Dame’s 
transition 
offense with strong play on the 
offensive glass. The Wolverines are 
averaging more than 10 offensive 
rebounds per game, and their 
clear size advantage should give 
them many second-chance scoring 
opportunities.
Michigan has a relatively young 
team, but the majority of its players 
were there last season, when the 
Wolverines played three games 
against two top-10 teams — two 
against Maryland and one against 
Louisville.
In particular, their two young 
stars 
clearly 
showed 
growth 
between their first and second 
matchups against the Terrapins. 
Hillmon’s scoring total greatly 
improved, and sophomore guard 
Amy Dilk tallied 11 assists and 
shot more efficiently as Michigan 
lost by one, giving the Wolverines 
optimism that their best players 
will step up in their biggest game 
so far this season.

May Day!

EAST LANSING — On Jam 
the Jenison (Fieldhouse) night, 
Sparty, the ear-wrenching Spartan 
marching band and screaming 
Spartan fans united to make 
Wednesday’s game as hard as they 
could for the Michigan volleyball 
team. But amid the noise and five 
sets later, the Wolverines prevailed 
in 
a 
contested 
rivalry battle in 
East Lansing. 
“Their 
crowd 
is 
huge 
and 
their 
band 
is 
excruciatingly 
loud, 
but 
it’s 
amazing 
— 
it’s 
so 
much 
fun 
for 
them,” 
said 
freshman outside 
hitter 
May 
Pertofsky. 
The No. 23 Wolverines (19-8 
overall, 12-5 Big Ten) fended off 
the Spartans (14-13 overall, 5-12 
Big Ten) in five sets. Michigan 
won its fourth game against all 
its rivals this season, and added a 
fifth consecutive win against the 
Spartans. 
The match started off slow 
as Michigan found themselves 
down 
2-1 
after 
three 
sets. 
Sloppy defensive play and a 
lack of communication hurt the 
Wolverines in the second and 
third sets. An increased pressure 
in serves for Michigan State 
added to Michigan’s struggles. 
In a rivalry game, the pressure 
only builds on the opposing team, 
especially if they are away, like the 
Wolverines were. 
“Going down 2-1, it becomes 
go-time,” 
said 
senior 
setter 
MacKenzi Welsh. “If you don’t 
play your best in that moment, 
you’re going to lose the match. 
… Taking that negative pressure 
and just using that to play to the 
best of your ability, and know 
that the game is on the line in that 
moment.”
After hitting .276 in the first 
three sets, the Wolverines came 
back to hit .351 in the final two 
sets. Michigan calmed down and 
played a sound game that drove 

them to a narrow victory.
“We looked nervous. We looked 
emotional,” said Michigan coach 
Mark Rosen. “We were just a 
little frantic … and we just needed 
to relax and settle into our own 
game. I can’t blame them. It’s a big 
environment. It’s a rivalry game.”
The win itself was impressive 
and certainly one to remember, 
but two key players had great 
milestones. First, Welsh hit the 
5,000-assist 
mark.
“It feels pretty 
cool, and I know 
it’s 
a 
really 
cool 
lifetime 
achievement,” 
Welsh 
said. 
“I 
know 
I 
wouldn’t be able 
to without all 
my hitters and 
everyone on my 
team and I’m really thankful that I 
have the support system that I do.”
Pertofsky notched a career-
high 18 kills in a single match, 

but when asked about the record, 
she had no knowledge of it, and 
selflessly deferred credit to her 
teammates.
“Throughout the game, we just 
kind of all looked at each other 
and held each other accountable,” 
Pertofsky said. “We were like 
‘Hey guys, we need to calm each 
other down and we need to play 
for each other and play as a team 
and love each other.’ It’s a family. 
We can’t be against each other 
now, so we always started playing 
together and it came together very 
beautifully.”
Michigan 
played 
far 
from 
perfect, but came together and 
won a difficult game in a tough 
environment.
“Really proud of how they 
fought when they weren’t playing 
their best,” Rosen said. “Tiger 
Woods used to always use the 
thing that you have to be able to 
win with your B and C game … you 
can’t always have your A-game. 
We’d like it but doesn’t always 
happen.”

EAST 
LANSING 
— 
Sophomore 
outside 
hitter 
Paige Jones and senior setter 
MacKenzi Welsh both stood 
frozen as the ball dropped 
between them. A last-second 
reaction 
by 
Welsh 
wasn’t 
enough to save the ball and 
prevent the Spartans from 
tying up the set. The entire 
band 
played 
the 
Michigan 
State fight song, drowning out 
any other sound that wanted to 
be heard inside the fieldhouse.
The event known in East 
Lansing 
as 
“Jam 
Jenison” 
fostered communication issues 
for No. 23 Michigan (19-8 
overall, 12-5 Big Ten), which it 
ultimately overcame to defeat 
the rival Spartans (14-13, 5-12) 
in five sets Wednesday night.
The Wolverines came out 
after just one day of practice 
this week into a rival’s home 
court, with the seats filled and 

decibels raised.
“Everyone felt kind of shaky,” 
said freshman outside hitter 
May Pertofsky. “Obviously 
their crowd is huge and their 
band is excruciatingly loud. ... 
I think it just kind of threw us 
for a loop for a second because 
we’ve only been in the gym 
once before this game”
And 
this 
was 
visible. 
Michigan was making errors 
on both sides 
of 
the 
ball, 
hesitating 
on 
who 
would 
take 
the 
second hits and 
even 
sending 
sets 
above 
teammates’ 
heads. 
It 
stemmed from 
one main issue 

— communication.
“It 
is 
a 
little 
hard 
to 
communicate,” said Michigan 
coach 
Mark 
Rosen. 
“So 

there’s 
going 
to 
be 
some 
communication issues because 
you can’t hear. … We can’t 
really be visual with our 
communication because you’re 
watching the ball, so you can’t 
really take your eye off the ball 
and look at them, so it got a 
little bit crazy that way.”
And to Rosen, it was obvious 
where at least some of the 
issues started. The whole pep 
band was there 
and 
the 
noise 
reverberated 
throughout 
the 
arena.
“The 
band 
makes 
a 
big 
difference,” 
Rosen said.
After 
falling 
into a 2-1 set 
deficit following 
repeated errors, 
the 
Wolverines 
regained 
control of the match.
“I feel like going down, 2-1, it 
becomes go-time,” Welsh said. 
“And if you don’t play your best 
in that moment you’re going to 
lose the match.”
Despite 
the 
desperation, 
Michigan was visibly more 
calm and in control of their 
play in the fourth and fifth 
sets. 
“We would come into the 
time out and they’d look at us 
and (the coaches) wouldn’t 
be upset or anything like 
that,” Pertofsky said. “They 
would just be like, ‘Guys, 
you need to calm down and 
you need to unify.’ After that 
we came out with a lot more 
fire and just talked more and 
communicated.”
The Wolverines were able to 
close out the last two sets, 25-15 
and 17-15, respectively, despite 
the crowd growing louder than 
before. With the tight, 3-2, 
victory over Michigan State, 
Michigan finishes its regular 
season with a 4-0 record over 
rivals Michigan State and Ohio 
State.
“With our backs against the 
wall, in a place like this, I was 
really proud of how our team 
responded,” Rosen said. 

JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico thinks that the size differential will make a large impact in Saturday’s game.

MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior forward Will Lockwood has stayed involved while out with an injury.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Freshman outside hitter May Pertofsky had the game-winning kill over Michigan State on Wednesday night, giving Michigan its 19th win of the season.

May Pertofsky notches game-winning kill in fifth set as Michigan tops Michigan State in East Lansing

NICHOLAS STOLL
Daily Sports Writer

They would just 
be like, ‘Guys, 
you need to 
calm down.’

BRANDON TRACHTENBERG
Daily Sports Writer

We just kind 
of all ... held 
each other 
accountable.

