As the Michigan volleyball
team clawed back from an
early deficit in the first set
of Sunday’s match, freshman
setter Scottee Johnson tracked
down and dug a speedy attack
from
Purdue.
Seemingly
coming
out
of
nowhere,
freshman outside hitter Jess
Mruzik emerged from the back
row and launched a kill into
the face of Purdue defensive
specialist
Jena
Otec.
The
Boilermakers instantly called
timeout, as the Wolverines’
new freshman tandem put the
league on notice.
The new freshmen arrivals,
paired with aggressive offensive
play from junior Paige Jones,
however, was not enough to slow
Purdue. The No. 11 Boilermakers
(4-4 overall, 4-4 Big Ten) built
on Saturday’s win en route to a
3-1 victory over the Wolverines
(0-2, 0-2).
After Michigan erased a
four-point deficit to tie the
first set at 23, Purdue outside
hitter Grace Cleveland took
command,
slamming
down
an emphatic kill to retake
the lead. From that point, the
Boilermakers rallied, securing
a grueling first set, 26-24.
Looking to avoid falling into
an 0-2 hole for the second night
in a row, Michigan quickly
took control of the second
set. As Michigan built a 10-7
lead early in the set, Purdue
outside hitter Maddy Chinn
rose up and slammed the ball
for what seemed to be a sure
kill. However, Mruzik met
her at the summit, viciously
rejecting the attempt for a
marquee block that won the
point. These types of plays
from Mruzik have been key for
the Wolverines in high-impact
situations.
“Jess has the advantage of
coming in with the experience
level that very few freshmen
have, playing on a national team
in the world championships,”
Michigan coach Mark Rosen
said. “So we’re not surprised.
I don’t really think of her as a
freshman.”
Following
the
play,
the
Wolverines built on their lead
with a flurry of kills from Jones,
as the Boilermakers struggled to
find answers for her on defense.
“It
helps
when
I
have
passers next to me who have
been passing great,” Jones
said. “We’ve played two games
but they’re playing great so far.
We’re still figuring out that
connection.”
With Michigan up 22-14, the
Boilermakers began to mount a
counterattack, resulting in a 7-0
run which was quieted by junior
middle blocker Kayla Bair to end
a 7-0 with a dominant kill. At set
point, 24-21, Cleveland looked
to make the Wolverines pay for
relinquishing the earlier lead with
a large attempt. Mruzik, known
for her offensive ability, once again
turned defense into offense. Her
monster block on Cleveland was
unreturnable, and the Wolverines
won set two.
“We los(t) the first set and
that can sometimes just kill
momentum,”
Rosen
said.
“I
thought our players did an
outstanding job of jumping out
in the second set and being really
resilient and aggressive and
getting a big lead on them in the
second set.”
Michigan
was
unable
to
carry
the
momentum
into
the
following
sets,
though.
Cleveland got into a rhythm, and
the Boilermakers notched a .500
hitting percentage to run away
with the third set, 25-13.
In the final set, creative
no-look taps over the net from
Purdue
setter
Hayley
Bush
confused
the
Wolverines’
defense.
The
inconsistent
communication, along with yet
another .500 hitting percentage
on the set from the Boilermakers,
was too much for Michigan —
which hit just .197 for the match
— to handle as they lost the final
set, 25-18.
Despite the loss, Rosen looked
to keep things in perspective,
as the Wolverines opened their
season against a key conference
foe, taking the court for the first
time since last March.
“It was good to get back to
some normalcy.” Rosen said. “It’s
been an emotional rollercoaster,
but to finally get going yesterday
and have two matches this
weekend was awesome.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 — 13
Just under nine minutes into
the Michigan hockey team’s
game against No. 7 Wisconsin
on Sunday, Badgers’ forward
Dylan Holloway had a half-
step on Wolverines’ sophomore
defenseman Keaton Pehrson.
Holloway had just received
a pass from forward Roman
Ahcan, who, with a quick cut to
the right on a clean zone entry,
opened up space for Holloway
to sneak in behind the Michigan
defense.
Holloway buried the shot,
notching the game’s first goal
and helping to propel Wisconsin
(14-8 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) to a
3-2 victory over the Wolverines
(11-7, 9-7). Alongside phenom
forward Cole Caufield, Holloway
anchored the Badgers in a game
mostly dictated by the wealth of
top talents on both sides.
“They’re elusive, they’re really
good hockey players,” Michigan
coach Mel Pearson said. “It
doesn’t take much for them, to
give them open space to create
some things. On Holloway’s first
goal, we let them skate through
the neutral zone and back our
defensemen off. We didn’t do
a good job putting some back
pressure on him and forcing the
play.”
That goal broke the tie in a
game that, until then, had been
relatively mundane offensively.
Still, the two shots Wisconsin
notched in the first half of the
period — a 2-on-1 where forward
Linus Weissbach deferred to
Caufield, and Holloway’s goal
— illustrated how the Badgers
planned to use their best players
to
attack
the
Wolverines’
defense.
Though mostly inactive in the
first two periods, Michigan’s
offense also ran through its
top young talents. Its first goal
exemplified this — freshman
defenseman Owen Power scored
on some nifty dekes off assists
from freshman forwards Kent
Johnson and Thomas Bordeleau,
all past or projected first-round
draft picks.
But while the Wolverines
struggled to sustain any offense,
Wisconsin’s
stars
continued
to apply pressure on the man
advantage. With Caufield and
Holloway together on a power-
play unit, the Badgers easily
generated offense when up a
man, ultimately resulting in a
second-period power-play goal
for Ahcan, with Holloway on the
secondary assist.
“They were moving the puck
quick, and I think (with) Caufield
and Holloway on the wings, it’s
tough to defend,” Pearson said.
“I just think overall, those guys,
you gotta respect their shot, and
at the end of the day, we just
gotta be better.”
Early in the third period,
Wisconsin forward Dominick
Mersch deflected a puck in front
to extend the Badgers’ lead to
two, effectively putting the
game out of reach despite a late
Michigan goal from freshman
forward Brendan Brisson.
If anything, Brisson’s goal will
likely just make the loss sting
more for the Wolverines. To
leave the weekend with a series
sweep against one of the Big
Ten’s top teams would have been
a massive statement — especially
coming off a three-week hiatus
from games.
Still, escaping with a series
split is an overall positive result
for Michigan moving forward.
Barring a pair of late-season
collapses,
the
Wolverines
and Badgers are both in solid
position to make the postseason.
With the talent they each have,
they should also be poised
to cause some headaches for
whichever teams they go up
against.
In the end, those teams will
face the same dilemma Michigan
faced Sunday:
“They
have
so
many
weapons,” Pearson said. “Who
do you defend?”
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Freshman defenseman Owen Power faced a talented Wisconsin.
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Editor
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Senior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis will be integral to Michigan’s success this season holding down the middle of the pitch against opponents.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan senior Paige Jones kept the Wolverines in the match through her defense, but ultimately came up short.
Usually when the Michigan
women’s soccer team takes
the field to kick off a new
season, they’re facing a non-
conference opponent. Usually
they haven’t had six months
to bond and practice, usually
there isn’t snow on the ground.
But even in the face of new
frontiers, the Wolverines want
to “raise it” this season, a
motto that guides the team to
elevate its performance after
losing in the third round of
the NCAA Championship last
season to eventual runner-up
North Carolina.
“This year is about going
that one little bit farther than
we did last year, that one extra
run at the end of the game
when you’re not really wanting
to do it,” junior Meredith
Haakenson said. “When people
look at us, let’s raise the level
that they see.”
With
many
of
its
top
performers
returning
—
including
senior
Sarah
Stratigakis,
the
2019
Big
Ten midfielder of the year —
Michigan will likely rely on its
experience to make it back to
the NCAA tournament.
Not knowing if they would
even have a season when
training began in the fall,
the
Wolverines
used
that
time to build technical and
tactical skills to match their
experience. While the two-
week
athletics
pause
that
ended Feb. 7 impacted the
way the team prepared, coach
Jennifer Klein and her players
feel their work has helped
them stay in game shape.
“A lot of credit has to go to
our young women and them
keeping themselves in a good
place this entire time and just
being hungry and ready for
when we get an opportunity to
compete against an opponent
other than ourselves,” Klein
said.
That chance will come this
Saturday as the Wolverines
travel to Columbus to take on
rival Ohio State, their first
game since Nov. 24, 2019.
Starting an 11-game Big Ten
season, Michigan could build
off of last season’s conference
success that saw it lose only
two Big Ten games.
Those
losses
came
at
the hands of Rutgers and
Wisconsin,
both
of
whom
shut
out
the
Wolverines.
Returning
offensive
talents
like Stratigakis and Haakenson
could help prevent that from
repeating with another year of
experience under their belts.
Offensive production stems
from more than just those
two, however. Haakenson said
scoring is a team effort. Players
like junior Raleigh Loughman
or sophomore Danielle Wolfe
can generate scoring for the
Wolverines as they use their
positioning to create chances.
Wolfe scored seven goals last
season while Loughman added
six herself.
Scoring goals will help the
Wolverines this season, but
Michigan wants to improve its
skills on both sides of the ball.
Assistant coach Katie Hultin
will continue working with the
Wolverines on their defensive
skills, something Klein and the
players are thankful for.
Another
asset
for
the
Wolverines comes between the
pipes as last season’s starting
goaltender Hillary Beall will
return for her senior season.
Beall started all 24 games for
Michigan last season, posting
a 17-6-1 record and allowing
around a goal per game.
Solid defensive play factored
into the team’s training this
fall, but Beall could be an
X-factor
when
opponents
inevitably get good chances. In
a close, defensive conference
like the Big Ten, having that
last line of defense can make or
break teams.
With all the Wolverines
were able to improve on, they
cannot impact the way their
opponents play. They will need
to remain sharp against teams
like Rutgers, Wisconsin and
Penn State if they want to raise
the bar this year.
The
addition
of
seven
freshmen this fall could prove
useful against difficult foes.
With around six months to
acclimate to the college level,
those
players
could
make
their presence felt more than
a normal fall season would
allow.
“I give all the credit to
them,”
Haakenson
said.
“They’ve done a great job of
just coming in, knowing the
expectations, where they’re
at, where we expect them to
be and really getting to know
them on and off the field.”
That depth could be essential
if the Wolverines want to
reach their goals of winning
the
conference
tournament
and returning to the NCAA
tournament.
With only 11 games to prove
to
the
NCAA
tournament
selectors
that
their
squad
belongs,
the
Wolverines
need to be sharp from the
first kickoff. Without non-
conference games to compare
itself to the country’s best,
Michigan can’t afford a bad
start.
Road games against teams
like Ohio State and Penn State
could be crucial for the team
to differentiate itself from its
conference foes. With a 5-1
record in Big Ten road games
last
year,
the
Wolverines
will focus on increasing that
recent success.
“It’s a business trip,” Klein
said. “We’ve got to go in and
try to keep some of the same
rhythms and habits that we do
at a home game.”
That mentality will have to
be extended to home games
as well. The Wolverines will
play some home games at
Brighton’s
Legacy
Center
because they lack an indoor
facility.
Michigan knows how much
work went into the season
amid a pandemic. Now, as
Team 27 prepares to take
the field in Columbus, the
Wolverines want to use those
efforts as motivation to raise
their performance.
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Daily Sports Writer
In unique year, Wolverines look to capitalize
on a deep roster and make strides in the season
PAUL NASR
Daily Sports Writer
‘M’ ends weekend with
split against Badgers
Michigan begins season winless against 11th-ranked Purdue