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