The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 — 11 

Michigan falls to unranked Indiana, 3-1

KENDALL MCCASKILL
For The Daily

At the end of the second set, 
audible tension rumbled through 
the arena as the score was tight 
at 22-24 and the No. 25 Michigan 
volleyball team led the match, 
1-0. But then, a Wolverine service 
error forced an end to the set, giv-
ing Indiana the 25-22 win. 
Following the set loss, the 
Wolverines (13-6 overall, 4-5 Big 
Ten) were unable to regain their 
momentum, falling to the Hoo-
siers (11-10, 4-5) in four sets in a 
Pink-Out Game Friday night. 
“We knew tonight that Indiana 
was a team that was going to pose 
some challenges,” Michigan coach 
Mark Rosen said. “We did the best 
to prepare for it but they did a real-
ly nice job tonight.”
In the first set, the Wolverines 
got off to a slow start. They trailed 
seven points behind Indiana after 
a series of serve-receive errors, 
eventually forcing them to call a 
timeout. Michigan returned to the 
floor with more tenacity, starting 
with a kill by senior middle block-
er Jess Robinson. The Wolverines 
continued on a seven-point run to 

tie the game at 15 apiece. After sev-
eral more back-and-forth rallies, a 
strong blocking performance by 
freshman right-side hitter Serena 
Nyambio closed out the first set 
over the Hoosiers, 25-22.
Michigan opened the second 
set with a kill by junior outside 
hitter Kendall Murray. It kept a 
tight lead in the first half of the 
match, up 13-12. The Hoosiers 
fought back aggressively, creating 
separation from the Wolverines. 
As a result, Michigan fell victim to 
Indiana at the service line, ending 
the set down 22-25.
“Indiana came out and served 
really aggressively; they had a 
great game plan in terms of getting 
us in trouble,” Rosen said. “When 
we were in system I thought we 
handled it really well, but out of 
system is a different game and 
tonight they got us out of system a 
lot with that serve.”
In the third set, Michigan 
looked to regain its lead against 
Indiana but struggled to take com-
plete control of the match. Despite 
a kill from senior middle blocker 
May Petrofsky to tie the score at 
ten, a series of hitting errors that 
followed cost the Wolverines 
the opportunity to take control 

of the match. Michigan fought 
back with a three-point run but 
couldn’t claw back, falling 19-25 
and dropping the match score to 
1-2.
In a do-or-die fourth set, the 
Wolverines worked to create a 
lead against the Hoosiers early. 
Spurring a four-point run pow-
ered by aggressive net play from 
junior outside hitter Jess Mru-
zik, Michigan jumped out to a 
10-8 lead. In spite of its scrap-
piness and hard-fought rallies, 
Indiana capitalized on its forced 
errors. The Hoosiers followed 
with a three-point run to win 
the match, 25-23.
“I think just going into this 
match 
something 
that 
we 
focused on (was) not overlook-
ing anybody,” Mruzik said. “And 
especially in the Big Ten this 
year it’s crazy, anyone can beat 
anybody on any given day. It’s 
a blessing that we get to be in a 
conference where every single 
night you’re going up against the 
best teams in the country.”
And with difficult Big Ten 
matchups upcoming, Michigan 
needs to hone-in to make sure 
that blessing doesn’t become a 
curse.

Sports

VOLLEYBALL

SportsMonday: Michigan State, the ghost on Harbaugh’s shoulder

Nearly every year of Michigan 
coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure has 
prompted the question whether 
he’s the right man for the job. Sea-
son after season, questions swirled 
and doubts arose — until this one, 
that is.
A College Football Playoff berth, 
a Big Ten Championship and, per-
haps most importantly, a win over 
rival Ohio State vaulted Harbaugh 
onto a pedestal. He expelled his 
demons overnight like a scene 
pulled straight from The Exorcist.
But one ghost still remains.
The final blemish on Harbaugh’s 
updated résumé is Michigan State. 
Harbaugh holds a meager 3-4 
record against the Spartans in his 
previous seven seasons as coach. 
In the past two years, with Mel 
Tucker at the helm in East Lansing, 
Harbaugh is winless. And unlike 
the juggernaut Buckeyes, Michigan 
State has been human, rendering 
some losses inexcusable.
It’s why Harbaugh focused his 
and his program’s attention on the 
Spartans all the way back in July.

“I don’t want us to be more wor-
ried about Ohio State than we are of 
Michigan State, because we haven’t 
beat (those) guys in two years,” 
Harbaugh said. “We need to get 
right, get dialed in with them too, 
and we will.”
Now is the time for that attention 
spent on the Spartans to pay off in 
a win; But Harbaugh’s grotesque 
history with Michigan State almost 
seems, well, haunted.
It began in Harbaugh’s first bout 
against the Spartans as coach, per-
haps the most harrowing of them 
all. You might not want to talk 
about it, but you know it as well as 
any game — win or loss — in the 
past decade.
It’s 2015, the No. 12 Michigan 
football team is 5-1 and a No. 7 
undefeated Michigan State team is 
in town. Up 23-21 late in the fourth 
quarter, the Wolverines landed 
an all-important sack and forced 
a turnover on downs. An upset, 
the first rivalry win in Harbaugh’s 
career, was in reach. With 10 sec-
onds left, Paul Bunyan was all but 
Michigan’s — all the Wolverines 
had to do was punt.
You can fill in the blank.
“We played winning football and 

didn’t get the result,” Harbaugh 
said after the game. “Welcome to 
football.”
Welcome to the rivalry, Jim.
Harbaugh’s Spartan woes never 
really went away. A 14-10 loss in 
a virtual monsoon, a Halloween 
COVID-year upset and a heart-
breaker last season in a top-10 battle 
of unbeatens round out the remain-
ing defeats. His results haven’t done 
much to inspire confidence in a 
rivalry where Michigan fans like to 
claim dominance.
That confidence is a large reason 
why, from an outside perspective, 
this game matters so much for Har-
baugh. There’s been little reason, 
and few legitimate excuses, for his 
teams not to be dominating this 
rivalry. Year after year, the Wol-
verines bring in better recruiting 
classes. Michigan State has even 
undergone a coaching change. But 
still, Harbaugh has struggled.
Some losses, such as last year’s, 
are so puzzling that all Harbaugh 
has left to say is simple.
“That didn’t go the way we want-
ed to,” he lamented after the 2021 
defeat. 
And what else can he say? That 
he failed once again? That, whether 

the Wolverines are the better team 
or not, the Spartans seem to be able 
to walk away with Paul Bunyan in 
years they shouldn’t? 
No, the only thing that can speak 
for Harbaugh are the results on the 
field. And those results can shout.
After the 2020 loss, in Michi-
gan’s worst season in many years, 
three-star recruit Andrel Anthony 
— an East Lansing-native — might 

have wavered.
“That did open a lot of eyes,” 
Anthony told the Detroit Free 
Press in 2020. “I can tell you that. 
It opened eyes across the United 
States. Everybody was looking 
at MSU as ‘Oh, they’re really bad 
right now and they’re in a rebuild-
ing process.’ But to go out and beat 
Michigan, I am pretty sure every-
body was surprised.”

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

The sophomore receiver, as we 
of course know now, did not flip his 
commitment. Anthony remained 
steady, bound for Ann Arbor. But 
that’s not always the case, and 
there are fallout effects that span 
larger than a loss on the record.
And it’s on Harbaugh to prevent 
that from happening.
A 3-4 record isn’t enough, zero 
wins against Tucker isn’t enough 
and frequently losing to worse 
Michigan State teams is far from 
enough.
This Saturday, against the hob-
bling 3-4 Spartans, Harbaugh has 
the chance to get even in his tenure 
and begin to reclaim the rivalry. 
Frankly, he doesn’t have a choice. A 
loss would be catastrophic, not only 
proving once again Michigan State 
has his number, but crippling the 
Wolverines’ chances at the College 
Football Playoff and back-to-back 
Big Ten trophies.
A win won’t earn Harbaugh 
high praise or laurels. It’s what 
should happen, and it’s what needs 
to happen. But it will be a part of his 
narrative. This week, in prepara-
tion, Harbaugh gets to dip his pen 
in the ink one last time. 
Saturday, it hits paper.

Liza Cushnir: By failing Brittney Griner, 
we’re failing all women in sports

Brittney 
Gri-
ner, an eight-time 
WNBA all-star and 
Phoenix Mercury 
center, turned 32 
last week. Instead 
of being able to 
celebrate with her 
friends and fam-
ily, she spent her 
birthday in a Rus-
sian jail cell — just like she’s spent 
the past 249 days. 
On Feb. 17, Griner was detained 
in a Russian airport, accused of 
having vape cartridges with hash-
ish oil in her luggage. On May 3, the 
US state department declared her 
“wrongfully detained” and on Aug. 
4, Griner was sentenced to nine 
years in a Russian prison for drug 
smuggling. 
As Griner awaits her appeal 
hearing, which is set to start on Oct. 
25, she worries about being forgot-
ten back home. 
Those fears aren’t unfounded. 
Outside of the WNBA and women’s 
sports, the sports community has 
largely stayed silent. The WNBA 
started its most recent season in 
May featuring decals with Griner’s 
name and initials on every single 
court. The NBA, on the other hand, 
has mostly remained disengaged. 
Individuals and teams such as 
Stephen Curry and the Memphis 
Grizzlies have taken it upon them-
selves to show their support for 
Griner on occasion. But outside of 
women’s sports, the sports world 
has generally refrained from advo-
cating for Griner. 
And that’s the crux of the issue; 
The sports world can claim to sup-
port women’s sports as much as it 
wants to, but when it comes down 
to it, people refrain from making 
comments and in some cases, even 
ridicule those who do lend their 
voices.
Society 
doesn’t 
care 
about 
women in sports, and female ath-
letes — including at Michigan — 
notice. 
“When you compare Title IX 
and if you compare an NBA player 
that’s going to be there and in the 
same situation that she’s in, you 
could argue that they would either 
be back by now or that a lot more 
people would be involved to try to 
solve that,” Michigan guard Leigha 
Brown said at Big Ten Media Days 
on Oct. 12. 
Society makes it a habit to tell 
young female athletes that Title IX 
provides them with equality. But 
outside of mandates for equality in 
institutions receiving federal fund-

ing, where can women in sports 
look to see that society cares about 
them, that society values them?
Imagine a parallel: Picture LeB-
ron James or Patrick Mahomes 
— or any star male athlete, for that 
matter — being arrested in a for-
eign country. Now think of the out-
rage and demands for their return 
that would follow. There would be 
immense pressure, from all fronts, 
on the United States government 
to do whatever it takes to get them 
home. 
Brittney Griner deserves the 
same outrage. Not just from the 
women’s sports world, but from the 
entire sports world. 
“I think about Brittney every sin-
gle day and I pray for Brittney and 
her family every single day,” Michi-
gan women’s basketball coach Kim 
Barnes Arico said at Big Ten Media 
Days. “And I hope we’re working 
incredibly hard outside of our wom-
en’s basketball network, nationally, 
to bring her home.”
But right now, that simply isn’t 
the case. And if the entire sports 
world doesn’t get involved, Griner’s 
prospects remain the same: slim 
and dark.
Of course, there have been 
people doing everything they can 
to bring Griner home. Across the 
women’s basketball world, players 
and coaches have repeatedly called 
for her release and sent prayers her 
way. 
But the NBA has a far wider 
reach than the WNBA, with a much 
larger fanbase. More voices within 
the NBA community calling to 
bring Griner home could have a sig-
nificant impact.
“I think everybody in the Phoe-
nix community and the WNBA 
community and women’s basketball 
and basketball as a whole has done a 
fantastic job of keeping (Griner) top 
of heart and top of mind,” Cindy 
Brunson, the play-by-play voice of 
the Mercury told The Daily. “ … In 
the NBA because their platform is 
so gigantic, and their voices are so 
big, anytime they have the opportu-
nity to speak on it, it just keeps the 
issue top of heart and top of mind.”
Brunson — who works for vari-
ous other networks in addition to 
the Mercury — has spoken about 
Griner’s detention as much as 
she can and intends to do so on 
all broadcasts she is part of for as 
long as Griner remains detained. 
If the rest of the sports world joins 
Brunson and those who already 
are fighting for her freedom, that 
detention will likely be a lot shorter. 
When speaking to The Daily, 

Brunson suggested multiple ways 
to pressure the Biden adminis-
tration to work harder towards 
advocating for Griner’s release, 
including canceling the NBA’s 
Christmas games. That would 
show that the NBA actually cares, 
compelling the government to 
listen. Because right now, not 
enough people are showing that 
they give a damn to force the State 
Department to listen.
For things to change, NBA 
players, teams and fans have to 
show that getting Griner home is 
important to them. 
“If those teams decided, we’re 
not going to provide wall-to-wall 
basketball (on Christmas). We’re 
going to stay home with our 
families because (Griner) can’t,” 
Brunson said.
Brunson highlighted the exi-
gency of the situation. Griner has 
been away from home for eight 
months. That’s eight months 
away from her home, her wife, her 
family and her team. 
And while canceling Christ-
mas games would be a significant 
and unprecedented step, NBA 
players have refused to play to 
bring attention to social justice 
issues in the past. After the shoot-
ing of Jacob Blake in August 2020, 
the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlan-
do Magic boycotted their play-
off game which led to all three 
playoff games scheduled for that 
day also being postponed. Play-
ers used their platform, and the 
world took note. 
Yes, the situations are very dif-
ferent. What it showed, though, 
is that when athletes call atten-
tion to an issue that matters to 
them with a significant gesture, 
fans are forced to pay attention. 
Brittney Griner deserves that 
attention. She needs that atten-
tion to get home quickly, perhaps 
even to survive. 
There are many ways to call 
attention to Griner’s detention. 
But right now, all she gets from 
the majority of the sports world is 
inaction.
One of the best players in the 
WNBA has been detained in Rus-
sia for 249 days. Few outside of 
the women’s sports world have 
consistently brought attention to 
her plight. 
Women in sports are listening, 
and they’re hearing silence. 
And that, more than any legis-
lation like Title IX, more than any 
claims about supporting gender 
equality, is the clearest message 
being sent.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

LIZA
CUSHNIR

NICHOLAS STOLL
Managing Sports Editor

Ian Hume’s impact: 
as remembered by Michigan

CHARLIE PAPPALARDO
Daily Sports Writer

Last Friday night, just prior to 
their matchup, the lights dimmed 
and the No. 5 Michigan and Lake 
Superior State hockey teams lined 
up on their respective sides of the 
ice for a shared moment of silence. 
It was a solemn moment, but it 
also served as a clear reminder of 
what the Wolverines were playing 
for this past weekend. They weren’t 
just playing for themselves, or glory, 
or their future careers; they were 
playing for the memory of their 
longtime equipment supervisor — 
and friend — Ian Hume, who had 
sadly passed away the night before 
after a battle with cancer. 
In every play on the ice after that 
moment of silence, it was clear that 
Hume’s presence was still with his 
team. After two dominant perfor-
mances in which Michigan both 
swept and outscored the Lakers, 
10-3, Hume was top of mind for 
many of the Wolverines’ players and 
staff postgame, and his memory had 
only served to push them further. 
“He was a huge part of this orga-
nization,” junior defenseman Jacob 
Truscott said. “ … He was great 
to us, and obviously it’s sad to see 
someone like that go. He’s a huge 
part of our team. We’ve just got to 
honor him and keep playing for him 
every game.”
From conversations with play-
ers and staff one thing is clear: 
Hume’s impact will be felt far past 
his 33-year tenure at the Univer-
sity of Michigan. For starters, it’s 
clear that he was an expert at his 
job. After quite literally stumbling 
into the role under long-time coach 
Red Berenson, Hume spent the next 
three decades honing his craft. And 
his dedication to his work didn’t go 
unnoticed. 

“I’ve known (Hume) for a long 
time,” Michigan coach Brandon 
Naurato told The Daily. “ … And 
he’s a legend, very well respected 
by equipment managers from pro 
hockey to college.”
Freshman forward Adam Fan-
tilli shared a similar sentiment. 
“He was an amazing guy,” Fan-
tilli said. “An amazing equipment 
manager and I know he loved this 
team with everything he had.”
While on paper Hume’s job title 
may have been equipment super-
visor, a position usually seen as 
administrative, he understood that 
his role extended far past what most 
would expect. He understood him-
self to be an outlet for players to just 
talk. He consistently made himself 
available and instituted an open 
door policy for players to come in 
and talk about anything, hockey or 
otherwise. 
And it’s clear that while that 
wasn’t necessarily asked of him, it 
was something players needed. He 
was a friendly and supportive face 
for student athletes who needed 
affirmation, and he was always 
there to provide it. 
“He did so much for us,” junior 
forward Phillippe LaPointe said. 
“He wasn’t just an equipment man-
ager, he had an open door policy. 

And you know oftentimes I’d just 
sit there and shoot the (breeze) 
with him. … I’ve had some really 
tough conversations with him 
with adversity and stuff like that, 
so I’ve opened up to him, he’s 
opened up to me. And you know, 
we’ve always had that really good 
strong relationship where we can 
tell each other anything. I’ll be 
forever thankful to have him as a 
friend and mentor.”
Hume wasn’t just a staff mem-
ber who sharpened skates. He 
wasn’t just someone who got 
equipment from point A to point 
B. Heck, he wasn’t just an equip-
ment manager. He was a friend 
to everyone on the Michigan 
hockey team who needed him to 
be a friend, and he stood up for 
his athletes and colleagues when 
they needed someone to stand up 
for them.
That’s the part of Hume that 
won’t be forgotten, that’s the part 
of Hume that the Wolverines had 
in mind after they swept Lake 
Superior and that’s the part of 
Hume that Michigan has vowed 
to play the rest of their season for.
“We showed it this weekend, 
we played for him,” LaPointe said. 
“And I’m grateful for the memo-
ries that I have with him.”

ICE HOCKEY

With Saturday’s matchup against Michigan State looming, Jim Harbaugh has the 
opportunity to take control of the in-state rivalry.

Brittney Griner has spent the past 249 days in a Russian jail cell, and her appeal hearing is set to start on October 25.

FILE PHOTO/Daily
With the passing of Ian Hume, the No. 5 Michigan hockey team was playing for a 
greater purpose this weekend.

