The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
14 — Wednesday, Novemberm 2, 2022

Michigan volleyball takes down 
Michigan State for 10th straight match

MALLORY MOORE
Daily Sports Writer

Rivalry week continued in 
Ann Arbor into Sunday when 
the Michigan volleyball team 
(14-8 overall, 5-7 Big Ten) took 
on Michigan State (10-13, 1-11) at 
the Crisler Center. The Wolver-
ines’ win streak against the Spar-
tans extended to 10 straight wins 
over the past five years. Michigan 
relied on defensive plays both 
at the net and in the back row to 
extend this streak.
The Wolverines’ strong pres-
ence at the net made a statement 
from the onset of the match. They 
started the first set with numer-
ous attacks converted into kills, 
catching Michigan State’s defense 
off guard.
Junior 
outside 
hitter 
Alli-
son Jacobs led Michigan in kills 
with a total of nine for the game, 
helping to generate point scor-
ing opportunities at the net. Her 
success also played a role in the 
Wolverines’ 0.371 attacking rate 
in the first set, a stat that reflects 
Michigan’s strong offensive per-
formance.
This translated into a quick 
25-17 win for Michigan in the first 
set, clearly outmatching the Spar-
tans’ abysmal attack rate of 0.129. 
While the Wolverines’ offensive 
strength didn’t falter throughout 
the second set, which resulted 
in another 25-17 win, the third 
set saw defensive adjustments by 
Michigan State that sunk Michi-
gan’s attack rate down to a shock-

ing 0.077.
“Our goal is to hit above 0.250 
as a team,” Michigan coach Mark 
Rosen said. “It came down a little 
bit in that third set when we were 
trying some different stuff, so it 
got affected.” 
Even with new tactics being 
tested out in the third set and 
more defensive pushback, the 
Wolverines were still able to hold 
on and complete the 3-0 sweep 
against 
the 
Spartans. 
While 
offensive success was crucial to 
this win, Michigan’s defense both 
at the net and in the back row also 
played an integral role in extend-
ing their winning streak.
The strong defense at the net 
was reinforced by consistent 
backcourt play. Redshirt junior 
libero Hannah Grant ended the 
game with 15 digs, the most on 
Michigan. While not a season 
best, her efforts against Michigan 
State proved to be enough. But, 
this success wouldn’t be possible 
without, once again, work at the 
net.
“Blocking really helps, in my 
sense,” Grant said. “(The) blockers 
have been doing a phenomenal job 
of setting up a really good block so 
I can read around them. Working 
on us working together at practice 
has been really beneficial.”
The combined efforts of the 
blockers and Grant’s digs in the 
back helped the team keep the 
Spartans under a 0.155 attacking 
rate in each set. The Wolverines 
looked strong on both sides of the 
net in their rivalry match, allow-
ing them to take their 10th win in 

a row against Michigan State.
Jacobs, with her offensive 
success, also noted the impact 
of Michigan’s positions at the 
net. Without her teammates 
in prime position up front, she 
wouldn’t have as many oppor-
tunities to drive the Wolverines’ 
attack. The offense proved rock 
solid throughout each set in the 
sweep.
“I’m front row with amazing 
options and they hold blockers 
for me,” Jacobs said. “When I do 
get set, I’m in perfect position to 
succeed and I attribute that to 
my setters. We have been work-
ing on getting that first ball. So, 
if we get a good passing system, 
there are many options.”
The last time the Spartans 
beat Michigan was Nov. 15, 
2017. That streak speaks to 
the strength of the Wolver-
ines and the program they’ve 
created and maintained. An 
aggressive attack strategy and 
successful conversion to kills 
allowed Michigan to extend 
its lead in this year’s matchup, 
while defensive prowess in the 
back helped it hinder Michigan 
State’s success.
“I think we’re playing good 
volleyball,” Rosen said. “And 
that’s our focus. The winning 
and losing, you can’t always con-
trol. That depends a bit on who 
you play and how things go.” 
If the Wolverines continue to 
play good volleyball and lean on 
their play at the net, they might 
see similar outcomes in their 
upcoming Big Ten games.

VOLLEYBALL

SportsMonday: What we can learn from Donovan Edwards

JARED GREENSPAN
Managing Sports Editor

It happened late in the first 
quarter, following an explosive 
28-yard catch that set Michigan 
up at Michigan State’s four-yard 
line. The PA announcer bellowed 
“Donovan Edwards,” the recipi-
ent of J.J. McCarthy’s pass, while 
the majority of the 111,083 fans 
on hand unleashed a raucous 
applause. Thanks to Edwards, 
Michigan was suddenly poised to 
take an early lead. 
As I sat inside the Michigan 
Stadium press box, my mind 
raced back to Wednesday. That’s 
when I discovered that Edwards 
had retweeted a post containing 
disparaging, disgusting antise-
mitic rhetoric from Ye — formerly 
Kanye West — the now infamous 
face of a furious antisemitic move-
ment sweeping the nation. 
I 
didn’t 
think 
much 
of 
Edwards’s actions at the time. 
Perhaps it was a result of a sub-
conscious desensitization to hate 
speech, an unfortunate reality in 
the world that we live in. At this 
point, we have a formula that we 
regurgitate to handle these situa-
tions. 
Recently, that formula has 
been leaned on. In September, an 
extremist group known as GDL 
placed antisemitic fliers on porch-
es and driveways of off-campus 
residences throughout Ann Arbor. 
They distributed these fliers on 
the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jew-
ish New Year. 
In the aftermath, the Univer-
sity released a carefully-crafted 
statement, apologizing for GDL’s 
actions and reaffirming its com-
mitment to creating a secure, 

diverse 
environment 
inclusive 
of all subsets of the population — 
Jewish people included. 
In the wake of Edwards’s 
actions, I presumed the Univer-
sity and the athletic department 
would follow a similar course of 
action.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the 
case. The closest it got to a satis-
factory response was a tweet from 
Michigan President Santa Ono, 
but Ono’s words felt hollow amid 
the backdrop.
And so, while Edwards’ initial 
retweet — and his amplification 
of dangerous rhetoric — caused 
a dull pain, his preceding actions 
proved sharper. 
“The retweet was a glitch,” 
Edwards wrote Thursday morn-
ing, nearly 24 hours after the ini-
tial retweet. 
Beyond the preposterous claim 
— one has to press multiple but-
tons to retweet something, making 
a “glitch” an unlikely occurrence 
— the rest of Edwards’ reply only 
hurt more. He failed to mention 
the harm he caused to the Jewish 
community, nor any notion of his 
apparent antisemitic thought. 
Thursday evening, Edwards 
recognized his faults. 
“This has been a learning expe-
rience for me,” Edwards wrote. “I 
wish and hope that we are able as 
a society to rise from oppression 
and not discriminate off race, reli-
gion or ethnicity but look beyond 
into each person’s heart and see 
who they truly are as a human 
being. One Love.”
When asked for comment, 
a team spokesperson said that 
Edwards’s tweets reflect what he 
wishes to share at this time. Below 
that second tweet, Edwards post-
ed an additional statement: 

“I would like to make it clear: I 
apologize for mistakenly retweet-
ing a message that was so hurtful 
to so many especially those in the 
Jewish Community. As I stated 
earlier, I am unequivocally against 
racism, exploitation and oppres-
sion in all forms, including ste-
reotyping and trafficking in hate. 
I have nothing but love for others 
and I never judge anyone based on 
race or religion.”
It’s not my place to inform you 
how to react to that response. 
Maybe you brushed Edwards’s 
comments aside at first glance. 
Maybe you’ve stopped rooting for 
him all together. Perhaps you’re 
somewhere in the middle of that 
spectrum. 
For transparency purposes, I 
am yet to forgive Edwards, believ-
ing that actions speak louder 

than words — particularly words 
that are delayed and contradict 
themselves. I’ll wait for after the 
season to even consider forgive-
ness. That’s when Edwards and 
his teammates will venture to 
the Holocaust Museum alongside 
Michigan regent Jordan Acker, 
who is Jewish, to learn “first hand 
where hate speech leads.”
That’s when Edwards will 
learn, and he has a lot to learn. 
That much is clear. 
But so do all of us. 
We live in a world where 
hate reigns supreme. Edwards’s 
actions are the latest episode in a 
disturbing increase of antisemitic 
rhetoric, discourse that begins 
with influential figures boasting 
powerful platforms; while antise-
mitic rhetoric always exists, such 
people bring it to the surface. Ye 

has unleashed an endless spew 
of antisemitic tropes. The Brook-
lyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving has estab-
lished his support for “New World 
Order,” a disgusting antisemitic 
film predicated on conspiracy 
theories peddled by right-wing 
podcast host Alex Jones. 
“History is not supposed to 
be hidden from anybody,” Irving 
said Saturday night in a shambolic 
press conference. 
It’s not, and that’s a lesson we 
can apply now — just not in the 
context Irving envisions. 
Artists and athletes, whether it 
be Ye or Edwards, have platforms. 
Their voices have an influence 
that many of us will never have. 
Take Ye, for instance. His actions 
spurred a series of banners draped 
over Los Angeles freeways declar-
ing “Kanye was right,” a direct 

KATE HUA/Daily

consequence of his words. 
But other artists and athletes 
have influential platforms, too. 
None of Edwards’s teammates 
commented publicly on the matter 
— not that they should admonish 
Edwards, but to expose history, to 
make everyone aware of the harm 
that antisemitic rhetoric causes. 
Because platforms work both 
ways, and that’s something we all 
need to understand.
Everyone can be extra con-
scious of their actions, too. Per-
formances — whether athletic or 
artistic — too often cloak the dis-
turbing actions committed by the 
performers, allowing them to con-
tinue relatively unscathed. 
That’s what I thought about 
Saturday 
afternoon, 
walking 
down Packard Street. One tailgate 
after the next blasted Ye’s music, 
ranging from “Flashing Lights” to 
“Monster,” popular pregame bal-
lads. 
I thought back to that point 
again in the press box, with 
Edwards drawing his first career 
start and notching 80 total yards, 
helping the Wolverines beat their 
in-state rivals. Each of his plays 
elicited cheers. 
Perhaps a more conscious 
response would allow the story to 
remain top of mind. Each stream 
of a Ye song and each cheer for 
Edwards reinforces an unspoken 
notion: a notion that antisemi-
tism and hate is OK and that their 
actions are acceptable. 
Certainly, they are not any 
of those things. It is not okay to 
amplify antisemitic rhetoric at a 
time where hateful discourse is 
proliferating, or when it is not.
It’s time for us to learn that we 
have to act in a way that shows 
that. 
After Donovan Edwards retweeted antisemitic rhetoric on Wednesday, he – and all of us – has plenty to learn.

Blake Corum is finally getting 
his flowers

SPENCER RAINES
Daily Sports Editor

As Blake Corum sauntered up 
to the podium after Saturday’s 
game — a 29-7 win over in-state 
rival Michigan State — he was 
brimming with excitement. His 
face beamed, his smile seemed 
even wider than usual and he 
sure felt like talking.
And, why wouldn’t he?
Just eight games into the sea-
son, Corum has over 1,000 rush-
ing yards. He’s tied for the most 
rushing touchdowns in the coun-
try with 14, he’s top-10 in the 
country in rushing yards and he 
has legitimate Heisman Trophy 
aspirations.
For the first time in his career 
at Michigan, Corum is ‘the guy’ — 
and he’s letting everyone know it.
“Y’all like that, huh?” Corum 
said as he took his seat at the 
podium. “I thought Tuck’ was 
comin’? That’s what they said 
this offseason, right? … I just saw 
them running.”
He didn’t stop talking there, 
either, and he certainly didn’t 
stop smiling. When he was asked 
whether or not there was a lot of 
trash-talking during the game 
given the rivalry, he kept the 
same energy.
“We don’t talk we just do,” 
Corum said.
But, what about from the other 
side?
“You can only talk so much 
when you’re getting punished. 
(They) got quiet real quick.”
The Wolverines won on the 

line of scrimmage early and 
often. Behind Corum, they ran 
through the Spartans’ defense ad 
nauseam.
Corum had reason to talk, and 
on Saturday night, he finally got 
his vindication.
Through his first two seasons 
as a Wolverine, Corum never got 
to see the Paul Bunyan trophy, 
he never had his chance to be the 
No. 1 running back — he never got 
to have his moment.
Look at this very game last 
year. Corum had just 45 yards on 
13 carries, but that wasn’t all. He 
was part of the muffled exchange 
with then-freshman J.J. McCar-
thy that led to the fumble that 
gave Michigan State its game-
winning touchdown.
This year though? A bit bet-
ter: 33 carries, 177 yards and his 
team’s only two touchdowns.
Suffice to say, Corum finally 
got to see Paul Bunyan.
“You know, I’ve never seen 
Paul before, this was my first 
time,” Corum said. “So I wanted 
to make sure I greeted him right.”
He was referencing the pose 
he struck after his second touch-
down of the night: He planted his 
legs, pressed his fists against his 
waist and put his head to the side 
— the Paul Bunyan pose.
Another moment for Corum.
This year, that list of moments 
is getting long, but it’s been more 
than just a singular game or 
event. Two hundred and forty-
three yards against Maryland, 
five touchdowns against Con-
necticut and 166 yards against 
Penn 
State. 
His 
domination 

through every game is what has 
earned him the amount of rec-
ognition he has garnered.
But for Corum, that’s still not 
enough.
“I can handle more,” Corum 
said. “… Last year, when I went 
to the weight room… I was dis-
appointed, felt like I left some 
things out there. This offsea-
son, I was just working for a 
great year, not necessarily just 
one game. But obviously, it 
pays off, and I think it paid off 
today.”
Much has been made all 
season about the work Corum 
put in this offseason, about the 
muscle he added. But very rare-
ly does preseason talk come to 
fruition as vividly as it has for 
Corum. He is better this year 
than he was last year in every 
aspect of the game: speed, 
power, blocking, catching.
That’s at the crux of his 
ascension, that’s why Corum is 
finally starting to get attention 
at the national level and that’s 
why he might just be the best 
running back in the nation.
It goes beyond his perfor-
mance against Michigan State. 
At this point in the year, after 
the amount of continued suc-
cess that Corum has had, it 
becomes 
less 
about 
single 
moments where he takes the 
spotlight. 
In reality, this whole year has 
been Corum’s moment. And at 
this point, Corum is starting to 
realize that.
Maybe that’s why he can’t 
stop smiling.

FOOTBALL

ALYSSA SHEA MULLIGAN/Daily

With strong defensive play, Michigan earned its tenth-straight victory against in-state foe, Michigan State.

Sports

FOOTBALL

ANNA FUDER/Daily
Blake Corum continued to thrive as the lead back against the Spartans.

