\n
Facing its second consecutive ranked opponent, the Michigan volleyball team came out swinging.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But No. 7 Wisconsin (11-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) was more than up to the challenge, harnessing strong leadership in a hard-fought clash with the Wolverines (11-4, 1-3). Ultimately, Michigan\u2019s tenacity wasn\u2019t enough to secure an upset, as it fell in straight sets to the Badgers, 3-0.<\/p>\n
Power was paramount for both teams early in the first set, as star players roused the match into an offensive shootout. Wolverines graduate outside hitter Allison Jacobs and Wisconsin outside hitter Mimi Colyer, each top five in the Big Ten in kills, set the tone for their respective teams. Colyer started the game off with a powerful kill, while a subsequent rally was finished emphatically by Jacobs.<\/p>\n
Michigan came flying out of the blocks, taking advantage of its opponent\u2019s service issues to maintain control of the first set\u2019s offensive momentum. But the Badgers responded with a quick Colyer kill and a block to tie the match at six early.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nKey to the Wolverines\u2019 strong start was their opponents\u2019 difficulty in establishing themselves at the net. Senior middle blocker Serena Nyambio\u2019s three blocks prevented Wisconsin\u2019s prolific offense from ramping up, as Michigan led, 19-16.<\/p>\n
As the Wolverines looked to close out a first set victory, Colyer refused to be denied by Michigan\u2019s defense. Her impressive individual performance, combined with an improvement in service efficiency, rallied the Badgers to tie the set at 20 apiece. Once afforded the opportunity to settle into the match, the Wisconsin offense hummed, seizing control to go on a late run and take the first set, 25-22.<\/p>\n
Both teams maintained a high level of play entering the second set, as the battle between a strong Wolverine front row and Wisconsin\u2019s orderly passing characterized the proceedings. Critical in sustaining Michigan\u2019s attack was excellent playmaking from junior setter Morgan Burke, who led the Wolverines with 29 assists and 11 digs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very back and forth the whole entire match, and I think we did a good job of just staying together, working point by point,\u201d Burke said.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like there were many runs that the other team got on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The back-and-forth rhythm of the set played to Michigan\u2019s strengths by highlighting its dynamic playstyle. As Burke set up Demetrician for a kill to put the Wolverines up 11-8, they finally appeared to be in the driver\u2019s seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nYet Colyer was the catalyst for another Badger comeback, as her efficient hitting, coupled with service errors from Michigan, put Wisconsin back on top midway through the second set, 15-14.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The underlying competition between each team\u2019s premier attacker proved integral to the outcome of the set. Although Wolverines kill leader Jacobs hit nine kills by the end of the second, her four attack errors allowed the Badgers to regain possession and press the attack. In comparison, Colyer\u2019s 15 kills, accompanied by only a single error, denied Michigan opportunities to establish momentum. This proved to be the difference that pushed Wisconsin through to win the second set, 25-22.<\/p>\n
By the third set, the Wolverines faced an uphill battle against the Badgers, despite an initial 10-8 lead. Wisconsin once again responded by rallying off four straight points, as it began to find a comfortable groove. The Badgers\u2019 front row also adjusted to their previous struggles by pushing forward to the net, overwhelming Michigan and finishing the match with 11 blocks to the Wolverines\u2019 five.<\/p>\n
As the teams continued to exchange blows, the set went down to the wire. Michigan remained trailing late, but another Burke-Jacobs connection brought it within arm\u2019s length, 19-18. Even so, amid a frantic, rapidly accelerating set, the Wolverines were unable to slow down Colyer as she connected on three late kills, leading her team to a third set victory, 25-20.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Michigan\u2019s commitment to playing their offensive style of volleyball fed into the strengths of its opponent: the faster the match became, the more they struggled to defend Wisconsin\u2019s star.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cYou know, we\u2019re not gonna stop her,\u201d Wolverines coach Erin Virtue said. \u201cI don\u2019t know that anyone does, but we had to slow her down. \u2026 We just didn\u2019t do a good enough job.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its duel with Wisconsin\u2019s offensive juggernaut, the Wolverines played the match on their own, fast-paced terms. But by its end, Colyer and the Badgers showed them that those who live by the sword can die by it too.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n
Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facing its second consecutive ranked opponent, the Michigan volleyball team came out swinging.\u00a0 But No. 7 Wisconsin (11-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) was more than up to the challenge, harnessing strong leadership in a hard-fought clash with the Wolverines (11-4, 1-3). Ultimately, Michigan\u2019s tenacity wasn\u2019t enough to secure an upset, as it fell in straight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[593,222,392,466,2656,1352],"class_list":{"0":"post-3047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-falls","9":"tag-michigan","10":"tag-slow","11":"tag-stars","12":"tag-unable","13":"tag-wisconsin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3047"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3049,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3047\/revisions\/3049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}