{"id":3884,"date":"2025-12-01T07:49:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T07:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/usc-power-prevents-michigan-from-delivering-in-crucial-moments\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T07:49:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T07:49:08","slug":"usc-power-prevents-michigan-from-delivering-in-crucial-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/usc-power-prevents-michigan-from-delivering-in-crucial-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"USC power prevents Michigan from delivering in crucial moments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Looking to secure a ranked win against a superior opponent in No. 14 Southern California on Friday, the Michigan volleyball team had to perform at a near-perfect level. <\/p>\n<p>With both teams defined by their strong frontlines, their play styles were set to clash. Strong possessions for the Wolverines in order to maintain momentum against a formidable opponent were key. While Michigan had plenty of opportunities to capitalize on, it was the inability to close enough of them out that led to a loss. <\/p>\n<p>The earliest critical moment came with the Trojans leading 19-18 in the first set. After a wide-out serve from Michigan junior setter Madison Burke, each team got its fair share of opportunities and plenty of free balls. At a tone-setting point for the Wolverines, Michigan hit many passive shots, giving USC middle blocker Leah Ford the chance to kill the ball right at the Wolverines back row.\u00a0She seized the chance, putting away the point as the Trojans won the set.<\/p>\n<p>Towards the end of the set, USC was too strong and aggressive for Michigan to overcome. While unable to convert the first two set points, the Trojans converted the crucial set point on their third attempt, utilizing a quick, surprise right-side kill by setter Reese Messer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>As the match continued, the second set portrayed a similar story for the Wolverines. It continued to be a close fight with nine ties and five lead changes in the second set alone. Michigan had its opportunities to capitalize and take the set, however, USC was there every step of the way.<\/p>\n<p>With the Wolverines needing a strong possession to gain momentum late in the second set, the Trojans once again utilized their strength, this time from their frontline. USC recorded one block and three kills in a 4-0 stretch that flipped a one-point deficit into a three-point lead. These crucial moments were important in shaping the remainder of the match.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ball can fly either way,\u201d Michigan coach Erin Virtue said. \u201cBut there were a few points we left on the table in sets one and two that could help navigate the way that the match went.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The third set was yet again highlighted by eight ties and three lead changes. While the Wolverines won this set, Michigan seemed to want to do anything but close it out. Despite holding a late four-point lead, the Wolverines squandered and allowed the Trojans to get right back into it. USC relied heavily on power in this stretch, recording five kills and two service aces, coming just short of the comeback and stealing the set from Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Even with the Wolverines getting on the board, they just couldn\u2019t get out of their own way. In a moment where Michigan had the chance to flip the match in its favor rather than falter completely to the Trojans, USC came up big by further demonstrating its pure strength. In back-to-back must-have points for the Wolverines, the Trojans created two straight attack errors from Michigan by creating a strong presence at the frontline. For the remainder of this match, it was all USC.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIt was super evenly matched,\u201d Virtue said. \u201cThen the fourth, USC just kind of put together some pretty clean volleyball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The final set was near-perfect for the Trojans, recording a hitting percentage of .444. Their strength in efficiency was too much for the Wolverines to handle. In the fourth set alone, USC outside hitter London Wijay had seven kills, Messer was responsible for 15 assists and opposite hitter Abigail Mullen recorded two service aces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On an emotional senior night, Michigan looked to close the season on a high note and steal a ranked win from the Trojans. In the crucial moments down the stretch, USC gave its A-game and refused the Wolverines a chance in this match.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking to secure a ranked win against a superior opponent in No. 14 Southern California on Friday, the Michigan volleyball team had to perform at a near-perfect level. With both teams defined by their strong frontlines, their play styles were set to clash. Strong possessions for the Wolverines in order to maintain momentum against a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1464,3820,222,1321,2261,3819,3183],"class_list":{"0":"post-3884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-crucial","9":"tag-delivering","10":"tag-michigan","11":"tag-moments","12":"tag-power","13":"tag-prevents","14":"tag-usc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3884","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=3884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3886,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3884\/revisions\/3886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}