The Michigan water polo team improved its conference win total to 13 on Saturday in Bloomington, while suffering its lone conference setback of the season on Saturday.

No. 13 Michigan (13-11 overall) bettered to 13-1 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association, after defeating No. 15 Indiana 9-7 and falling to No. 15 Princeton 17-16.

In its morning game against Princeton, Michigan jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind goals from senior Maribeth Sitkowski and freshman Erin Brown.

After giving up two goals to tie the game 2-2, the Wolverines jumped out quickly once more in the second period, taking a 4-2 lead.

But Michigan lacked defensive intensity, allowing Princeton to even the score 6-6 going into halftime.

"We had enough offensive power, but we allowed a lot of goals," Michigan coach Amber Drury-Pinto said.

Princeton carried this momentum into the third period, opening up a 10-7 lead over the Maize and Blue.

Michigan tied the score at 16 in the fourth quarter, before giving up the eventual game winner with less than two minutes remaining.

Princeton won 17-16. The loss snapped Michigan's eight-game winning streak.

"(The girls) were probably more angry about it than anything," Drury-Pinto said about the loss. "We played such poor defense."

Going into their second game against host Indiana, Michigan was anxious to recover from the morning's defeat.

"It made us want it just a little bit more against Indiana," said Michigan assistant Bernice Orwig.

"I think it fired us up to play against Indiana and to hopefully see Princeton again in our conference championships," Drury-Pinto said.

After their high-scoring affair with Princeton, the Wolverines knew they would have to up their defensive intensity to defeat Indiana.

"We went out a little bit harder on them defensively because that was what we did not do against Princeton," Orwig said. "We changed up a few things and it worked."

After trailing 2-1 against Indiana, the Wolverines rallied to score three of the next four goals and take a 4-3 halftime lead.

The Hoosiers scored two quick goals in the second half before the teams traded goals back and forth. The Wolverines were down 7-6 with less than a minute to go when junior Julie Nisbit netted the game-tying goal to send the game to overtime.

"I was very excited that someone stepped up," Drury-Pinto said. "To have Julie step up was incredible."

The first overtime period was all Michigan would need, as senior Jen Crisman and Brown each found the back of the net to take the game 9-7.

Freshman Betsey Armstrong was outstanding in goal for the Wolverines, making a school-record 16 saves, including two in overtime.

Drury-Pinto was glad to leave Bloomington with the win.

"There's a lot of rivalry with Indiana, and the girls take a lot of pride in those games, so that was huge,"Drury-Pinto said. "It made the trip home a lot shorter."