Mirrors are supposed to be direct reflections, but looks can be deceiving.
On Friday, the Michigan volleyball team (7-20 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) fell in three sets to its near-perfect opposite, Purdue (19-8, 13-5). Their worlds are opposite; the Wolverines are third from the bottom in the conference while the Boilermakers are fourth from the top. But in a game that should have been a blowout, Michigan gave Purdue a fight in its 25-18, 25-22, 25-17 loss.
The Wolverines kept it close early in the first set, but a few small point runs from Purdue gave it the set. A multitude of errors — such as service errors from a Michigan team that has consistently served well all season — as well as Purdue’s strength on unblocked cross-court kills, from their powerful outside hitters ultimately doomed Michigan in the first set. The Wolverines, evidently, couldn’t mirror their opponent’s unblemished play.
The second set looked to go much the same way as Michigan fell down 8-1 after failing to block tips and repeatedly making errors. But a timeout gave it a moment to breathe, and the Wolverines broke Purdue’s four-point run with a kill from freshman outside hitter Valentina Vaulet. Michigan dug in during the second set and played gritty volleyball. The Wolverines dove after balls on the floor, reflected Purdue’s hits back at them through key blocks and hit good kills that Purdue could not return.
“I liked the way we responded after set one, and the beginning of set two where we fell down 8-1,” Michigan coach Erin Virtue said. “I liked the response after that.”
The Wolverines’ response was not enough to close the set, though they held Purdue off for three set points before ultimately conceding. Purdue continuously surprised Michigan with tricky tips and vicious hits like the one that ended the set, and the Wolverines sabotaged themselves by committing seven attack errors.
Michigan maintained that mental resilience in the third set, battling back from a 5-1 deficit to go ahead 7-6 in one of its few leads of the night. Vicious hits from Vaulet and good blocks from redshirt freshman outside hitter Amalia Simmons and junior middle blocker Jacque Boney gave Michigan glimmers of hope. But as hard as they battled, the Wolverines ultimately fell when Simmons attempted a sloppy tip over the net and was rebuffed by Purdue’s strong defense at the net.
It was a play that perfectly reflected Michigan’s game throughout the night. The tip was the right idea; Purdue had earned many points off tips throughout the night, and Simmons was hoping to surprise them by using their trick against them. But the Wolverines could not finish as smoothly as Purdue could, and ultimately, the play fell short.
“Tonight I think we made, like I said, a few too many errors early,” Virtue said. “And then we had to play it safe. And so I think we need to stay aggressive, but be smart with our attacking as well.”
It was a tough loss for a Michigan team that has come so far from its dismal start to the season, but it signifies how far it has to go. Purdue scrambled several times when the Wolverines made surprising plays, which shows they had bursts of success amid an eventual defeat. Michigan hopes it peered through the looking glass at what its future might be next season.
“We have a nice class coming in to round out those that we lose, and so I’m really looking forward to getting back to work,” Virtue said. “We haven’t had a full offseason with this coaching staff and this team, and so that’ll be really nice to be able to put some things together.”
At the end of a poor season, it is a new year for Michigan volleyball, and a chance for that mirror to flip.