Talk about an up-and-down weekend.
The No. 15 Michigan volleyball team marched into State College on Friday to take on No. 3 Penn State. Riding a two-game win-streak, the Wolverines had a great opportunity to upset the four-time defending Big Ten Champions. But after coming out tentatively, Michigan became the eighth Big Ten opponent swept by the Nittany Lions (8-0 Big Ten, 16-2 overall) this season, dropping the match 30-16, 30-28, 30-22.
Saturday was a different story. The Wolverines brought their own brooms, taking down an athletic Ohio State squad (30-27, 30-27, 30-28) for the first time since 2003.
“It’s always good to beat a quality program like Ohio State, especially at their place,” Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. “I just thought the whole team played well.”
No current Wolverine had beaten her arch-rival, but the senior class made sure it didn’t graduate without beating the Buckeyes (2-6, 8-9).
Katie Bruzdzinski recorded 19 kills and four aces. Stesha Selsky had 26 digs. Lyndsay Miller scored eight kills and two blocks of her own. And Sarah Draves tallied four kills and four blocks.
In game one, Michigan (4-4, 16-4) trailed 22-17. After tying the game at 25, the Wolverines ended the stanza on a 5-2 run.
Selsky’s presence was felt in game two, as the Buckeyes recorded nine attack errors. Sophomore Veronica Rood, who had 10 kills in the match, slammed four kills in the game.
Like game two, Michigan started game three hot, leading 8-2 after two kills and an ace from Brudzdinski. But as the Wolverines have done numerous times this season, they lost the lead and found themselves down 14-12. Michigan fought back to tie the game at 24, and it was Bruzdzinski who put the Wolverines up for good, 25-24.
Michigan will continue its Big Ten schedule when it hosts Indiana and Purdue next weekend.