2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball swept out of NCAA Tournament
Mike Zoller
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Sports
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When the two teams met Aug. 31, the Wolverines swept Miami in three straight games at Millett Hall. Friday night the two teams played in Ann Arbor, Mich. where the home crowd was too much for the 'Hawks to handle and they were swept in three straight games and out of the NCAA Tournament.
Playing in front of their home crowd, the Wolverines looked superior in every aspect of the game over the stagnant 'Hawks.
"It was awesome," Michigan's Katie Bruzdzinski said of the home crowd. "We didn't know what to expect, but the fans were into it and it was great."
Michigan didn't give the RedHawks much of a chance in the first game. With the game tied at nine, Bruzdzinski and middle blocker Lyndsay Miller opened up the game with dominating play at the net.
The Wolverines opened up a 15-10 lead thanks in part to Bruzdzinski and her two aces.
Miami found itself down 22-12 and after a timeout by Miami Head Coach Carolyn Condit nothing seemed to work for the 'Hawks, as they fell in the first game 30-16.
"(The loss) brought the energy down early in the match," Miami middle hitter Carli Reihman said. "We were expecting them to have big plays but we expected to play better."
Game two showed little improvement from Miami, while there was continued dominance by Bruzdzinski's spikes and serves. Miami had the early 8-6 lead but some errors turned the score around on Miami and the RedHawks trailed 12-9. Michigan didn't slow up and went on to win game two 30-18.
Down two games, Miami went into the locker room trying to figure out how to solve the
Michigan attack.
Miami showed a little life in the third game trying to salvage the match. For the first time in the match, the RedHawks hit the 20-point mark and were down just one to the Wolverines late in the game 21-20.
Michigan seemed to have its back against the ropes and was forced to call its first timeout of the match to kill Miami's momentum.
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