Michigan looking to overcome FSU in 2011 NCAA Volleyball tournament
The women’s volleyball team of Michigan State University punched its ticket for the regional round of 2011 NCAA tournament after scoring 2-0 in the first two rounds. The 3rd-seeded Michigan defeated teams from Baylor and Stanford, and headed into
the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five years. Michigan (22-12) dropped only two sets in the previous two matches and settled for the big fight against Florida State (26-5) at the regional semi-finals on Friday, December 9. They will take on FSU
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Sports Pavilion.
This is the consecutive sixth season that Wolverines of Michigan University are up for the big dance in the NCAA tournament. Previously, they were featured in the Sweet 16 in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
The 12th-seeded Florida State University will not be an easy challenge for them. The Gators of FSU have a better win/loss record in the regular season. They dropped only six matches in the regular season and pulled off success in 25 matches. Furthermore,
they displayed incredible volleyball action in their last two matches of NCAA tournament and recorded a hitting percentage of .308.
The scoring machine Kristy Jaeckel is a big threat for Michigan State. She led the Gators with strong offense and clipped 3.41 kills per set. In addition to strong offense, the FSU is strong defensively. Gators’ libero Taylor Unroe is an excellent defender.
She led her team with 3.70 digs per set in the previous two matches of the tournament. Furthermore, Michigan will have to keep a keen eye on Chanel Brown, who is famous for her wonderful game tactics. She recorded 5.59 assists per set and played an instrumental
role in the success of her Gators.
Michigan’s senior Alex Hunt will probably be the most highlighted player in the semi-final. She contributed 17 kills in the first match against Baylor and scored the identical number of kills in the next match against Stanford. She has great ability to perform
better in under pressure situation and Michigan will heavily rely on Hunt. Other than her, Lexi Dannemiller and libero Sloane Donhoff will be active on the centre court. Let’s wait and see how Michigan deals with the tough rival.
Speaking of the upcoming match against FSU, the Head Coach of Michigan Mark Rosen said: "They're a very good team. I'm sure they're watching us and seeing things that they can exploit on us. I think it will be a really good match. Both teams play well, which
will make for a great match, which is what you want at this point in the year. There are certainly things that they can do really well, that we're going to be challenged by. But I also think there are some things that we hopefully can exploit a little bit
to help us out."
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