<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3Lwf1b_0wF9NJkY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Lwf1b_0wF9NJkY00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>Jenna Hickey/Daily. Buy this photo.</figcaption></figure>Valentina Vaulet made a joke after the Michigan volleyball team’s sweep of Washington. “We got lucky,” the sophomore outside hitter quipped. The joke lands because the Wolverines’ success could only have come through preparation and adaptability up and down its lineup. Luck had little to do with it. Despite injuries to key players and a strong defensive performance from the Huskies, Michigan walked away with a sweep as it made adjustments and found a way to win. The first set was an even matchup, with most of the emphasis placed on offense. Only in the second set did the Wolverines find themselves suffering from the Huskies’ blocking and severely missing star junior middle blocker Serena Nyambio, who was out with an injury. Play after play, Washington outside hitter Maddie Endsley and middle blocker Elise Hani stifled Michigan’s opportunities. The duo recorded three blocks on the stat sheet in the second, but their impact was far greater than that. Hani, along with Huskies outside hitter Emoni Bush, blocked a number of attempts from the Wolverines, shutting down any offense they attempted to generate. It killed momentum for Michigan, and as its offense struggled, the Wolverines began to make sloppy mistakes, leaving the door open for Washington to go up 12-6. Michigan couldn’t produce blocks of its own, especially not with Washington deliberately killing balls at angles that caused them to deflect off the hands of sophomore setter Morgan Burke and junior middle blocker Jacque Boney and go out of bounds. It seemed like the Wolverines were on the verge of collapse under the weight of the Huskies’ defensive power.But remarkably, Michigan did not crumble. A kill from Vaulet broke Washington’s second-set run, sending the Wolverines on a run of their own. This doesn’t mean the Huskies took their foot off the gas, as they continued to send balls back to Michigan’s side of the net. But the Wolverines adjusted their strategy, preparing for the blocks and getting set to recover the ball and hit it over again. They recovered and attacked until Washington made an inevitable mistake or they finally surpassed the blockers to hit a final kill. Michigan also moved away from big kills and toward more medium court shots that landed amid the Huskies and tips that went just over the heads of the opposing blockers. “We had really long rallies, and we knew they weren’t just going to give us the ball — they’re a low-air team,” Burke said. “We listened to the scout — those roll shots, just finding other ways to score that weren’t direct, like kills or hard hits was one way that we just took them out.” The Wolverines remained adaptable throughout the third set. While Washington’s blockers continued to cause chaos, Michigan worked around them and found ways to score. In Nyambio’s absence, Burke took on a more net-front presence, recording a block assist. Senior libero Maddie Cuchran stepped in to take balls that would normally have gone to Burke, giving Burke added flexibility. And freshman middle blocker Jenna Hanes recorded five kills and ten total attacks as she stepped into Nyambio’s role.“We were pretty efficient in the first set, and then not so much in the second,” Wolverines coach Erin Virtue said. “So I think they made some adjustments with their blockers. I think it took us a little bit to just stay ahead of that. But by the third — we hit .500 in the third set. Just to stay ahead of that was a really, really nice job by our attackers. I think it’s easy to just kind of stay in your own rhythm or have one shot, but to be able to see Washington’s adjustment and be able to adapt was really good.”Despite the prowess of Washington’s blockers, Michigan used the flexibility of its roster to adapt and control the game. Even in the wake of a key player’s absence, the Wolverines came out on top. They didn’t need luck — they had versatile players and a dynamic strategy to power them to a sweep.</div></body>

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Michigan overcomes Washington blockers en route to sweep

Valentina Vaulet made a joke after the Michigan volleyball team’s sweep of Washington. “We got lucky,” the sophomore outside hitter quipped. The joke lands because the Wolverines’ success could only have come through preparation and adaptability up and down its lineup. Luck had little to do with it. Despite injuries to key players and a strong defensive performance from the Huskies, Michigan walked away with a sweep as it made adjustments and found a way to win.