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Posted by Patrick Moore - Volleyball - Fri, Sep 18, 2009
Karie Altman posted a career high 17 kills in MU's win on Friday night
Karie Altman posted a career high 17 kills in MU's win on Friday night
Site: Livonia, Mich. (Activities Center)
Score: No. 9 Madonna 3, Michigan-Dearborn 1 (25-27, 25-14, 25-9, 25-21)
Records: MU (14-1; 3-0 WHAC), UMD (3-12; 0-3 WHAC)
Next MU event: Tuesday, Sept. 22 vs. Davenport (at Livonia, Mich.)

BOX SCORE

LIVONIA, Mich. - - Behind a Liz Dempsey (Westland, Mich.) double-double (11 kills, 19 digs) and a career high 17 kills from sophomore middle hitter Karie Altman (Taylor, Mich.), the No. 9-ranked Madonna University volleyball team overcame a first set loss to sweep the next three sets in a 3-1 (25-27, 25-13, 25-9, 25-21) win over the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Friday (Sept. 18) night inside the Activities Center.
 
In addition to Altman and Dempsey's outstanding nights, MU (14-1; 3-0 WHAC) got 11 terminations from senior outside hitter Mary McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) and nine more from sophomore outside Katie Czarnecki (Chesterfield, Mich.) while senior Inta Grinvalds (Portage, Mich.) handed out 51 assists in the win.
 
Set one was the sloppiest of the four as neither side hit above .100 with UMD (3-12; 0-3 WHAC) leading the way at 0.77 and MU behind that a 0.64. The two teams combined for 19 errors in the first set which explained the eight ties and five lead changes. After the Wolves staved off set point to tie the opener at 25-25, back-to-back kills from Mallori McGucken and Sarah Gauer ended the set and gave UMD a 27-25 win.
 
Set two saw a different MU team come onto the floor as the Crusaders sided out at a 78 percent clip while connecting on 15 kills for a 25-14 win. The Crusaders jumped out to an early 11-5 lead before the Wolves called a time out. The break did little to stop the MU attack as the lead grew to 15-5 thanks to a pair of McGinnis kills and a Dempsey service ace. A Dempsey kill gave MU set point at 24-13 and a combo block from Altman and Grinvalds ended the set and pulled MU even at one set each.
 
The third set was MU's best of the night as the Crusaders connected at a .400 clip and sided out on eight of their nine chances. The Crusaders made just two hitting errors in 25 swings, taking the set 25-9. A Grinvalds kill from a Kathleen Donehue (New Hudson, Mich.) made it 13-5 in favor of the home side and saw UMD take a time out. The time out once again did not stop the MU offense as a pair of Dempsey terminations combined with a Grinvalds kill and a UMD error increased the cushion to 12 points at 17-5. A cross court kill from Anastasija Seremetjeva (Riga, Latvia) made it 23-9 and two UMD miscues gave MU the set victory and 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The final set of the evening was tight from start to finish, seeing nine ties and four lead changes. MU finally took the lead for good at 18-17 on a Czarnecki kill and the Crusaders used two more kills from Czarnecki along with terminations from Altman, Dempsey and Donehue down the stretch to seal up the 25-21 win and a 3-1 final in the match.
 

The Crusaders take the weekend off before swinging back into WHAC play on Tuesday (Sept. 22) night when Davenport comes to the Activities Center in a 7pm first serve.