The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
NCAA tournament: volleyball In 15 seasons, Rosen has built Michigan into a respected program within the country's most challenging conference. The Maize and Blue have earned 13 NCAA berths, advancing to the Sweet 16 on five occasions, an Elite Eight in 2009 and the program's first Final Four in 2012. With only a single senior, Claire McElheny, graduating from last year's team, the belief and expectation was that this Michigan squad would find even greater success in the Big Ten and put itself in a position to make another semifinals run. Early on, the results looked promising; the Wolverines were 10-1 after 11 nonconference contests and were ranked No. 10 nationally when they traveled to Columbus for the start of league action Sept. 27. However, U-M went 4-6 in its first 10 conference contests, including a 2-5 mark against ranked foes, and started showing cracks that would only magnify as the losing continued and dissension grew. "Even though it's mostly the same people, it's a different team and a different scenario, and there is no question the expectations affected us," Rosen said. "You go into a fifth set, and you start to think, 'What if we lose? What will people think of us?' And so it's natural to put added pressure on your shoulders and to try to do too much. "Individually, the same athlete that may have been happy with her role last year, just playing free and enjoying the ride, may suddenly feel pressure from family, friends and herself to be something more than that this year, and those expectations become a challenge to manage both personally and within the team dynamic. "The thing we realized towards the end of the year was this team had a different challenge than any team in Michigan volleyball history because no team ever had to follow a Final Four. "We didn't handle that very well. There was no road map for us. Now there is." Though Michigan will graduate five seniors, including NCAA starters Molly Toon and Jennifer Cross, U-M will return 11 players, and is poised to learn from its hardship this season. "The great thing is, for our rising junior class, and for our lone senior, Lexi Dannemiller, they now know what it's like to reach the top of the mountain and they also know how it feels to be frustrated and to underachieve," Rosen said. "They've seen both sides, which is a positive if you use it, and will have a better idea how to build a team. "We went the first eight years never getting past the second round. Then we made it to the Sweet 16 in five of the next six. This year we're not there, and it's motivating. I don't want to be home this early again, and that's the attitude of our program." — Michael Spath