ANN ARBOR, MI - Toledo (4-4) put up a strong fight but couldn't prevent No. 25 Michigan from improving its record to a perfect 8-0 in Saturday's first match of the Michigan Pepsi Challenge at Cliff Keen Arena. UT dropped a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-17) decision to the Wolverines and is now winless in 13 all-time meetings in the series.

Senior RSH Shannon Strachan paced the Rockets' offense with nine kills and a .381 attack percentage in her first three-set match of the season. Freshman Amber DeWeerdt notched a team-high 15 digs, while juniors Stephanie Kersting and Liz Sundburg led the way at the net with three blocks apiece.

Senior Beth Karpiak was the Wolverines' top offensive performer with 14 kills and a .542 hitting percentage. Four Michigan players ended the match with double-digit digs, and the Wolverines held Toledo to just a .046 hitting percentage in the match.

Michigan jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the first set. The Wolverines' largest lead of the set was 12 at 22-10 after Karpiak put away four consecutive points. UT made a small run to close the gap to 24-17 but it wasn't enough.

Strachan played a key role with five kills early in the second set helping the Rockets to a 10-8 lead and forcing the Wolverines to call a timeout. Michigan answered by taking a 12-11 lead, but UT stayed right with the hosts and took a 17-16 advantage on another Strachan kill. UM then took control of the set with five straight points and a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set, Michigan took a 13-11 lead on back-to-back kills by Karpiak. The Rockets cut the lead to one at 16-15, before a pair of Toledo errors and a block by Karpiak helped push the U-M advantage to four at 20-16.

Toledo wraps up play at Michigan's Pepsi Challenge later today with a matchup vs. Oakland (3-5). First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.