Michigan Hits the Road to take on No. 19 Illinois, Northwestern

THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 1 -- at No. 19 Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7:30 p.m. CDT
TV: FS1 | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, Nov. 2 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video

• Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Rosen Report

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The University of Michigan volleyball team (13-7, 6-4 Big Ten) travels to the Land of Lincoln this weekend, taking on No. 19-ranked Illinois (13-3, 7-1 Big Ten) on Friday (Nov. 1) at 7:30 p.m. CDT in Champaign, and Northwestern (12-4, 8-0 Big Ten) on Saturday (Nov. 2) in Evanston, Illinois, at 7 p.m. CDT. Friday's contest will be broadcast live on FS1 while Saturday's match will be streamed live on BTN Plus.

Michigan Against the Top 25

• Friday's match against No. 19 Illinois will mark the fifth ranked opponent Michigan has played in its last six games.

• The Wolverines are looking for their first win against a top-25 opponent in 2019 as they are 0-4 overall (at No. 5 Nebraska, 3-0; vs. No. 8 Penn State, 3-1; vs. No. 7 Minnesota 3-2; vs. No. 6 Wisconsin, 3-1) and 0-1 on the road.

• Michigan's last regular-season win over a top-25 team was a 3-1 road victory over No. 5 Wisconsin (Nov. 4, 2018).

20+ Jump Street

• Sophomore Paige Jones was the first Michigan player to have 25 kills or more in a match in nearly a year (Carly Skjodt, 27 on Oct. 26, 2018) when she had a career-best 26 against No. 7 Minnesota on Friday (Oct. 25).

• Jones followed that performance with a 21-kill showing against No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday (Oct. 27), marking the first time in her career she has had 20 or more in back-to-back matches.

Aces Wild

• Michigan ranks second in the Big Ten in aces per set (1.65), and the tandem of Paige Jones (0.39) and freshman May Pertofsky (0.39) have fared well from the service line as individuals.

• Pertofsky and Jones are tied for fifth in the conference and are 84th in the nation in aces per set.

Double-Double Trouble

• Senior Sydney Wetterstrom registered double-doubles in back-to-back matches (Oct. 25-27), and has three in her last four matches. The Longmont, Colorado, native had 11 kills and a match-high 18 digs against No. 7 Minnesota (Oct. 25), and added 10 kills and 16 digs against No. 6 Wisconsin (Oct. 27). Wetterstrom has eight double-doubles in her career, with seven of them coming this season.

Where They Rank

• U-M ranks near the top of the Big Ten in multiple statistical categories, including the second-best mark in aces per set (1.65), that also ranks 35th in the NCAA. The Wolverines have the third-best hitting percentage (.267) in the league, which ranks 25th in the NCAA, and is third in the conference in kills per set (13.64).

Scouting the Opposition

No. 19 Illinois
U-M trails, 50-26, in the all-time series against the Fighting Illini
Illinois comes into the weekend with an overall record of 10-9 and holds a Big Ten record of 5-5. The Fighting Illini have several individuals at or near the top in the league's individual standings, including Jacqueline Quade, who leads the conference in kills per set (4.28) and attacks per set (12.26). Setter Diana Brown is fifth in the Big Ten in assists per set (10.74).

Northwestern
U-M leads, 46-29, in the all-time series against the Wildcats
The Wildcats hold the distinction as the only winless team in Big Ten action, going 0-10 to start league play while holding an overall record of 9-13. Leading the way for Northwestern is freshman phenom Temi Thomas-Ailara, who ranks first in the Big Ten in total points (385.5), and is second in kills per set (4.18), attacks per set (10.90) and points per set (4.94).

Michigan under Rosen

The 2019 volleyball campaign marks the program's 47th season and 21st under head coach Mark Rosen. In his time leading the Maize and Blue, Rosen has compiled a 421-261 record and guided Michigan to 17 of its 20 NCAA postseason appearances. In addition to serving as the longest-tenured volleyball coach at Michigan, Rosen is the winningest coach in program history.