Midweek Match Has Michigan Set to Play at Indiana for First Time in Three Years

» Michigan travels to Indiana to play a midweek match against the Hoosiers.
» The Wolverines and Hoosiers will play in Bloomington for the first time since 2018.
» U-M looks to run its win streak against IU to four matches.

THIS WEEK
Wednesday, Oct. 20 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 7 p.m.
TV: B1G+ | Live Stats | Live Video

• Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Rosen Report

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team (11-6, 4-4 Big Ten) will kick off a road week of Big Ten Conference action by traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Indiana (8-12, 2-6 Big Ten) Wednesday (Oct. 20) at 7 p.m. inside Wilkinson Hall. Wednesday night's match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.

Wolverine Bites

• The Wolverines look to up their winning streak over the Hoosiers to four matches on Wednesday, having won the previous three showdowns with IU. This will be the first time U-M has played in Wilkinson Hall. The last time the two teams played in Bloomington was Oct. 31, 2018 (a 3-1 Indiana victory in University Gym).

• U-M also travels to Champaign, Ill., this week to take on Illinois. The Wolverines and Illini, originally scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CDT, are now scheduled to play at 3 p.m. CDT on Saturday (Oct. 23).

• The Big Ten Conference has seven programs represented in the top 30 of the NCAA RPI (through matches of Oct. 17). Wisconsin (4) leads all teams, followed by Purdue (6), Ohio State (8), Nebraska (14), Penn State (21), Minnesota (22) and Michigan (26). The Wolverines' Saturday opponent, Illinois, ranks 35th.

• Junior May Pertofsky has once again taken the lead in the Big Ten for service aces per set, averaging 0.56 per set on the season. The Los Angeles, Calif., native had four aces against Maryland Friday (Oct. 15) and came back Saturday (Oct. 16) to ace No. 3 Wisconsin three times. Pertofsky leads the conference in both aces per set and total aces (35) on the campaign. The opposite hitter's 16 aces in Big Ten play is nearly halfway to the U-M record of 33 for aces in conference play set by Fiona Davidson in 1992.

• Pertofsky's 0.56 aces per set on the season not only leads the B1G but is also 11th-most in the country, while her 35 aces are good for 14th in the NCAA.

• Several other Wolverines find themselves ranked in the Big Ten's top 10 in statistical categories, as redshirt sophomore Hannah Grant is seventh in digs per set (4.02) while sophomore Jess Mruzik ranks ninth in kills per set (3.52) and 10th in points per set (4.04). Fellow sophomore Scottee Johnson is 10th in assists per set (9.48).

• Michigan ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in several team categories as well, sitting third in service aces (1.61), fourth in opponent kills (11.60), fifth in opponent blocks (1.91), sixth in digs (14.58), and seventh in hitting percentage (.239) and blocks per set (2.40).

• Sophomore setter Scottee Johnson had her seventh double-double of the 2021 campaign Friday against Maryland, dishing out 38 assists and adding 10 digs. The Dayton, Ohio, native has upped her assists per set average to 9.48 this fall, more than an assist per set more than her 8.33 mark from her freshman campaign (spring 2021).

• Another sophomore seeing a boost in production is outside hitter Jess Mruzik. The Livonia, Mich., native has turned into one of the Wolverines' primary scoring options and has become more efficient in the process, hitting .225 on the campaign thus far. That mark is .068 higher than her freshman year hitting percentage of .157. Mruzik has also seen a significant jump in digs per set, averaging 2.53 this fall after putting up 1.83 in her rookie campaign.

• The Wolverines have seen an increase in their blocking this season, thanks in part to the presence of freshman Jacque Boney. The Brookhaven, Ga., native is averaging a team-best 1.15 blocks per set this season with 71 total blocks (11 solo, 60 assist).

• Boney is not the only Wolverine making an impact on the blocking front, as returners May Pertofsky, Jess Robinson and Paige Jones have seen significant increases in their blocks per set mark this fall. After averaging 0.69 blocks per set to start her career, Pertofsky is averaging 0.97 this fall. Robinson has seen a similar increase, averaging 0.98 blocks per set this season after coming into the year with a 0.64 career mark. Jones has seen her career average rise, posting a 0.41 mark this season after averaging 0.27 over the first three years of her career.

Opponent Preview

Indiana
Michigan leads the series, 42-38-1

Michigan and Indiana will play in Bloomington this week for the first time since the 2018 season. The two played only once in 2019, which was in Cliff Keen Arena, and the Hoosiers came back to Ann Arbor as part of the 2021 spring season. Overall, the Wolverines hold a slight edge over IU with a 42-38-1 all-time record and are currently winners of six of the last seven matches. Indiana, however, has won three of the last four played in Bloomington.

Senior Breanna Edwards leads the Hoosiers' offense with a 3.33 kills per set average while adding 0.41 blocks per set. The setting role has been split at different times during the campaign, but graduate transfer Brooke Westbeld leads the way for IU with a 7.56 assists per set average. Libero Paula Cerame is sixth in the Big Ten with a 4.33 digs per set average, while setter Camryn Haworth is fifth in the league in service aces per set with a 0.42 mark.

After winning five of its first six matches to start the 2021 fall campaign, Indiana has lost 11 of its last 14 matches. Though IU is just 2-6 in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers' first win came as a sweep over Michigan State at home. They also took a set off Penn State in a close match in Wilkinson Hall earlier in the campaign.

Up Next

• Saturday, Oct. 23 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 3 p.m. CDT