Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Fall to Golden Gophers in Midweek B1G Matchup
10/11/2023 11:10:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan fell to No. 24-ranked Minnesota in straight sets (24-26, 11-25, 16-25).
» Kendall Murray led Michigan with seven kills on the night.
» All 13 active players saw action in the match for Michigan.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell to No. 24-ranked Minnesota in straight sets (24-26, 11-25, 16-25) on Wednesday night (Oct. 11) at Crisler Center.
Kendall Murray led the team in kills with seven and added two service aces. Scottee Johnson tallied 15 assists and six digs while Morgan Burke tallied 11 assists and four digs. All 13 of Michigan's active players saw action in the match.
Michigan (3-13, 1-6 Big Ten) kept it close in the first set which saw 13 ties and six lead changes. Minnesota took a 3-1 lead to start but a Gopher service error and kill from Jacque Boney tied the match at three. The Wolverines tied things up again at eight after an ace from Boney, and U-M took its first lead of the day at 10-9 on an ace from Scottee Johnson. The teams traded the next 17 points before a kill from Serena Nyambio tied the game at 18. Minnesota then retook the lead but kills from Nyambio -- who led Michigan with five in the first set -- and Saj McBurrows tied the score once again at 21 and forced a Minnesota timeout. Valentina Vaulet gave the Wolverines the lead with an ace out of the timeout, but two quick points from the Golden Gophers forced Michigan to take a timeout of its own. The Maize and Blue tied the match at 24 on a Boney kill, but a Michigan service error followed by an attacking error gave Minnesota the first set, 26-24.
Minnesota (7-8, 3-4 Big Ten) got off to a fast start in the second set with a 4-0 run and never lost the lead. The Golden Gophers hit at a .457 clip in the frame and took six of the final seven points in the set to win 25-11 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set played out much like the second, with Minnesota going up early and commanding the remainder of the frame. The Gophers took a 6-1 lead with Murray tallying the only kill in the run for Michigan, and used a .483 hitting percentage to hold the Wolverines at bay. Depsite five kills from Murray in the third set, U-M was unable to build any momentum and the Gophers took the set, 25-16.
Wednesday night's contest marked the third in a three-match home stand for the Wolverines, who will now hit the road for three straight matches, starting with Indiana on Saturday (Oct. 14) at 6:00 p.m. CT.
