Michigan
7-20,5-13Big Ten
Illinois
16-12,11-7Big Ten
Wolverines Drop Match at Illinois in Three Sets
11/18/2023 9:22:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan fell to Illinois in three sets (13-25, 19-25, 19-25)on Saturday inside Huff Hall.
» Amalia Simmons and Kendall Murray led paced the Wolverines with six kills each.
» Morgan Burke and Scottee Johnson each had 10 assists.
» All 10 Wolverines who played tallied a dig with Hannah Grant leading the way with eight.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell to Illinois in three sets (25-13, 25-19, 25-19) on Saturday night (Nov. 18) at Huff Hall.
Michigan (7-20, 5-13 Big Ten) had a balanced attack with five players tallying four kills or more. Defensively, all 10 Wolverines who saw action tallied a dig, with nine collecting multiple digs, led by Hannah Grant's eight. Amalia Simmons and Kendall Murray led the way with six kills apiece and Murray added three digs. Both Michigan setters -- Morgan Burke and Scottee Johnson -- tallied 10 assists pn the night.
Illinois (16-12, 11-7 Big Ten) took an early 2-0 lead but a block from Morgan Burke and Serena Nyambio sparked a 4-0 run from the Wolverines. The Fighting Illini responded with a 5-0 run to take a 7-5 lead and forced a Michigan timeout. U-M worked the Illinois lead to just two at 10-8 after a Murray kill and an Illini attack error. Illinois pulled away and ended the set on a 15-5 run for a 25-13 set one victory.
The second set started as a back-and-forth affair until Illinois tied the score at 10 as part of a 4-0 run that saw the home team take a 12-10 lead. Michigan grabbed control briefly, going on a 4-1 run to bring the Wolverines within one at 17-16 with Johnson and Valentina Vaulet both tallying aces in the run. Illinois strung together five straight points to extend the lead to 22-16 and force a U-M timeout. Both teams traded service errors when action resumed and Illinois earned set point on a block. Jacque Boney tallied two kills to prolong the set, but the Illini put the set away 25-19 with a kill.
Illinois got off to a quick start to the third set, grabbing a 4-0 lead. A Nyambio kill ended the run, but the Illini extended their lead to 11-4. Michigan cut its deficit to three, 16-13, with a 5-1 run, but Illinois managed to widen the gap and took a 20-14 lead. Nyambio tallied two kills while Murray and Vaulet added one, but the Fighting Illini took the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.
Michigan will return to Ann Arbor for its final two home games of the season, starting with Senior Night against No. 16 Purdue on Friday (Nov. 24) at 6:30 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. The match will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
