Season Review: 2024 Michigan Volleyball

• Team Captains: Allison Jacobs, Jacque Boney, Serena Nyambio
• Record: 18-13, 8-12 Big Ten Conference (T10th Place)

The University of Michigan volleyball team rebounded well in head coach Erin Virtue's second season at the helm as the Wolverines started off strong and finished better than predicted in the Big Ten.

Team Highlights

• The University of Michigan volleyball team compiled an 18-13 overall record and an 8-12 Big Ten Conference mark to finish the season tied for 10th place in the league with Indiana and UCLA. After being picked to finish 15th in the conference in the preseason, U-M tallied eight conference wins and took sets from four of the top seven teams.

• Eleven of U-M's 27 opponents earned NCAA Tournament berths, with nine coming from the Big Ten conference. The Big Ten as a whole earned a conference-record nine selections. The Wolverines finished 102nd in the RPI.

• Michigan started the season 9-0 before dropping a five-set match to North Carolina, which was selected for the NCAA Tournament as an eight seed. The Wolverines opened Big Ten play with a 5-2 record; both losses came against NCAA Tournament teams USC and Illinois.

• The Wolverines opened the season in a thrilling five-set victory over reigning Coastal Athletic Conference champion Delaware. The Blue Hens took the first two sets, but Michigan scraped together a third set to tie the match at 24 and won 26-24. The fourth set was a battle as the teams were tied at 18 and Michigan won the fourth set 27-25 to force a fifth set. The final set was all Michigan as the Wolverines opened on an 11-2 lead en route to a 15-4 set win.

• Another highlight match was U-M's season finale, a five-set win over Northwestern. In the first set, the Wolverines took the opening lead and after NU grabbed a 22-20 advantage, the Wolverines tied the match at 22 before winning 27-25. Michigan took a 6-1 lead in the next set before the Wildcats tied the match at 17, but the Maize and Blue stayed in front and won 25-19. Northwestern took the next two sets to force a deciding fifth set. Michigan took a 6-5 lead and held it as Valentina Vaulet's career-high 26th kill kept U-M in front. Senior Jacque Boney delivered the deciding kill in her final match as a Wolverine.

• U-M's best win of the season came in a three-set sweep of Washington, another NCAA Tournament qualifier, led by a great day from Vaulet -- who tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs while adding six aces. The first set had 15 ties including at 25, but U-M won 27-25. The Wolverines used a 6-0 run to end the second set to win 25-23 led by Vaulet at the service line. A .500 hitting percentage with 19 kills and no errors led Michigan to a 25-20 third set win.

• Michigan won back the State Pride Flag from Michigan State, sweeping the Spartans in Ann Arbor to open Big Ten play. U-M won the first set 25-20 before winning the second 25-22. A strong service run in the third set led U-M to a 25-17 third set win. The Wolverines secured the flag and series win over MSU with a 25-20 set one win, giving U-M a 4-3 advantage in set wins.

• The Wolverines had a strong showing in Columbus, spoiling Ohio State's first game in the Schottenstein Center with a four-set win behind double-doubles from Vaulet and Morgan Burke. OSU pulled away in the first set, but U-M tied it at 24 before winning 26-24. The second set was close again and after a tied score at 23, the Wolverines took the final two points to win 25-20. Ohio State took the third set and tied the fourth set at 12 before Michigan went on a run to win 25-21.

Individual Highlights

• Earning All-Big Ten first team status, Allison Jacobs had a strong year. She tallied 335 kills in 22 matches as an outside hitter before returning for the season's final three games as a defensive specialist, tallying 19 digs. On the season, she had 186 digs which was fourth on the team, and added 38 blocks, while being strong in serve/receive with only 26 errors in 609 total attempts. Jacobs recorded double-digit kills in 19 of her 20 matches as an attacker, with a season high of 25 twice and had four double-doubles.

• Making the All-Big Ten second team, Valentina Vaulet finished the season setting a new career-high of 26 kills in the season finale and led the team in kills (355), aces (63) and points (449). Her 63 aces were second in the Big Ten, ninth in the nation and third all-time for a single season in program history. Vaulet became the first Wolverine to eclipse the 60-ace mark since 1987 and tallied double-digit kills in 19 matches, including nine of the final 10.

• Boney ended her senior season with 242 kills on a .311 hitting percentage and collected 110 blocks (11 solo blocks, 99 block assists). In the penultimate match against Indiana, she tallied a career-high 17 kills with just two errors on 34 swings. Boney finished her career seventh all-time in block assists, eighth all-time in career blocks and 12th all-time in solo blocks.

• Sophomore setter Morgan Burke registered 1,168 assists on the season, becoming the first Wolverine since 2021 to have more than 1,000 in a season. She tallied 30 assists or more in 25 matches, 40 or more in 11 matches and 50 or more in five matches, including a career-high 54 against Rutgers. Burke was second on the team in digs with 294 and tallied 11 double-doubles with a high of 19 digs.

• Libero Maddi Cuchran led the team with 454 digs and was second on the team in assists with 126. She tallied double-digit digs in 28 of the 31 matches this season and set a career high of 26 in Michigan's four-set win over Ohio State. Cuchran finished the season with the 13th most digs in a single-season in program history. She was one of three U-M players this season to start and play every set of all of U-M's matches, joining Boney and Burke.

• Serena Nyambio finished the season leading the Wolverines in hitting percentage (.331) and in blocks (114). She tallied 203 kills with 50 errors on 462 swings and added 14 solo blocks and 100 block assists. In the third match of the season, she set a new career high in kills with 17, doing so on a .533 hitting percentage.

• Kendyl Reaugh contributed from the start of her only season with the Wolverines. Reaugh had 15 kills and 20 digs in the season-opener against Delaware and passed 1,000 kills in her career after four solid years at Alabama. She played in 21 matches and 61 sets and tallied 112 kills, nine aces and 69 digs across the season.

• In the final four matches of the season, Amalia Simmons took over as an outside hitter and recorded 37 kills. She finished the season with 47 kills and 11 blocks. Against Maryland, she had 13 kills on 25 swings and had three block assists.

• Ella Demetrician made a big impact as a freshman with 185 kills, 171 digs and 217.5 points. She was just one of three freshmen in the Big Ten Conference with triple digits in kills and digs. She had a solid weekend at the StarkVegas Mississippi State Classic, where she tallied 32 kills with 11 digs, five blocks and two aces.

• U-M had a freshman class of six players with five seeing action, including Demetrician. Camille Edwards recorded 11 assists against Delaware. Jenna Hanes played in three matches and tallied six kills and two digs with five coming in a three-set win over Washington. Trixie McMillin played in 75 sets across 25 games and registered 10 aces and 49 digs. Ellie White saw action in eight matches and recorded 16 assists, four digs and one block assist. One freshman, Cymarah Gordon, did not see game action after an injury in the preseason.

Honors and Awards

Jacque
Boney

Morgan
Burke

Mira
Chopra

Maddi
Cuchran

Carly
Greskovics

Allison
Jacobs

Lydia
Johnson

Serena
Nyambio

Amalia
Simmons

Valentina
Vaulet

American Volleyball Coaches Association
All-Region (North): Allison Jacobs (Honorable Mention)

Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten (First Team): Allison Jacobs
All-Big Ten (Second Team): Valentina Vaulet
Sportsmanship Award: Allison Jacobs

College Sports Communicators
Academic All-America: Allison Jacobs
Academic All-Region: Morgan Burke, Maddi Cuchran, Allison Jacobs, Serena Nyambio

Academic All-Big Ten
Jacque Boney, Sr., Business Administration
Morgan Burke, So., Movement Science
Mira Chopra, Sr., Biology, Heatly, & Society
Maddi Cuchran, Sr., Applied Exercise Science
Carly Greskovics, So., Sport Management
Allison Jacobs, Gr., Management
Lydia Johnson, So., Movement Science
Serena Nyambio, Jr., Biology, Heatly, & Society
Amalia Simmons, Jr., Biopsychology, Cognition, & Neuroscience
Valentina Vaulet, So., LSA Undeclared