U-M to Visit Evanston for Late-Night Big Ten Network Matchup with Wildcats

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten) will head back on the road and travel to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern on Thursday (Oct. 16) at 8 p.m. CT. The match will air on the Big Ten Network from Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Notes

• Michigan enters the contest with a 2-4 conference record with wins over No. 10-ranked Minnesota and a five-set win over Iowa in the last match. Three of Michigan's four losses in conference play have come to ranked teams.

• The Wolverines run one of the top offenses in the Big Ten, ranking third in kills per set, averaging 13.97, and doing so efficiently on a .288 hitting percentage, good for fourth in the conference. U-M also ranks fourth with 12.86 assists per set and 824 team kills.

• Allison Jacobs led the Michigan offense with double-digit kills in both matches and is up to 14 such matches this season. Jacobs set a new career high in kills with 26 against Iowa in five sets, and added 15 digs, two assists, three blocks and two aces. She is third in the Big Ten in total kills with 246, and fourth in attacks per set, kills per set, points and points per set.

• Morgan Burke also set a new career high over the weekend with 56 assists against Iowa and added 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Burke has led Michigan in assists in 60 of the last 61 matches -- and has recorded 2,078 in her career, good for tenth in program history.

• Serena Nyambio had an impressive weekend with 24 kills on 43 swings and just two errors. She added six blocks and an ace in each match as well. Nyambio leads the Big Ten Conference in hitting percentage with a .443 clip and is tenth nationally. She currently sits fifth all-time in career hitting percentage with a .312 career average. The senior is set to play in her 100th match on Thursday.

• Lydia Johnson sits in 11th place in conference hitting percentage at .371, but second among players with 250 swings or more. Johnson is second on the team in kills this season with a career-high 131 and added eight over the weekend. The junior has played in every match this season, starting 15 and playing in all but one set.

• Maddi Cuchran is one of three players to play in every set this season, joining Burke and Nyambio. Cuchran leads the team in digs with 201 and is just one of three players in triple digits. She recorded an impressive 24 digs along with six assists in the five-set win over Iowa.

• Ella Demetrician is fourth on the team in kills with 114 and second in kills per set, averaging 2.85. Demetrician recorded nine over the weekend in just five sets, playing all three against No. 20-ranked Indiana and the final two against Iowa.

• Amalia Simmons got the start against Iowa, her first start since Sept. 12 against Virginia. In the first four sets against Iowa, Simmons recorded nine kills, three digs, two assists and a block. This season, the redshirt junior has totaled 55 kills and 42 digs.

• Northwestern enters the matchup with a 12-6 overall record and sits 2-4 in conference play. The Wildcats have wins over Oregon and Rutgers -- with losses to Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota and Penn State. All-time, Michigan is 52-30 against Northwestern, with the last matchup being a five-set win in Ann Arbor.