Michigan
1-0,0-0Big Ten
Wake Forest
0-2,0-0ACC
Michigan Opens Season With Victory Over Wake Forest
8/30/2025 6:34:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan defeated Wake Forest in four sets, winning a hard-fought second set to shift the match.
» Allison Jacobs tallied a double-double with 11 digs and a team-leading 24 kills.
» Ella Demetrician came off the bench and led U-M with a .467 hitting percentage while recording nine kills.
» U-M ran a 6-2 system with Morgan Burke tallying 24 assists and Camille Edwards registering 23.
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The University of Michigan volleyball team battled back from an early deficit and took down Wake Forest in four sets (19-25, 29-27, 25-22, 25-20) in the Wolverines' season opener at the Tribute to #10 on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30) at Fifth Third Arena.
Michigan (1-0) was led by Allison Jacobs, who tallied a double-double with a team-leading 24 kills and 11 digs in addition to three aces and one block. Jenna Hanes had an impressive start hitting, .389 with eight kills on 18 swings and four blocks. Both setters recorded more than 20 assists, with Morgan Burke tallying 24 and Camille Edwards collecting a career-high 23. Ella Demetrician made an impact off the bench, coming into the match in the third set and recording nine kills on 15 swings with seven digs.
After a first-set loss, U-M responded in a hard-fought battle in the second set, which saw nine tie scores and four lead changes as U-M came out on top 29-27. Michigan opened the set on a 6-2 run, led by three kills from Jacobs. Wake Forest (0-2) came back and tied the match at 10 before taking the lead. Schnichels recorded a kill, tying the match at 11. The Demon Deacons pulled ahead, taking a 15-13 lead, but a 3-0 run from Michigan that included a Jacobs kill and ace to put U-M back in front.
Wake Forest got the lead back at 18-17 and reached set point after a service error. Jacobs recorded her 11th and 12th kills of the match to hold off Wake Forest and force a timeout. Edwards tallied her first career ace to tie the match at 24, but Wake Forest earned the next point to gain another set-point opportunity. Kills from Jacobs and Simmons gave U-M its first set-point chance of the match, but a service error kept the Demon Deacons alive. The Wolverines got two more set-point chances and converted on the second, with Simmons winning the set for Michigan.
Neither team held a big lead early in the third set, with the first 10 points being split evenly. Wake Forest then went on a run to take a 9-6 lead and held it until an attack error tied the match at 19. Hanes and Schnichels combined on the block to put U-M in front for the first time since 5-4 in the set, but Wake tied it at 20. The Wolverines took the next point, and the Demon Deacons once again tied the set. A kill from Demetrician put Michigan back in front, and back-to-back kills from Jacobs gave Michigan set point. Wake Forest held off U-M once, but a great Edwards set allowed Serena Nyambio to finish off the third set, 25-22.
Wake Forest opened the fourth set on a 3-0 run, but U-M took five of the next seven points to tie the match at five with Nyambio tallying a solo block for Michigan's fifth point. Both teams traded points until a 3-0 run by the Demon Deacons put them up 11-9. Wake Forest held the lead until a 3-0 run by Michigan, kick-started by Cymarah Gordon's first career kill. After tying the match at 15, Wake took a 19-17 lead before U-M countered with a 6-0 run, which began with a service error and saw two kills from Demetrician, an ace from Burke, a block by Gordon and Hanes and one Wake Forest error. A kill by Wake Forest ended the run with U-M leading 23-20. A kill from Jacobs gave U-M a set-point chance, and an ace from Demetrician ended the set and match with a 25-20 fourth set.
In the first set, Sydney Schnichels tallied the first kill of the match, but Wake Forest took a 2-1 lead. Nyambio tied the match at two, but Wake got the lead back and kept it for the rest of the set. After a kill from Jacobs and a Demon Deacons attack error, U-M trailed 10-9, but Wake Forest went on the longest run of the set, scoring five straight. Jacobs tried to bring the Wolverines back with two aces, but Wake Forest ended the run with a kill and went up 20-15. The Demon Deacons scored five of the final eight points, winning the first set 25-19.
The Wolverines return to the court on Sunday (Aug. 31) to close out the Tribute to #10 Tournament against host Cincinnati at 1 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
