Michigan
8-1,0-0Big Ten
Central Michigan
3-7,0-0MAC
Michigan Powers Past Central Michigan in Sweep at Cliff Keen Arena
9/17/2025 9:58:00 PM | Volleyball
» The Wolverines swept Central Michigan, hitting an impressive .423 for the match.
» Ella Demetrician led the Wolverines with 12 kills on 20 swings to hit .550.
» Lydia Johnson hit .818 in the match with nine kills and no errors on 11 swings.
» Morgan Burke recorded 20 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team had a strong night offensively against Central Michigan, winning in three sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-16) on Wednesday night (Sept. 17) at Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan (8-1) hit .423 as a team, led by Lydia Johnson, who tallied nine kills and no errors on 11 swings for a .818 hitting percentage. Ella Demetrician led the match with 12 kills, doing so on a .550 hitting percentage and 20 swings. Cymarah Gordon and Serena Nyambio were also both errorless on the night and added four kills each. Morgan Burke recorded 20 assists and a match-leading nine digs, while Jenna Hanes tallied a career-high three aces.
Central Michigan (3-7) took the first point of the match, but a kill from Demetrician tied the match at one. The teams traded the next two points before Michigan went on a run, forcing a CMU timeout with the Wolverines leading 8-4. Four different Wolverines recorded kills over their first eight point, and Allison Jacobs tallied her first of the match soon after the timeout. Hanes led the Wolverines on another service run to go up 14-6, which opened with an ace and saw two blocks for Nyambio and Demetrician. The Wolverines controlled the rest of the set and finished off the first set-point chance with a kill from Jacobs, winning 25-17.
The second set was a battle, with 11 ties and seven lead changes. CMU took the first point of the set, but a service error evened it at one. No team could pull out a run of more than two points until CMU took a 12-9 lead. A kill from Demetrician brought U-M within two again, but the Chippewas extended their lead to three. The Wolverines battled back and tied the match at 13 with a kill from Jacobs. A kill from Demetrician tied the match at 14 before an ace from Ellie White put U-M ahead for the first time since 7-6. The teams traded the next few points with four ties until Michigan took a 20-19 lead with a kill from Johnson. Central tied the match at 21, but Johnson put the Wolverines ahead again with a kill. This time, U-M controlled the rest of the set with kills from Demetrician and Johnson to win the second set 25-22.
Michigan and Central Michigan opened the third set, splitting the first four points, but a service run by Maddi Cuchran, which featured Johnson and Hanes combining on a block, then separately recording kills, gave the Wolverines a 6-2 lead. CMU closed the Michigan lead to one at 7-6, but a service error gave U-M the next point. The Wolverines built a comfortable lead when Hanes went back to service, going up 16-8 after her run. On the run, Hanes tallied two aces with Demetrician and Gordon recording a kill each. A Jacobs kill put U-M up 19-10 and forced a CMU timeout. The Chippewas were unable to come back, with a kill from Gordon giving U-M a set-point chance. The Wolverines finished the match off on the next point with Demetrician booking her match-leading 12th kill to win the third set 25-16 and finish off CMU.
The Wolverines head to South Bend, Ind., on Friday (Sept. 19) at 6 p.m. to take on Notre Dame at 6 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
