Wolverines to Open Big Ten Conference Play at No. 1 Nebraska, Michigan State

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team (10-1, 0-0 Big Ten) will travel to top-ranked Nebraska to open the Big Ten season at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday (Sept. 24) at Bob Devaney Sports Center, then head to East Lansing on Saturday (Sept. 27) to take on Michigan State (10-0, 0-0 Big Ten) for an 8 p.m. match inside Jenison Field House. Both matches will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

Notes

• The Wolverines are 10-1 after sweeping Notre Dame in both road and home matches to finish non-conference play. On Friday (Sept. 19), U-M hit .162 in the first set but closed the third set at .448. On Sunday (Sept. 21), they limited Notre Dame to a .096 hitting percentage while hitting .330 themselves.

• U-M is receiving votes in the AVCA poll for the first time this season and just the third time under head coach Erin Virtue. The Wolverines received six points in week eight in 2024 and 15 points in week nine. The last time U-M was in the Top 25 was Oct. 17, 2022, ranking 25th.

• Michigan is second in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin in kills per set (14.55) and assists per set (13.32), and ranks ninth and 12th nationally, respectively. U-M is also top five in the conference in hitting percentage (third, 0.311), team assists (fourth, 506), team kills (fourth, 553) and team service aces (fifth, 68).

• After the weekend, U-M still holds three of the Big Ten's leaders in hitting percentage. Serena Nyambio leads the conference, hitting .471 with 74 kills on 136 swings. Lydia Johnson follows behind in third, hitting .436 with 91 kills on 181 swings. Jenna Hanes rounds the top five, hitting .426 with 65 kills on 129 swings.

Nyambio not only leads the team in hitting percentage, but also in total blocks with 42 (seven solo, 35 assists). She led the team in hitting percentage (.331) and blocks (114), matched her career high with seven blocks against Notre Dame Sunday, and has recorded at least three kills and two blocks in every match, with a season-high 15 kills against Virginia.

• Allison Jacobs recorded double-digit kills in both matches over the weekend and leads the Wolverines in total kills. She sits third in the Big Ten with 164 and is also third in points with 192.5. Jacobs is also first on the team in service aces with 17, ranking fifth in the conference and third on the team in digs with 74.

• Morgan Burke continues to be U-M's leading setter in its 6-2 system, averaging 6.34 assists per set. She recorded a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs on Friday against Notre Dame. She added 18 assists on Sunday, giving her 241 on the season and 1,897 career assists, ranking 10th all-time.

• Graduate student Maddi Cuchran had double-digit digs in both matches over the weekend and leads the team with 130. She is currently eighth in the conference in total digs, with double-digit digs in nine of the 11 matches this season.

• Second on the team in blocks with 37 and third in hitting percentage at .426, Hanes is off to a very productive start. Over the weekend, Hanes recorded 13 total kills against Notre Dame, hitting .545 in game one and .375 in game two, and helped lead the defensive front with eight blocks.

• Ella Demetrician started both matches against Notre Dame, and on Sunday recorded 12 kills and four errors with a .348 hitting percentage to help the Wolverines secure a .330 team hitting percentage in the win. Her 22 kills over the weekend bring her season total up to 68, good for fourth on the team.

• Nebraska enters the matchup 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Cornhuskers have wins over No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 6 Stanford and No. 7 Kentucky. All-time, U-M is 3-22 against Nebraska, with the Wolverines' last win coming in Ann Arbor on Oct. 12, 2014.

• Michigan State is also 10-0 this season after going 3-0 this past weekend with wins over Binghamton, Bowling Green and SIU Edwardsville. The Spartans and Wolverines have had one common opponent this season, with both defeating Southern Indiana. Michigan is 52-56 against MSU in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the series last year -- U-M was victorious in a sweep at home and fell in four sets in East Lansing.