Michigan
10-3,0-2Big Ten
Michigan State
11-1,1-1Big Ten
Michigan Falls at Michigan State in B1G Contest
9/27/2025 10:29:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan fell in straight sets to the Spartans in a Big Ten Conference road match.
» Lydia Johnson and Ella Demetrician led the Wolverines with 10 kills each.
» Morgan Burke tallied 31 assists and seven digs on the evening.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team lost in straight sets at Michigan State (25-14, 25-22, 25-21) on Saturday night (Sept. 27) at Breslin Center.
Michigan (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) was led by Lydia Johnson and Ella Demetrician, who had 10 kills apiece, while Serena Nyambio added seven kills. Morgan Burke notched 31 assists along with seven digs and two blocks, and Jenna Hanes chipped in three blocks for the Maize and Blue.
U-M and Michigan State (11-1, 1-1 Big Ten) went back and forth to start the first set, trading points through seven ties in the opening 10 rallies. The Spartans then found a rhythm, using a 9-2 run to go up 19-12 over the Wolverines before closing with a 6-2 spurt to take set one, 25-14.
MSU opened the second set with six straight points before a Johnson kill put U-M on the board. Michigan began to find its groove with a 4-0 run that featured kills from Nyambio and Burke and a block assist from the pair, cutting the deficit to 10-6. The Wolverines continued to chip away and pulled within one at 11-10 after outscoring the Spartans 4-1 out of the timeout.
U-M answered again midway through the frame, scoring five straight points out of a timeout, including two aces from Burke, to knot the set at 16-16 and force MSU to call a timeout of their own. The Wolverines added two more points to take an 18-16 lead, but the Spartans responded late to edge out a 25-22 victory.
The third set stayed tight, with neither side leading by more than two until MSU called a timeout up 15-14. After two more ties, the Spartans pieced together a decisive 5-1 run and held off Michigan to finish the match with a 25-21 win.
Michigan returns home on Wednesday (Oct. 1) to host No. 12 Minnesota at 7:30 p.m. at Crisler Center. The match will air live on Big Ten Network and serve as the opening contest of the inaugural Big Ten Discover Volleyball Challenge.
