Michigan
10-4,1-2Big Ten
USC
7-6,1-2Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 25 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Southern California | 22 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 1 |
Gordon, Demetrician Lead Michigan to Four-Set Win at USC
10/3/2026 2:13:00 AM | Volleyball
» Michigan won a tight four-set match against USC that featured 27 ties.
» Ella Demetrician and Cymarah Gordon tallied 33 of Michigan's 60 kills.
» Morgan Burke recorded 33 assists and added two aces.
» Hannah Brady made her first career start, doing so at libero.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- In a four-set battle, the University of Michigan volleyball team took down Southern California (25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 25-23) on Friday night (Oct. 2) at the Galen Center.
Michigan (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) was led by Ella Demetrician and Cymarah Gordon, who combined for 33 of Michigan's 60 kills. Demetrician added 13 digs while Gordon added four blocks. Morgan Burke paced the Wolverine offense with 33 assists and added two aces. Ece Senyapici hit .467 with nine kills while fellow middle Jenna Hanes registered a team-high six blocks. Libero Meredith Martin tallied 11 digs and four assists while libero Hannah Brady made her first career start and tallied one assist, one ace and one dig.
USC (7-6, 1-2 Big Ten) started in front, going up 6-2 and did not let the Wolverines in front until late in the first set. Michigan tied the match at seven and six more times before the technical timeout as the Women of Troy led 15-14. U-M battled back after calling their first timeout at 18-15 and tied the match at 19. A block gave USC the lead back, but a service error and kill from Gordon put Michigan ahead for the first time. USC tied the set at 21 and 22, but Michigan took the final three points with a block from Lydia Johnson and Jenna Hanes clinching the 25-22 first-set victory.
Kills from Gordon and Ella Demetrician helped Michigan to a 3-1 lead, but USC came back with a 5-0 run to take a 6-3 lead. The Wolverines were unable to come back throughout the rest of the set and trailed 15-9 at the technical timeout. Demetrician recorded a kill out of the timeout and Gordon tallied a kill two points later to cut the USC lead to four, but it took the next four points for a 20-12 lead. Michigan fought off two set points with kills from Ece Senyapici and Demetrician, but an attack error gave USC the second set 25-18.
The Wolverines got off to a blistering start in the third set, taking eight of the first 11 points, led by Brady at the service line. Brady recorded an ace on the run while Hanes and Gordon combined for two blocks. USC fought back and got the score within one point at 14-13, but a kill from Gordon kept Michigan in front and brought the match to the media timeout. The teams traded the next few points until Southern California tied the match at 18. A kill from Johnson kept Michigan in front, but USC took the next two points to take its first lead of the set. Gordon and Demetrician put Michigan back in front with a kill each until a kill and block from USC forced a Michigan timeout with the Wolverines trailing 22-21. Demetrician and Hanes recorded kills out of the timeout, and Gordon and Demetrician closed out the set with kills as U-M won 25-23.
In the fourth set, USC led 7-3 early, but a kill and back-to-back aces from Demetrician cut the U-M deficit to one. Michigan trailed until a 6-0 run began at 9-8, led by two kills from Gordon and an ace from Burke. USC brought the match to within one multiple times before tying it at 21. Gordon kept Michigan in front, but USC tied it again. Demetrician put the Wolverines up 23-22 before a block from Hanes and Demetrician gave Michigan a set-point chance. After a USC timeout, it took the next point, but a kill from Johnson ended the match with U-M taking the fourth set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
Michigan will close out their West Coast trip on Saturday (Oct. 3) at 7 p.m. PT against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The match will be streamed live on B1G+.
