Michigan
9-3,0-1Big Ten
Penn State
9-2,1-0Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn St. | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan | 25 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 1 |
Wolverines Fall to Ranked Penn State in Big Ten Opener
9/25/2026 10:11:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan took the first set but dropped the next three to No. 14-ranked Penn State in the Big Ten opener.
» Meredith Martin tallied a match-leading, career-high 29 digs and was 49-for-50 on serve receptions.
» Cymarah Gordon led Michigan in kills with 16, doing so on 41 swings.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team fell to No. 14-ranked Penn State in four sets (23-25, 17-25, 13-25, 13-25) in its Big Ten opener on Friday night (Sept. 25) in Crisler Center.
Michigan (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten) was led by Cymarah Gordon, who tallied 16 kills on 41 attacks, hitting .268. Meredith Martin anchored the Michigan defense with a match- and career-high 29 digs while being 49-of-50 in serve receptions. Ella Demetrician recorded 15 kills and Sydney Schnichels added nine kills. Morgan Burke and Camille Edwards directed the Michigan offense with 21 and 16 assists, respectively, and each collected nine digs.
Penn State (9-2, 1-0 Big Ten) opened the match on a 5-2 run, but the Wolverines tied it at seven after an attack error. Michigan tied it at eight with a kill from Demetrician before taking the lead at 10-9 with another Demetrician kill. The Wolverines held on to the lead through the media timeout, leading 15-13. The Nittany Lions took four of the next five points to retake the lead and force a Michigan timeout. Out of the timeout, an attack error tied the match at 17, but Penn State took the next point. Another attack error from Penn State tied the match at 18 before Demetrician recorded a kill to put U-M up 19-18. PSU tied it at 19, but a kill from Schnichels and an attack error forced a Penn State timeout at 21-19 Michigan. Ece Senyapici and Gordon combined for a block out of the timeout. Penn State took four of the next six points, but a kill from Demetrician finished off the first set 25-23.
The Wolverines took an early lead in the second set, going up 4-2, but Penn State responded quickly with a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Wolverines cut the PSU lead to two at 9-7 with kills from Demetrician and Martin. Penn State extended its lead to 15-10 heading into the media timeout. Gordon and Schnichels each tallied two kills after the media timeout to try and keep the Wolverines in it, but Penn State took the set 25-17.
In the third set, Penn State got out to another large lead at 8-3 and led 15-10 at the media timeout. The Nittany Lions took five straight points out of the timeout to take a 20-10 lead, and the Wolverines could not come back as U-M fell 25-13 in the third set.
U-M held Penn State close early in the fourth set, tying the match at three and trailing 7-5, but an 8-3 run put the Nittany Lions up 15-8 at the technical timeout. The teams traded the next eight points before Penn State went on a 4-0 run and forced a Michigan timeout at 22-12. Johnson tallied the final point for the Wolverines to make it 23-13, but a Penn State kill and block finished off the match 25-13.
Michigan will return to action on Sunday (Sept. 27) at noon, hosting undefeated Washington at Crisler Center. The match will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
