Michigan
Cincinnati
Michigan to Travel to Valparaiso for First Road Trip of 2026 Season
9/3/2026 12:09:00 PM | Volleyball
Schedule Update: The match against Cincinnati will now be played at Washington Township High School instead of the Athletics Recreation Center; match time remains unchanged.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team (3-1) heads on the road for the first time in the 2026 campaign, traveling to Valparaiso, Ind., for the Valpo Popcorn Classic, with Michigan opening up against Cincinnati on Saturday (Sept. 5) at 1 p.m. CT before playing hosts Valparaiso on Sunday (Sept. 6) at 4 p.m. CT. Both matches will take place at the Athletics-Recreation Center, and Sunday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Notes
• After a 2-0 opening weekend, the Wolverines dropped their first match of the season on Tuesday (Sept. 1) against South Carolina in five sets. U-M took the first two sets and led in the third but could not close it out in the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. Michigan responded and defeated LSU in four sets on Wednesday (Sept. 2), winning the first, second and fourth sets.
• Jenna Hanes is hitting .538 so far this season with just two errors on 52 swings. She now holds the third-best single-game program hitting percentage (.737) after 14 errorless kills on Tuesday against South Carolina. The junior ranks fourth on the team in points, adding four aces and eight block assists.
• Cymarah Gordon leads the Wolverines in kills this season with 49, averaging 3.27 per set. Gordon is U-M's starting opposite hitter in its 6-2 system and has tallied double-digit kills in three straight matches. She did so only four times last season. In addition to her kills, Gordon is the team's second-best blocker with 12.
• Morgan Burke has tallied back-to-back double-doubles, recording 32 assists and 19 digs against South Carolina and 27 and 11, respectively, in a win over LSU. She leads the Wolverines in assists with 99 and recorded her first three aces of the season in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge. She also ranks second on the team with 33 digs, averaging 2.20 per set.
• Meredith Martin became the first freshman libero to start in the first match of the season for Michigan since 2012 and now has 50 digs on the season. She has three straight matches with double-digit digs, tallied a kill in each match of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge and added three aces against LSU. Martin ranks third on the team in assists and is the only non-setter in double digits.
• Ella Demetrician had a strong day against LSU, recording 14 kills on 34 swings and adding two blocks. She ranks second on the team in kills with 47, and has added two aces and six blocks. She has tallied 26 digs, good for third on the team, and has double-digit kills in three of the four matches this season.
• Ece Senyapici is averaging 1.07 blocks per set with one solo block and 15 block assists so far this season. The sophomore did not play last season but has played in every set so far, adding 21 kills to her blocks on a .327 hitting percentage. Senyapici recorded double-digit kills for the first time in her career on Tuesday (Sept. 1) with 10 kills on 21 swings with one error.
• Fourteen of 17 rostered players have played for the Wolverines this season; eight have played in every set, with the same seven starters in every match so far. Carly Greskovics, Trixie McMillin and Ellie White all made their season debuts in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge. Hannah Brady, Megan Ingersoll and Jaden Jones have yet to see action this season.
• Cincinnati is 2-1 this season, beginning the season with a five-set win over Illinois in Champaign. The Bearcats swept Syracuse the next day before dropping their home opener to Santa Clara on Tuesday (Sept. 1). Cincinnati will play Valpo on Friday (Sept. 4) before taking on the Wolverines. The two teams met last year, with Michigan winning 3-1 in Cincinnati. U-M holds a 3-1 record against the Bearcats.
• Valparaiso opened the season 3-0, defeating UAB, Chattanooga and Tennessee State in the Chattanooga Classic last weekend. The Beacons finished 21-9 last season, going 12-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, but lost in the conference semifinals as the No. 2 seed. Valpo will play Cincinnati and Oakland before playing the Wolverines on Sunday. U-M is 3-0 all-time against the Beacons, dropping a set in the first meeting in 2003 but sweeping the matchups in 2004 and 2018.
