Wolverines fall to No. 2 Nebraska in a hard-fought matchup

» Michigan fell to No. 2 Nebraska in four sets after winning the first 28-26.
» Allison Jacobs had a match-leader with 18 kills and added three blocks and five digs.
» Maddi Cuchran had 12 excavations during Morgan Burke had 32 assists, both leading the team.

LINCOLN, Neb. – In a hard-fought match, the University of Michigan volleyball team defeated No. 2-ranked Nebraska in four sets (28-26, 17-25, 11-25, 21-25), but lost on Saturday night (Oct. 3) . 26) at the Bob Devany Sports Center.

Michigan (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) was led by Allison Jacobswho led with 18 kills and hit .300 in 40 swings. She added five digs and three blocks to the match. UM comprised a total of seven blocks Serena Nyambio And Jacque Boney each contributed three. Morgan Burke led the team with 32 assists and added one kill Maddi Cuchran led the team in the duel with 12 players.

Valentina Vaulet opened the game with a kill before an error gave UM a 2-0 lead. Nebraska (20-1, 10-0 Big Ten) tied the set at two before taking a 4-3 lead. Michigan responded with three straight points, including two errors and a kill from Jacobs, to take a 6-4 lead. Nebraska stayed in the game, leading 13-11 and 16-13 before the teams traded the next two points. Michigan then scored four unanswered points to lead 18-17, with the points coming on two errors by Nebraska, a kill by Jacobs and a block assist by Nyambio and Jacobs. Nebraska tied the game at 18 and 19, but UM pulled ahead with three straight points, including a kill by Jacobs and a block by Boney and Vaulet. Nebraska tied it at 23 and reached set point, but a kill by Boney brought the score to 24. The Cornhuskers had another chance, but Jacobs stopped it. An offensive error gave UM its first chance to score, but Nebraska stopped it. Jacobs got the next kill and Vaulet scored for a 28-26 first set win.

Nebraska opened the second set with a kill, but kills from Vaulet and Nyambio gave UM the lead. The Huskers responded with a 10-2 run and an 11-4 lead. UM picked up a few points with two kills each from Vaulet, Jacobs and Ella Demetricianbut Nebraska's lead was too great as the Cornhuskers won the second set 25-17.

Jacobs started the third set with a kill, but Nebraska controlled the rest of the set with an 8-1 run. A kill from Jacobs ended the run and a kill from Vaulet stopped three more straight from the Cornhuskers. However, Nebraska limited Michigan to just six points and won the third set 25-11.

The Cornhuskers opened the fourth set with a 3-0 run and forced an early Michigan timeout with the score at 8-3. After the timeout, Michigan went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 10, helped by four Husker errors and a solo block from Demetrician. The teams then split the next eight points before Michigan took the set lead thanks to a block from Jacobs and Nyambio, tying the game at 14, and a mistake by Nebraska that gave UM the lead. A kill by Nyambio and a block by Nyambio and Vaulet kept UM ahead until Nebraska took a 19-18 lead, forcing Michigan's second timeout. A Nebraska error tied the game at 19 before a UM service error gave Nebraska a 20-19 lead. Demetrician tied the game 20-0, but the Huskers scored five of the last six points to win the set 25-21 and the game 3-1.

The Wolverines travel to Penn State for a game against the No. 3 Nittany Lions on Wednesday (Oct. 30) at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.