Maize & Blue to Trek to No. 3 Penn State, Host No. 15 Minnesota

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan volleyball team (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) will travel for a mid-week match and then return home to round out the weekend. The Wolverines will first play No. 3 Penn State (20-1, 10-0 Big Ten) on Wednesday (Oct. 30) at 7:30 pm ET before facing off against No. 15 Minnesota (14-6, 7-3 Big Ten) at 2 pm ET on Sunday (Nov. 3). The contest with Penn State will air on Big Ten Network and the match against Minnesota will air on Big Ten Plus.

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• Michigan is currently receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Last weekend, the Wolverines swept Iowa in straight sets — winning the first set 25-16 — with the help of many scoring runs. Both teams managed to keep it close in the next two sets, but UM kept the edge each time to win the second set, 25-20, and the third set, 25-18. On Saturday, UM took the first set off Nebraska with a score of 28-26, but the Cornhuskers secured the next three to win the match.

• Graduate student Allison Jacobs Michigan leads in kills with 334 on the season and is also third in the Big Ten. In addition to his kills, Jacobs has recorded 164 digs, 38 blocks and five aces. Jacobs has reached double-digit kills in 19 straight matches, and 20 of the 21 on the season. Over the previous weekend, she tallied 33 kills, 11 digs and 36.0 points across two matches.

• In her second season, Morgan Burke is averaging 10.12 assists per set for seventh in the Big Ten. Additionally, she has 810 assists on the season which is third in the conference, and is 32nd in the NCAA. Outside of her assists, Burke has tallied 23 aces and 196 digs which both rank second on the team — and also has 26 blocks. She has reached 30 or more assists in 17 of the 21 matches, 40 or more in nine matches, and 50 or more in four matches. After tallying 67 more over the past weekend, Burke now ranks 13th for the most career assists in the program at 1,298 — breaking Autumn Collins and Mara Martin.

• With 49 aces on the season, Valentina Vaulet It is one of the best servers in the country. Vaulet is averaging 0.68 aces per set, which ranks second in the Big Ten and fourth in the nation — and her 49 aces rank second in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation. In addition to his aces, as a six-rotation player, Vaulet has recorded 215 kills, 154 digs, and 41 blocks — all of which are new season highs passing his totals from his freshman year.

• Senior Libero Maddi Cuchran you have been an asset in the backcourt this season. She is leading the team with 321 digs and is averaging 4.01 digs per set, which is almost double her average from last season. She has also added 93 assists this season after just 36 in her first three seasons. Cuchran is third in the Big Ten in both digs per set and total digs. This season, Cuchran has started every match as the team’s libero and played in all 80 sets.

• In her senior season, Jacque Boney you have performed well at the net this year. So far, she has 147 kills on a .288 hitting percentage and 69 total blocks (seven solo and 62 assists). Boney has tallied 185 points on the season, which totals 923 points in his career. She recently passed 700 career kills and is tied at 13th with Nicole Poquette for total career blocks in program history at 363.

• With a team-leading .377 hitting percentage and 0.99 blocks per set, junior Serena Nyambio is having an impressive season. Nyambio is sixth in the conference in hitting percentage and 37th in the NCAA. On the season, she has 154 total kills with just 32 errors on 324 attacks, and has tallied 12 solo blocks and 64 block assists. Nyambio has never had more than five errors in a game this season, and she has gone errorless in five matches.

• As a true freshman, Ella Demetrician you have made a major impact for the Wolverines this season. She has recorded 136 kills, 120 digs and 14 aces. She has registered double-digit kills in four games, and has also added 12 assists and 18 blocks in her matches. Demetrician has started the last seven matches in a row after not starting for three matches at the start of Big Ten play.

• No. 3 Penn State is currently 20-1 on the season and 10-0 in the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions have only dropped 14 sets and have stayed near the top of the rankings this season. Over this past weekend, Penn State won matches against UCLA and USC in five sets. Michigan is 6-56 all-time against the Nittany Lions, with three of UM’s wins coming in the last ten years — including a three-set sweep in 2022.

• No. 15 Minnesota enters the weekend at 14-6 and 7-3 in the Big Ten. In conference play, the Golden Gophers’ only losses were to ranked teams: Purdue, USC, and Penn State. Some of their notable wins include five-set wins over Texas and Wisconsin. UM trails in the all-time series against Minnesota. 17-61, with the most recent win being a five-set match in 2021.