Michigan
11-1, 0-1Big Ten
Nebraska
10-1, 1-0Big Ten
Wolverines Drop Big Ten Opener at No. 3 Nebraska
9/21/2018 11:46:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan's loss is its first of the season.
» Carly Skjodt led the Wolverines with 13 kills.
» Libero Jenna Lerg posted a match-high 20 digs.
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center)
Score: #3 Nebraska 3, #18 Michigan 1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-17, 25-12)
Records: U-M (11-1, 0-1 B1G), Nebraska (10-1, 1-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 23 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 2 p.m. CDT
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season on Friday evening (Sept. 21) when it fell, 3-1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-17, 25-12), to the reigning national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big Ten opener inside the Devaney Center.
The Huskers jumped out to early leads in three of the four sets and held the Wolverines to a .135 hitting percentage for the match. Senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt led the Wolverine offense with 13 kills, while senior libero Jenna Lerg anchored the defense with a match-high 20 digs. Redshirt junior Cori Crocker led the front row with four blocks.
Nebraska opened the match on a 7-2 run, which forced a Michigan timeout early on. Despite the Huskers' momentum, the Wolverines used serving runs from senior Maddy Abbott and junior Sydney Wetterstrom to inch back and tie the score at 8. From there, however, Nebraska pulled away for a 14-11 lead and controlled the remainder of the first set on both offense and defense. Using six blocks and holding Michigan to an .059 hitting percentage, the Huskers took set one, 25-19.
The Huskers again took a quick lead in the second set, but Michigan worked its way back and tied the score at 9 on a solo block from sophomore Kiara Shannon, before a back-row kill from Skjodt gave the Wolverines their first lead of the night. Nebraska answered with a kill to tie things up, but a 5-0 run from Michigan extended the Wolverine lead to 15-10 before the Huskers launched a 5-1 run and cut the Wolverines' lead to one, 16-15, and forced a Maize and Blue timeout. The teams traded points from there, until back-to-back kills from Skjodt pushed Michigan to a 27-25 second-set victory. Skjodt alone finished the second set with eight kills.
The teams traded points to begin the third set, though neither team gained a significant edge until the Huskers went up, 15-12, just before the media timeout. Following the stoppage in play, Nebraska held Michigan to just nine kills and a .133 hitting percentage as the Huskers rallied for a 25-17 third-set win.
Nebraska ran out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set, forcing Michigan to use its first timeout early. Despite the attempt to slow the Husker momentum, Nebraska dominated the final set of the evening with a .467 hitting percentage and held Michigan to just seven kills en route to a smooth 25-12 victory and clinch the Big Ten opener
Michigan (11-1) will return to play on Sunday (Sept. 23) with a contest at Iowa. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CDT and the match will be streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required).
