Wolverines Back on Road at Iowa, No. 5 Nebraska

THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 11 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CDT
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Oct. 13 -- at #5 Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 1 p.m. CDT
TV: ESPN2 | Live Stats | Live Video

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Rosen Report

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team (11-3, 4-0 Big Ten) hits the road for another weekend of Big Ten action. The Wolverines will travel to Iowa City on Friday (Oct. 11) for a 7 p.m. CDT matchup against Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, then will head to Lincoln to take on No. 5-ranked Nebraska on Sunday (Oct. 13) at Devaney Center.

Friday's match will be streamed live on BTN Plus and Sunday's showdown will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

Starting Out Hot

• The Wolverines are off to their best Big Ten start in the Mark Rosen era with a 4-0 record for the first time in 23 seasons. With a win against Iowa, U-M would be 5-0 in the Big Ten standings for the first time in program history.

Diaper Dandy

• Freshman May Pertofsky was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (Oct. 7), the second straight week the Los Angeles native has won the award. The middle blocker averaged 3.50 kills per set with a .356 attack percentage in Michigan's two sweeps at Maryland (Oct. 4) and Ohio State (Oct. 6).

• Pertofsky had 11 kills and hit .333 at Maryland (Oct. 4) and tied a career-best with four aces. She followed that performance with 10 kills on .375 hitting with five blocks and four digs in the sweep at Ohio State (Oct. 6).

Setting Up Success

• Senior MacKenzi Welsh averages 11.2 assists per set, good for third in the Big Ten. Welsh has helped orchestrate the best attacking offense in the conference and fifth-best in the country, as the Wolverines hold a .289 attack percentage.

• Welsh, who became the sixth Wolverine to accumulate 4,000 career assists opening weekend, now has 4,470 assists for her career. She is sixth all-time at Michigan and 112 away from entering the top five.

• Welsh also is nearing the top of the NCAA career assists leaderboard. The Bolingbrook, Illinois, native is second in Division I in career assists behind Jenna Gray of Stanford (4,615).

Hitting the Road

• Michigan is 3-2 away from Ann Arbor this season, with wins over Rutgers (Sept. 25), Maryland (Oct. 4) and Ohio State (Oct. 6). The two road setbacks came at Dayton (Sept. 7) and Notre Dame (Sept. 18).

How Sweep It Is

• The Wolverines started their Big Ten slate with four consecutive sweeps (at Rutgers, vs. Ohio State, at Maryland, at Ohio State) for the first time in program history. The straight-sets victories over the weekend marked the eighth and ninth sweeps of the 2019 campaign.

Besting the Buckeyes

• Michigan has held the upper hand in its rivalry against Ohio State of late, winning seven straight matches against the Buckeyes. Leading the charge the last two seasons has been sophomore Paige Jones, who has averaged 5.09 kills per set while hitting .439 in three career matches against OSU.

Where They Rank

• U-M ranks at or near the top of the Big Ten in multiple categories. The Wolverines lead the conference with a .289 hitting percentage, which ranks fifth in the NCAA. The Maize and Blue also ranks second in aces per set (1.71), third in assists per set (12.94), fourth in kills per set (13.61) and sixth in opponent hitting percentage (.178).

Scouting the Opposition

Iowa
Michigan leads, 42-27, in the all-time series against Iowa
Iowa comes into the weekend with an overall record of 7-8 and a 1-3 record in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes are fifth in the Big Ten in both hitting percentage (.261) and kills per set (13.52).

Nebraska
Michigan trails, 16-3, in the all-time series against Nebraska
Nebraska is the first ranked opponent for Michigan in 2019; the Cornhuskers are ranked No. 5 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll (Oct. 7). The Huskers' straight-sets loss to No. 13 Wisconsin marked the first time Nebraska had been swept at Devaney Center since 2014. Michigan will be looking for its first win in Lincoln (0-7).

Up Next

Friday, Oct. 18 -- vs. Penn State (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19 -- vs. Rutgers (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.