Michigan
Minnesota
Top-10 Weekend on Tap For U-M vs. Minnesota on Vollapalooza, at Ohio State
10/6/2021 6:13:00 PM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 8 -- vs. #8 Minnesota (Crisler Center), 9 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Oct. 10 -- at #7 Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 1 p.m.
TV: B1G+ | Live Stats | Live Video
PROMOTIONS
• Oct. 8: Vollapalooza -- First 250 students will receive T-shirts and pizza
• Full Promotions Schedule
• Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Rosen Report
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team faces a tall task this weekend, taking on two AVCA top-10 ranked opponents in No. 8 Minnesota and No. 7 Ohio State. The Wolverines host the Golden Gophers on Friday (Oct. 8) at 9 p.m. in Crisler Center, then travel to take on the Buckeyes on Sunday (Oct. 2) at 1 p.m. in Columbus. Friday night's match will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network, while Sunday's contest will be streamed live on B1G+.
Friday night's match against Minnesota is the second-annual Vollapalooza extravaganza. The party will be on throughout Crisler Center, while the first 250 students will receive T-shirts and pizza.
Wolverine Bites
• Three Wolverines, Paige Jones, Amber Beals and Scottee Johnson, call the Buckeye State home and played for clubs based in Columbus. Beals has the most direct tie to Ohio State, as her father Greg is the head baseball coach at OSU.
• Friday's rematch against Minnesota gives the Wolverines a chance to avenge a tough five-set loss in Minneapolis just two weeks ago. Michigan immediately fell behind two sets to none but battled back to force a fifth set. Two of the last three matches against the Golden Gophers has gone five sets.
• Junior May Pertofsky has been a consistent force for the Wolverines this season, finishing with eight kills or more in 10 of 13 matches played. The Los Angeles native has had eight kills in three straight matches and now leads the Big Ten in aces per set (0.50).
• Paige Jones has fared well against the Buckeyes during her career, boasting a 4.28 kills-per-set average while hitting .313. She's had double-digit kills in all five matches against OSU in her career, including 23 during her freshman season in 2018. Jones also has averaged 2.11 digs per set and has three aces.
• Several Wolverines find themselves ranked in the Big Ten's top 10 in key statistical categories, with junior May Pertofsky leading the conference in aces per set (0.50). Redshirt sophomore Hannah Grant is seventh in digs per set (3.98), senior Paige Jones ranks ninth in kills per set (3.56) and sophomore Scottee Johnson is 10th in assists per set (9.60).
• Michigan ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in several team categories as well, sitting in fourth in service aces (1.58) and opponent kills (11.17), fifth in hitting percentage (.256), sixth in opponent hitting percentage (.168) and seventh in digs (14.38).
Opponent Preview
Minnesota
Michigan trails in the all-time series 55-16
Michigan looks to snap an eight-match losing streak against No. 8 Minnesota, having not defeated the Golden Gophers since the 2016 season. Just two weeks ago, the Wolverines came back from down two sets to force a fifth in Minneapolis, but ultimately fell short.
Redshirt senior Stephanie Samedy lived up to her All-American reputation in the first meeting this season, finishing the match with 30 kills while hitting .250. Providing a spark off the bench was sophomore Taylor Landfair, who had eight kills on 16 swings and only one error in two sets played. Setter Melani Shaffmaster had 52 assists and libero CC McGraw put up 32 digs.
The Golden Gophers have a 3-1 Big Ten record with the lone blemish coming in a sweep at No. 5 Wisconsin. Overall, they are 8-4 on the campaign with wins over No. 14 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon.
Ohio State
Michigan trails in the all-time series 55-27
The Wolverines look to reverse their fortunes against the Buckeyes after falling to Ohio State in both meetings this past spring. Prior to the 2021 spring season, Michigan had won seven straight over their rivals -- their longest winning streak over OSU in program history.
Sophomore Emily Londot has built off a tremendous spring to lead the Buckeyes' offense, averaging 3.79 kills per set on the campaign. The opposite hitter was the AVCA Freshman of the Year and an All-America second team honoree this spring. Libero Kylie Murr was the AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year in 2019 after averaging a Big Ten best 4.90 digs per set. She was a second team All-Big Ten member in both 2019 and 2021 spring campaigns.
Ohio State picked up where its successful spring left off, going 12-2 to start the season. OSU's marquee victory was a four-set upset of No. 4 Washington on the season's opening weekend. The Buckeyes are 12-2 overall this season and a perfect 5-0 in Columbus this season, winning both B1G matches in straight sets. Their two losses came on the road in the opening weekend of Big Ten play, falling at No. 7 Purdue in five before getting swept by No. 20 Penn State.
Up Next
Friday, Oct. 15 -- vs. Maryland (Cliff Keen Arena), 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 16 -- vs. Wisconsin (Crisler Center), 4:30 p.m.
