Michigan
7-18,5-11Big Ten
Rutgers
10-16,2-14Big Ten
Michigan Downs Rutgers in Four Sets Behind Murray's Career-High 24 Kills
11/12/2023 4:34:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan defeated Rutgers in 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18) for its third win in four matches.
» Kendall Murray led the Wolverines with a career-high 24 kills.
» Morgan Burke had 45 assists and added two aces and eight digs.
» The Wolverines hit .336, their highest of the season and added 11 aces.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Kendall Murray had a career afternoon with 24 kills and a .537 hitting percentage to lead the University of Michigan volleyball team to a four-set victory over Rutgers (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18) on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 12) at College Avenue Gym.
Murray's 24 kills bested her previous single-match high of 21. She had just two errors on 41 attacks and added two aces. Valentina Vaulet (16) and Jacque Boney (10) joined Murray with double-digit kills. Michigan had 11 total aces, with Hannah Grant tallying four and Vaulet and Morgan Burke contributing two each. Burke had 45 assists and added eight digs -- just one behind Grant's team-leading nine. Michigan hit .336 for the match,, its highest of the season.
Rutgers (10-15, 2-13 Big Ten) jumped out to a 9-2 lead and worked it up to a 15-7. A Serena Nyambio kill sent Grant to the service line, and she led an 11-0 run to put the Wolverines up 18-15. Grant had four service aces, including three in a row, and Murray added two kills. U-M capped off the set with a Vaulet kill and Burke ace to take the first set 25-19.
Michigan (6-18, 4-11 Big Ten) started the second like the Scarlet Knights did the first, and took a 10-6 lead to force an early Rutgers timeout. Two kills from Vaulet and one each from Murray and Boney led the Wolverines in the early going. The Scarlet Knights were able to keep it close and got within two multiple times, but a 3-0 run at 14-12 from Michigan gave some breathing room at 17-12. The run was keyed by Nyambio and Vaulet blocks, while Vaulet added a kill. Another ace from Burke and kill from Vaulet brought Michigan to 20-13 advantage points, and pushed it to 23-16 on a Murray kill -- her sixth of the set. A Rutgers attack error put U-M on set point. The Scarlet Knights fought off three set points, but Vaulet hammered one from the back row to finish off the second set 25-20.
The third set was a battle, with eight ties and four lead changes. Michigan earned the first two-point lead of the set at 10-8 after a kill from Murray and extended it to 10-9 thanks to kills from Boney and Murray. The Wolverines led 17-13 after a solo block from Nyambio, but the Scarlet Knights hung around and went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. Vaulet and Murray tallied kills to bring Michigan within one, but Rutgers ended the set on a 5-1 run to take the third set 25-20.
The Wolverines controlled the fourth set from the start. Murray gave Michigan the lead to open the set and U-M kept it for the rest of the set. Michigan took a 7-3 lead after a 3-0 run with kills from Murray and Vaulet. Later in the set, Vaulet tallied two aces to put Michigan up 13-7. The Wolverines continued to dominate when Murray tallied a kill and two aces in three points. Murray's 24th kill of the match gave the Wolverines a set point at 24-20. The Scarlet Knights tried to come back and managed two more points, but Boney and Amalia Simmons combined on a block to give Michigan the set 25-18 and a 3-1 match win.
Michigan will return to the road next weekend for two matches, starting with No. 1-ranked Nebraska on Friday (Nov. 17) at 8 p.m. CST in Lincoln. The match will broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
