Season Review: 2023 Michigan Volleyball

Team Captains: Hannah Grant, Allison Jacobs, Kendall Murray
Record: 7-22, 5-15 Big Ten Conference (12th Place)

The University of Michigan volleyball team persevered through a challenging 2023 season with a new coaching staff. After some key departures and some notable injuries and absences through the season, the Wolverines pulled off a few quality wins and played in some hard-fought battles.

Team Highlights

• Michigan compiled a 7-22 overall record and a 5-15 Big Ten record, finishing 12th in the conference standings. The Wolverines tallied four of their seven wins over the final nine matches of conference play.

• U-M was led by first-year head coach, Erin Virtue, who previously spent five seasons with the Wolverines (2011-15) as recruiting and offensive coordinator. She returned to Ann Arbor after working with the US national team and winning gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

• The Wolverines drew 39,240 fans during their home matches at Cliff Keen Arena and Crisler Center, ranking 17th in the nation. Three contests at Crisler found their way into the program's top-five: On Oct. 7, U-M drew 7,813 fans (No. 2 all-time) against Nebraska. The third-largest crowd of 6,569 saw U-M sweep Michigan State on Sept. 22, and 5,901 fans (No. 4 all-time) cheered the Wolverines to victory over Ohio State on Oct. 29.

• Michigan ended the year with the 26th toughest schedule in the nation. Their opponents had a .609 winning percentage, and five finished the season ranked in the top 15 while seven made the NCAA Tournament, including two final four teams (Nebraska and Wisconsin).

• U-M's biggest win of the year came against rival Ohio State. The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes in four sets to jumpstart a three-match win streak. Kendall Murray collected 19 kills and Michigan had eight service aces and nine total team blocks. This match also was the first Big Ten volleyball match broadcast on Fox, viewed by 1.66 million people.

• The Wolverines excelled in the serving game this season and emerged as a powerhouse in the conference, finishing second in the Big Ten in total aces with 176 and in aces per set at 1.73. Nine different Wolverines had double-digit aces with Valentina Vaulet leading the way at 36. The Wolverines also finished sixth in the conference in team attacks per set with a 33.99 average.

Individual Highlights

• Murray was pivotal to the team in many facets. Offensively, the senior totaled a team-leading 282 kills and 2.76 kills per set and set a career-high 24 kills against Rutgers (Nov. 12) with a .537 hitting percentage. Defensively, Murray was second on the team with 32 aces and 218 digs on the season.

• Middle blocker Jacque Boney led the team in hitting percentage at .315. Tallying 236 kills on the season, she played an important role in the Wolverines' 5-1 offense. Boney tied her career-high 14 kills three times this season in matches against Colorado State, Maryland and Indiana.

• Vaulet had a strong first season with the Wolverines, both at the net and behind the service line. The freshman tied for second on the team in kills with 236, and she led the team in service aces with 36. Vaulet's ace total ranked seventh in the Big Ten and her 0.39 aces per set ranked fourth.

• Brooke Humphrey started in 12 matches as the team's libero and seven other matches as a defensive specialist. She played in every set for the Wolverines and led the team in digs with 230.

• Sophomore Serena Nyambio established herself as the team's strongest blocker after tallying a career-high seven blocks in back-to-back matches against Penn State (Oct. 27) and Ohio State (Oct. 29). Nyambio ended the season with a team-leading 88 total blocks.

• Michigan's setters, Scottee Johnson and Morgan Burke, had strong seasons. Johnson tallied 433 assists and surpassed 2,000 for her career, finishing with 2,367 to sit eighth in program history. Burke took over the Wolverines offense halfway through conference play and ended the season with 488 assists and averaged 7.51 per set. As a freshman setter, Burke recorded four dig-assist double-doubles, and against Ohio State she logged a team-leading 16 digs and 41 assists.

• Hannah Grant finished her Michigan career with 1,269 digs, which ranks ninth all-time at U-M. She also tallied 15 aces on the season for 102 in her career.

• Virtue earned her first career victory in the season's second match against Sacred Heart. Against the Pioneers, freshman Lydia Johnson recorded a career-high seven aces -- tied for fourth all-time in program history. Also, Boney led the team with 13 kills and a .650 hitting percentage.

Honors and Awards

Jacque
Boney

Mira
Chopra

Maddi
Cuchran

Hannah
Grant

Brooke
Humphrey

Allison
Jacobs

Kendall
Murray

Serena
Nyambio

Amalia
Simmons

Big Ten Conference
Sportsmanship Award: Brooke Humphrey

College Sports Communicators
Academic All-District: Brooke Humphrey, Maddi Cuchran, Serena Nyambio

Academic All-Big Ten
Jacque Boney, Jr., Business Administration
Mira Chopra, Jr., Biology, Health, & Society
Maddi Cuchran, Jr., Applied Exercise Science
Hannah Grant, 5th, Management MM
Brooke Humphrey, Sr., Communication and Media
Allison Jacobs, Sr., Communication and Media
Kendall Murray, Sr., Communication and Media
Serena Nyambio, So., LSA Undeclared
Amalia Simmons, So., LSA Undeclared