Michigan
12-2,2-1Big Ten
USC
10-3,2-1Big Ten
Wolverines Unable to Hold Early Lead at No. 21 USC
10/4/2024 11:59:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan took the first two sets against No. 21 USC, but fell in five.
» Valentina Vaulet matched her career high with 22 kills to lead U-M and added three aces.
» Morgan Burke had 51 assists in addition to two aces.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Despite taking a quick two-set lead against USC, the University of Michigan volleyball team dropped the final three in a five-set loss (25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 12-15) to the Trojans on Friday night (Oct. 4) at the Galen Center.
Michigan (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) was led offensively by Valentina Vaulet, who tallied a match-leading and career-high tying 22 kills on a .319 hitting percentage. Morgan Burke had 51 assists for her second straight match of more than 50 assists. Allison Jacobs was second on the team in kills with 19 and added nine digs and two blocks. Serena Nyambio registered a team-leading six blocks while Maddi Cuchran led the team with 19 digs.
U-M started off the match with a kill from Nyambio and stayed in front for the rest of the set. After a kill from Kendyl Reaugh and an ace from Jacobs, USC (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) got its first point of the match. The teams traded the next few points until a 4-0 Michigan run to put Michigan up 9-3 and force a USC timeout. The Women of Troy took the next point but could not get into the set stringing together just two runs of two points for the remainder of the set. The Wolverines had built a large enough lead and used a few short runs to take the set 25-15 with a kill from Vaulet finishing things. In the set, U-M hit .464 led by Vaulet and Reaugh while holding USC to a .148 hitting percentage.
The Trojans opened the second set with two straight points and led 3-1 before a 6-0 run by the Wolverines led by Mira Chopra at the service line. She tallied an ace while Vaulet added three kills. USC took its first timeout of the set after a solo block from Reaugh at 9-4 and got the next point of the set. USC later took the lead, 14-13, after a 6-0 run, but the Wolverines stayed in it and retook the lead at 16-15 after a kill from Jacobs. The match was tied at 16, 17, and 18 before a kill from Boney put U-M up 19-18. A Southern California attack error gave U-M the buffer it needed as USC scored only one more point in the set. A 4-0 run and an ace from Burke put an end on a 25-20 second set victory and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set again saw USC open on back-to-back points, but Michigan tied the match at two with a block from Nyambio and Reaugh. The Wolverines then went on a 6-1 run led by two kills from Reaugh and an ace from Vaulet. Southern California brought the score to within one at 11-10, but a service error gave U-M a two-point advantage again. A block from Nyambio and Vaulet and kills from the pair put Michigan up 15-11 heading into the media timeout. USC tied the match at 17, but the Maize and Blue was able to stay in the lead after a service error and a service ace from Burke, USC took its first timeout of the set and took the next two points to tie the match at 20. After ties at 21 and 22, USC took three of the final four points of the set to win 25-23.
Vaulet opened the fourth set with a kill and helped the Wolverines take an early 6-2 lead. USC brought the score to within one at 6-4, but U-M responded with a 3-0 run led by a Vaulet ace. Michigan and Southern California traded points until USC tied the match at 14. Michigan used a kill from Vaulet to lead headed into the media timeout. After ties at 15, 16 and 17, U-M went on a 4-1 run with kills from three different players and a block from Nyambio and Vaulet. USC took a timeout down 23-19, then took the final six points of the set to win 25-23 and force a fifth set.
The teams split the first 10 points of the final set evenly before a 6-0 run from Michigan put the Wolverines in a strong position at 11-5. The run was led by Ella Demetrician at the service line and began with a pair of USC errors, before a block and three kills from Jacobs. After a second USC timeout, it went on a 6-0 run of its own to tie the match at 11. An attack error gave U-M the next point, but USC finished the set with four straight points to win the deciding fifth set 15-12.
The Wolverines will wrap up their California weekend on Saturday (Oct. 5) at 7 p.m. PDT when they take on UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The match will be streamed live on B1G+.
