Michigan
16-9,6-8Big Ten
Purdue
20-5,11-3Big Ten
Michigan Drops Contest to No. 9 Purdue
11/10/2024 3:05:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan lost to Purdue in three sets.
» Valentina Vaulet tallied a match-leading 20 kills with a .400 hitting percentage.
» Both Maddi Cuchran and Ella Demetrician tallied double-digit digs in the match.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The University of Michigan volleyball team fell to No. 9-ranked Purdue (20-25, 21-25, 18-25) on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 10) at Holloway Gymnasium.
Michigan (16-9, 6-8 Big Ten) was led by Valentina Vaulet, who tallied a match-leading 20 kills with a .400 hitting percentage. Maddi Cuchran led the team with 12 digs and was joined by Ella Demetrician, who recorded 10 digs. Morgan Burke registered 38 assists. U-M tallied nine blocks in the match, with Serena Nyambio contributing four assists and Jacque Boney adding three assists and a solo block.
Vaulet opened the match with a kill, but Purdue (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) took the next three points and stayed in front for the rest of the set. Kills from Kendyl Reaugh and Boney brought U-M within one early, but a 4-0 Boilermaker run put Purdue up 8-3. U-M cut the deficit to three after a 5-1 run with four different Wolverines registering kills. Boney and Reaugh recorded back-to-back kills to bring U-M within 19-17, but Purdue took six of the final nine points to win the first set 25-20.
The second set was tightly contested, featuring 10 tied scores and four lead changes. The teams split the first 20 points at 10-10, with both gaining early two-point leads. Demetrician's kill put Michigan ahead 11-10, sparking a 4-1 run with two blocks and kills from Reaugh and Vaulet. Purdue answered with a 5-0 run to lead 16-15. A block from Boney and Reaugh tied the score at 16, but the Boilermakers claimed the next three points and secured the 25-21 set win.
Michigan started the third set strong, led by Vaulet, who tallied the opening kill and an ace to give U-M a 3-1 lead. Vaulet and Demetrician added kills to extend the lead to 6-3. Purdue cut the margin to one, but back-to-back kills from Vaulet gave Michigan an 8-5 advantage. The Boilermakers tied the score at nine, and the teams traded points until Purdue's four-point run at 16-15 U-M. The run gave Purdue a 19-16 lead. A block assist from Nyambio and Amalia Simmons briefly ended the streak, but Michigan managed just one more point—Vaulet's 20th kill—as Purdue closed out the third set 25-18.
The Wolverines travel to East Lansing for an in-state rivalry match against Michigan State on Friday (Nov. 15) at 6:00 p.m., with the match streaming live on B1G+.
