Michigan
16-10,6-9Big Ten
Michigan State
10-16,3-12Big Ten
Michigan Drops Four-Set Match at Michigan State
11/15/2024 9:40:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan lost to Michigan State in four sets after winning the first set.
» Valentina Vaulet tallied a match-leading 20 kills with a .235 hitting percentage and added two aces.
» Morgan Burke tallied a double-double with 35 assists and 17 digs.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team lost 3-1 to Michigan State (25-20, 17-25, 18-25, 18-25) on Friday night (Nov. 14) at Breslin Center.
Valentina Vaulet led Michigan (16-10, 6-9 Big Ten) with 20 kills for the second straight match and added two aces and eight digs. Morgan Burke tallied a double-double with 35 assists and 17 digs while adding three aces. Maddi Cuchran also recorded double-digit digs with 15.
Ella Demetrician opened the match with a kill, but Michigan State (10-16, 3-12 Big Ten) tied the match at one and the teams traded the next eight points. With the score tied at five, U-M scored five unanswered led by three kills from Demetrician. MSU took four of the next five points, but with Michigan leading 13-11, the Wolverines had another strong run. Led by Vaulet at the service line, Kendyl Reaugh tallied two kills on the run to put U-M up 17-11. MSU took two of the next three but could not mount a full comeback as Serena Nyambio put Michigan at 20 points and a kill from Boney positioned U-M at set point. After a missed serve, Vaulet ended the first set with a back-row kill for a 25-20 set win.
A service ace from Burke opened the second set, but MSU took a 2-1 lead. The Spartans then committed two errors before an ace from Demetrician put U-M 4-2. Michigan led 9-7 before four straight Spartan points gave them the lead and they held on for the rest of the set. A kill from Vaulet brought U-M to within one at 12-11, but another 4-0 MSU run kept it in front. U-M strung together multiple points only once over the remainder of the set with a Vaulet kill and Burke ace at 23-17, but Michigan State took the next two to win the second set 25-17.
U-M opened the third set taking four of the first five, thanks in part to a pair of Nyambio kills. The Wolverines held the lead until MSU used three straight points to take a 7-6 lead. Michigan tied the set at seven and eight, but MSU took a 10-8 lead and never looked back. A kill from Demetrician brought U-M within one at 10-9 and an ace from Vaulet brought Michigan within one at 14-13 but the Wolverines could not tie the set. MSU took 11 of the final 16 points of the third set to win 25-18.
MSU led from start to finish in the fourth, getting out to 4-1 and 6-2 leads. A kill from Boney and an ace from Vaulet put Michigan down two at 6-4 and an ace from Burke brought U-M to within one at 9-8 but MSU held the lead. A kill from Vaulet and a block assist from Nyambio and Vaulet brought U-M to 11-10, but once again Michigan could not tie. U-M got within two twice more, but MSU went on an 8-1 run to take a 22-13 lead. Michigan tried to mount a comeback and took five straight points with two kills from Nyambio, but MSU took the final three points to win 25-18.
The Wolverines next travel to Minneapolis for a rematch against No. 16-ranked Minnesota on Sunday (Nov. 17) at 2 p.m. CST. The match will be streamed live on B1G+
