Michigan
North Carolina
Undefeated Michigan to Head to North Carolina for ACC/Big Ten Challenge
9/17/2024 2:31:00 PM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team (9-0) goes into its final non-conference weekend undefeated and heads to North Carolina for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Wolverines will play North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Friday (Sept. 20) at 7 p.m. and then Duke on Saturday (Sept. 21) at 6:30 p.m. in Durham. N.C. Both matches will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Notes
• With wins over Sacramento State, Akron and Oakland at the Michigan Invitational last week, the Wolverines improved to 9-0 on the season. U-M swept the Hornets on Thursday (Sept. 12) with a .340 hitting percentage and held Sacramento State to .032. The Maize and Blue dropped the first set to Akron (Sept. 13) but won the next three, including an errorless third set that featured the Wolverines tallying 16 kills on 24 attacks. On Sunday (Sept. 15), U-M dominated the first and fourth sets -- outscoring the Golden Grizzles 50-23, respectively -- taking the third set as well for the match win.
• With 140 kills on the season, Allison Jacobs leads the team and has almost 30 percent of the team's kills thus far. She led the Michigan in kills in all three matches at the Michigan Invitational and eclipsed the 20-kill plateau twice for the first time in her career -- including a new career high of 25 in a four-set match against Akron. Jacobs also has been served to 230 times this season, almost 100 more the next Wolverine on the list (Maddi Cuchran, 137), and has committed just eight errors.
• Morgan Burke set a new career high with 51 assists against Akron and has 344 on the season. She totaled 488 assists last season through 22 matches and 65 sets, and in just 33 sets this season, she has 14 kills, 12 aces, 92 digs and 12 blocks all of which are at or near her 2023 totals (14 kills, 13 aces, 139 digs, 13 blocks). This season, Burke has already tallied four double-doubles, including the her two most-recent matches against Akron and Oakland.
• After a slow start to the season, Jacque Boney tallied double-digit kills for the first time against Akron (12) and followed it up with 12 more against Oakland. On the season, Boney has 72 kills with a .336 hitting percentage and 35 total blocks (six solo and 29 assists). Boney is averaging 1.06 blocks per set and has 329 in her career with a 0.96 average across her 344 career sets.
• Senior Cuchran has started every match this season as the Wolverines' libero after just a few starts there over her first three seasons. With her 40 assists, she already has surpassed last season's total (35); she also has more than doubled her digs-per-set average from last season (2.14), sitting at 4.30 this season with 142 digs through 33 sets. Her career high in digs (28) was set at Notre Dame on Sept. 7.
• With a .426 hitting percentage, middle Serena Nyambio is leading Michigan. She has 74 kills on 141 attacks with just 14 errors. Nyambio tallied her first career ace against Oakland and has tallied 32 blocks this season. She has gone errorless three times, most recently hitting .692 with nine kills on 13 attacks against Oakland (Sept. 15).
• Ella Demetrician did not play in season opener, but tallied seven kills in each of the next three matches. She had a great weekend at the StarkVegas Classic, totaling 14 kills against Mississippi State and 18 against Notre Dame. Demetrician struggled offensively in the Michigan Invitational, collecting 12 total kills, but was an asset defensively with nine digs against Akron and a new career high with 10 digs versus the Golden Grizzlies.
• With 22 aces on the season in 25 sets, Valentina Vaulet ranks second nationally in aces per set at 0.88 and fifth in total service aces. Vaulet missed the past two matches, but has 64 kills on the season with nine assists, 54 digs and 16 blocks.
• With nine consecutive wins to start the season, the Wolverines are one of 16 remaining undefeated teams in the country. U-M is seventh in the nation in assists per set (13.55) and 23rd in total assists (447), bot which lead the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines also are eighth nationally in kills per set (14.45) and 30th in total kills (447), a total that aloo leads the Big Ten. Michigan also is in the top 50 nationally in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, aces per set and total aces.
• North Carolina is 6-1, starting the season 4-0 before losing to South Carolina. Last weekend at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Classic, the Tar Heels earned wins over Lipscomb and Kansas State. All-time, Michigan trails 5-4 in the series but has won the last two matchups. Last year, the Wolverines took down the Tar Heels in straight sets with Boney tallying 11 kills and six blocks.
• Duke sits at 4-5 on the season and is on a two-game losing skid, having dropped matches to No. 3 Penn State and St. John's. In program history, Michigan is 5-3 against the Blue Devils, but has lost the last two matches in four sets.
