Michigan
6-0,0-0Big Ten
Notre Dame
2-1,0-0ACC
Wolverines Take Hard-Fought Victory Against Notre Dame
9/7/2024 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan took down Notre Dame in four sets to improve to 6-0 on the season.
» Allison Jacobs matched her career high with 19 kills.
» Morgan Burke tallied her second consecutive double-double with 44 assists and 13 digs.
» Maddi Cuchran surpassed her career high in digs with 28 in the match.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Behind 19 kills from Allison Jacobs and 18 from Ella Demetrician, the University of Michigan volleyball team defeated Notre Dame 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20) on Saturday evening (Sept. 7) to complete play at the Mississippi State StarkVegas Classic at the in Newell-Grissom Building.
Michigan (6-0) was led offensively by Jacobs and Demetrician who combined for 37 kills as Demetrician led the team with a .368 hitting percentage. Morgan Burke tallied 44 assists and 13 digs for her second double-double in as many matches and added three aces. Maddi Cuchran set a new career high with 28 digs, surpassing her previous high of 24. Serena Nyambio and Jacque Boney added a strong net presence combing for three solo blocks and eight block assists.
Notre Dame (2-1) took the opening point of the match before a service error and block by Valentina Vaulet and Nyambio put U-M ahead 2-1. The teams traded the next 21 points to result in a 12-all tie. A kill and an ace from Jacobs put U-M in front and a service error gave U-M a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. It was all Notre Dame from there as it ended the first set on a 12-5 run, winning 25-20.
The Wolverines opened the second set on a 6-2 run, but the Fighting Irish responded with a 8-1 run to take a 10-7 lead and force a U-M timeout. After knotting the score at 11, 12 and 13, U-M took the lead at 14 with a kill from Jacobs. The Wolverines held off the Irish after a 3-0 run to go up 18-14 highlighted by a Mira Chopra ace. U-M closed out the set on a 4-0 run with two kills from Demetrician, a combined block from Demetrician and Boney, and a kill from Jacobs to finish it off at 25-18.
The third set was evenly matched to start with the teams splitting the first 16 points before Michigan went on a 4-0 run, with Demetrician tallying a kill and an ace. The Wolverines led for the rest of the set thanks to three 3-0 runs. Notre Dame fought off one set point, but Nyambio hammered home the final point of the set to win 25-18 to take a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set featured nine ties and five lead changes, with the teams splitting the first 16 points before a 5-0 Wolverines run. An ace from Burke and back-to-back kills from Vaulet put the Wolverines in front 13-8. The Irish countered with a 7-0 run to go up 17-15. After two more points from each team, Michigan went on a 6-0 run started by a bad set from the Irish and saw an ace from Cuchran, kills from Jacobs and Demetrician and a solo block from Nyambio that put Michigan in from 23-19. The Irish tried to stop the momentum with a kill, but the Wolverines ended the match with kills from Jacobs and Demetrician. The fourth set finished 25-20 leading the Wolverines to a 3-1 win.
Michigan will return to Ann Arbor to host the Michigan Invitational, Thursday through Sunday (Sept. 12-15). The Wolverines will open play at Crisler Center against Sacramento State on Thursday (Sept. 12) at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed live on B1G+.
