Michigan
16-8,6-7Big Ten
Rutgers
11-14,2-11Big Ten
Wolverines Rally From Two Sets Back to Reverse Sweep Rutgers
11/7/2025 11:40:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan took down Rutgers, winning the final three sets to beat the Scarlet Knights.
» The Wolverines used a 7-0 run to close out the match after trailing 13-8 in the fifth.
» Ella Demetrician tallied her third straight double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs.
» Allison Jacobs recorded 20 kills on 52 swings.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Trailing 2-0 in the match and behind Rutgers midway through the third, the University of Michigan volleyball rallied and held off the Scarlet Knights over the final two sets for a five-set win (23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-13) on Friday night (Nov. 7) at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Michigan (16-8, 6-7 Big Ten) trailed by two sets, but took the third and fourth sets to force a fifth. In the final set, Allison Jacobs opened it with a kill, but the Scarlet Knights took eight of the next 10 points to take an 8-3 lead. Out of the media timeout, Rutgers committed a service ace before back-to-back blocks from Serena Nyambio and Lydia Johnson as U-M cut the lead to 8-6. The Scarlet Knights went on a 3-0 run to force a Michigan timeout. Rutgers took the first point out of the timeout, but Nyambio recorded a kill before a Rutgers attack error to bring the match to 12-8. After a Rutgers kill, Michigan closed out the match on a 7-0 run, started by a kill from Johnson. Maddi Cuchran followed with an ace. A block by Hanes and Johnson followed before a Hanes kill tied the match at 13, and another error by Rutgers brought Michigan to match point. Johnson clinched the set, 15-13, and the match with a kill.
Jacobs led the Wolverines with 20 kills, doing so on 52 swings. Ella Demetrician tallied her third straight double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs, adding an ace and two blocks. Hanes recorded her first career double-digit kill match with 11 kills on 19 swings. Nyambio provided strong cover at the net with a match-leading six blocks and added 10 kills. Johnson provided a spark off the bench with nine kills and no errors on 17 swings with five blocks. Morgan Burke and Camille Edwards paced the Michigan offense with 33 and 26 assists, respectively. Cuchran tallied a team-leading 15 digs.
Demetrician opened the match for Michigan with a kill and an ace, but Rutgers (11-14, 2-11 Big Ten) took the next four points. U-M tied the match with kills from Jacobs and Hanes, but the Scarlet Knights stayed in front. Michigan tied it again at five and six, but Rutgers used a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead and led for the rest of the set. Michigan used a 3-1 run to bring the lead to 10-9, but Rutgers countered with one of their own to go up 13-10. Later at 18-14, Michigan went on a 4-1 run to force a timeout, led by two kills and a block from Demetrician. Out of the timeout, Rutgers took the next two points, but U-M countered with a timeout out of its own and used a kill from Cymarah Gordon to cut the lead to 21-20. Rutgers reached set point at 24-21, and a kill and block from Hanes kept Michigan in it. However, a Scarlet Knights kill finished off the first set with Rutgers winning 25-23.
Michigan took two of the first three points to open the second set, but Rutgers collected six of the next seven points to go up 6-2. After a Michigan timeout, the Wolverines took two of the next three points with kills from Nyambio and Jacobs. U-M followed a Rutgers kill with a 5-1 run to tie the match at nine, led by two kills from Hanes. Michigan could not pull in front as the Scarlet Knights used a 4-1 run to take a 13-10 lead. Rutgers continued to add to its lead, going up 18-13 and forcing a second Michigan timeout. Out of the timeout, the Wolverines fought back with a 4-1 run led by a block from Johnson and Nyambio. Rutgers built back its lead to 22-18, but kills from Gordon and Jacobs gave U-M a chance down 23-21. After Rutgers reached set point, Jacobs recorded a kill, but the Scarlet Knights recorded a kill to win the set 25-22.
Rutgers opened the third set on another run to go up 6-3 early. The Wolverines kept it close, bringing themselves to 6-5, 8-7 and 10-9 before using a 4-0 run to tie the set at 12 and eventually taking the lead. On the run, Jacobs recorded two kills while Johnson added one. Rutgers tied the set at 13, but Michigan went on a 6-2 run to go up 19-15 with two kills from Jacobs and a block and a kill from Gordon. The teams traded the next few points before a 2-0 run from Rutgers brought them to within two at 22-20. After a Michigan timeout, a Scarlet Knights attack error preceded a kill from Jacobs to bring the Wolverines to set point. Rutgers fought off one set point chance, but Jacobs finished it off with her seventh kill of the set for a 25-21 win.
The fourth set started even with the teams trading the first six points before a 4-0 Michigan run put the Wolverines up 6-3. Three different Wolverines tallied kills on the run and U-M maintained a strong lead using kills from Demetrician and a block and kill from Nyambio to lead 11-6. The Scarlet Knights went on a 3-0 run to cut the Michigan lead to two points at 14-12, but Hanes tallied a kill to keep Michigan in control. At 16-14, Michigan went on a 3-1 run with kills from Demetrician and Johnson to take a 19-15 lead. Rutgers responded with a 4-0 run and tied the match at 19. The teams traded the next few points until Rutgers took the lead 22-21 with an ace. A kill from Jacobs tied the match at 22, but the Scarlet Knights tallied a kill of their own to maintain the lead. Back-to-back kills from Demetrician gave U-M the lead, a set point chance and forced a Rutgers timeout. Out of the timeout, Rutgers tied the match at 24. Demetrician tallied another kill, but the Scarlet Knights tied it again, this time at 25. Another kill from Demetrician gave U-M a set-point chance, and the Scarlet Knights committed an error to give U-M the fourth set 27-25.
The Wolverines continue their East Coast trip, heading south to take on Maryland on Sunday (Nov. 9) at noon in the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion at XFINITY Center. The match will be streamed live on B1G+.
