Michigan
2-1,0-0Big Ten
South Carolina
3-0,0-0SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 19 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 17 | 3 |
| Michigan | 25 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 15 | 2 |
Wolverines Suffer First Loss of Season in Five-Set Setback vs. South Carolina
9/1/2026 10:51:00 PM | Volleyball
» Michigan fell in five sets to South Carolina in the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge.
» Jenna Hanes hit .737, with 14 kills on 19 swings, good for the third-best single-match hitting percentage in program history.
» Cymarah Gordon and Ece Senyapici also tallied double-digit kills, setting career highs in the process.
» Morgan Burke tallied the team's first double-double of the season, with 32 assists and 13 digs.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team won the first two sets, but fell 3-2 to South Carolina in five sets (25-19, 25-20, 18-25, 25-27, 15-17) on Tuesday night (Sept. 1) at Crisler Center in its opening match of the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge.
Michigan (2-1) tallied 69 kills on 178 total attacks for a .219 hitting percentage, while South Carolina (3-0) recorded 59 kills on 157 swings to hit .255. The Wolverines distributed 67 assists compared to 53 for the Gamecocks. Defensively, South Carolina controlled the net with 18 total blocks, while Michigan finished with six. Both teams were active in the back row, with Michigan notching 69 digs and South Carolina tallying 57.
Cymarah Gordon led Michigan with 17 kills and four blocks while Jenna Hanes hit .737 with 14 kills on 19 error-free attempts. Ece Senyapici added 10 kills and four blocks, and Ella Demetrician finished with nine kills and 10 digs. Morgan Burke posted a double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs, and Camille Edwards provided 22 assists and six digs. Meredith Martin anchored the back row with 17 digs.
In the deciding fifth set, Senyapici opened with a kill before South Carolina worked to a 3-1 advantage. U-M tied it at five with Martin's first career kill, but could not take the lead as the visitors took the next three points. The Wolverines hung around and later tied the set at 12 and 14 before reaching a match-point chance on a kill from Demetrician. A service error tied the match at 15, and South Carolina won the next two points to secure the match.
Michigan captured the first set 25-19, using a 7-2 run to pull away and take an 18-13 lead. The teams were tied at 11 before the Wolverine run, which was led by three kills from Hanes. The Gamecocks brought the set to within two and forced a Michigan timeout, but the Wolverines responded with a 4-0 run led by two kills and a block from Gordon. A service error by South Carolina ended the first set in favor of Michigan.
The second set was Michigan's early on, using a 5-0 run after the Gamecocks took the first point of the set. South Carolina brought the match back to 7-5, but kills from Hanes and Johnson after two USC attack errors put the Wolverines up 11-5. Michigan was able to hold off South Carolina, never letting it within one, helped by a 4-0 run beginning at 19-16 to cushion the lead. A kill from Gordon ended the set, with U-M winning 25-20.
South Carolina began its comeback with a 25-18 victory in the third set. The Wolverines opened strong, working to 7-3 and 14-9 leads, but the Gamecocks took the next six points to lead 15-14 at the media timeout. A kill from Gordon tied the match at 15, but USC took five of the next six points to take a 20-16 lead. The Wolverines were unable to battle back before South Carolina brought the match to 2-1.
In a closely contested fourth set that featured eight ties and three lead changes, Michigan got out to a 4-0 lead -- highlighted by an ace from Burke and a kill and block assist from Gordon. South Carolina fought back and took 10 of the next 11 points to reach a 10-5 lead. Michigan stayed in it and eventually tied the set at 17 with a kill from Senyapici before taking the lead at 19-18 with back-to-back kills from Gordon. The Gamecocks retook the lead, but Michigan tied it at 24 after capitalizing on an attack error. A setter kill from Burke tied the match at 25, but South Carolina took the next two points, edging the Wolverines 27-25 to force a deciding frame.
The Wolverines return to action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 2) against LSU in their final match of the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge at Crisler Center. The contest will be streamed live on B1G+.
