#2 Nebraska (19-1, B1G 9-0) vs. Michigan (16-4, B1G 6-3)

When: Saturday, October 26, 2024, 7:00 PM (CT)

Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, NE

Watch: B1G+

Radio: Husker Radio Network

Live stats

Nebraska hosts Michigan on Saturday night. Last night, Nebraska defeated Illinois for the second time this season and the Wolverines defeated Iowa for their sixth win in conference play. Michigan has notable B1G wins over UCLA, Ohio State and Washington and losses to USC at five, Illinois at three and Wisconsin at four.

The Wolverines were looking for a comeback season after their 7-22 finish last season. Although Harper Murray’s sister Kendall is no longer on the team, it will likely still be an emotional moment for the Murray family as Harper and Kendall’s late father played football for the Wolverines. Kendall is also in Lincoln this weekend to cheer on Harper and the Huskers.

Michigan doesn’t overpower teams with one or even two players. They beat you with their entire attack system. This system is managed on the field by Morgan Burke. She is a sophomore from Omaha and will attend Skutt Catholic in high school. The system is the brains of second-year head coach Erin Virtue.

Coach Virtue is the offensive coordinator for USA Volleyball, so we really mean the mastermind. She was an assistant coach for Michigan before taking over as head coach last year, but her full knowledge of the game seems to have manifested itself this season. Last season the Wolverines were 7-22 overall. This season, they are 15-4 and receiving votes in the coaches poll, ranking them 32nd in the country.

Michigan moves the ball both quickly and highly variable around the net, so blockers must look and move carefully. The Wolverines also use an overload approach on opponents. They will use two hitters in the same area to give blockers too many people to block. For example, the Michigan center will take a two-foot approach to the outside hitter. The batters approach at the same time and the opponent’s middle blocker must choose between the batter she will jump for.

OH graduate student Allison Jacobs is currently Michigan’s leading hitter this season and will look to help her team pull off the upset over the Huskers. She played two seasons at UCLA before transferring to Michigan in 2022.

Jacobs is currently hitting .250 on the season and has 272 kills. She also adds 143 digs and 30 blocks. She is certainly a key to their defensive play as well.

Freshman OH Ella Demetrcian has cracked the Wolverines starting lineup this year and has put up some good numbers so far this year that has helped this offense thrive. She hasn’t played every set this year, but she is only a freshman and will continue to improve.

Sophomore OPP/OH Valentina Vaulet is also one of Michigan’s go-to hitters behind Allison Jacobs. Vaulet has 175 kills on 455 attempts for a hitting percentage of .207. She also adds 35 blocks, which is currently third most on the team.

Junior MB Serena Nyambio and Senior Jacque Boney are the middle blocker starters for this Wolverine team. They have been a key part of this Michigan offense and defense this season. They combined for 123 of the 234 blocks this season. That is currently more than 50%. Even though it should look like this, it’s still impressive to see them carrying this workload.

Nyambio is hitting .412 and Boney is hitting .288 through 66 sets of play. Nyambio could be the Andi Jackson of this Michigan team, so she’ll have to be someone the Huskers don’t allow to get hot.

Senior DS/L Maddi Cuchran has been a big part of the Michigan D as the starting Libero. She has 269 digs and is averaging 4.08 per set so far. This is slightly more than Lexi Rodriguez’s 3.73 per set, but you have to remember that teams are deliberately hitting away from Lexi because she is so good.

Sophomore setter Morgan Burke keeps this Michigan offense moving around. She has one Setter of the Week win this season in the B1G, which came on October 7 after averaging 10.30 assists per set in 10 sets. She is currently averaging 10.08 assists per set and is also adding 168 digs.

This offensive system that Michigan has in place needs to be stopped immediately. They can’t get hot or Nebraska could play from behind. As good as they are on offense, they also have girls who hold their own on defense. They seem to be much more complete than last season.

The Huskers will look to get their 20th win this season against Michigan. The first service is at 7:00 PM CT on B1G+.

#2 Nebraska (18-1, B1G 8-0)

#2 Bergen Reilly 6’1” SO Setter
#5 Rebekah Allick 6’4” JR MB
#6 Laney Choboy 5’3” SO DS/L
#7 Maisie Boesiger 5’6” JR DS/L
#8 Lexi Rodriguez 5’5” SR DS/L
#9 Kennedi Orr 6’0” SR setter
#10 Olivia Mauch 5’6” FR DS/L
#11 Leyla Blackwell 6’4” SR MB
#12 Taylor Landfair 6’5” SR OH
#13 Merritt Beason 6’4” SR OH
#15 Andi Jackson 6’3”ZO MB
#21 Skyler Pierce 6’2” FR OH
#22 Lindsay Krause 6’4” SR OH
#27 Harper Murray 6ft SE OH

University of Michigan (15-4, B1G 5-3)

#1 Serena Nyambio 6’2” JR MB
#2 Allison Jacobs 5’11” GR OH
#3 Cymarah Gordon 6’0” FR OPP
#5 Lydia Johnson 6’3” SO OPP
#6 Ellie White 5’11” FR setter
#7 Morgan Burke 6’0” SO Setter
#8 Mira Chopra 6’3” SRMB
#9 Ella Demetrician 6’2” FR OH
#10 Carly Greskovic’s 5’6” SO DS
#11 Amalia Simmons 5’11” R/SO OH
#12 Jenna Hanes 6’3” FR MB
#13 Valentina Vaulet 6’1” SO OPP
#14 Kendyl Reaugh 6’3” GR OH
#16 Camille Edwards 5’11” FR Setter
#17 Jacque Boney 6’4” SR MB
#19 Maddi Cuchran 5’5” SR DS
#28 Trixie McMillin 5’5” FR DS