Nebraska Volleyball vs. Michigan: Preview, Breakdown

Michigan Scout

Head Coach

Erin Virtue | 3rd season Michigan & HC | 35-36 (.493) Career Record & at Michigan | U.S. Olympic Gold Medal | Previous head coach for Team USA Development Teams | Previous assistant at Team USA, Northwestern, Michigan, Cincinnati, and Loyola.

2024 Finish

Did not qualify for the postseason.

2024 Record & Awards

18-13 (8-12 B1G, T-10th) | 1x AVCA All-North Region Honorable Mention | All-B1G: 1x First Team, 1x Second Team. 

All-Time Series

Nebraska leads 24-3 (Oct. 26, 2024 last matchup, 3-1 NU) 

Returning Production 

Points: 53% | Kills: 54% | Service Aces: 48% | Blocks: 55% | Assists: 97% | Digs: 76%

Key Returners

• Allison Jacobs | OH | Gr. | 2024 All-Big Ten First Team selection and has exploded in 2025 with 5.07 points and 4.32 kills per set in leading the Wolverines to a 10-1 start.
• Lydia Johnson | OPP | Jr. | Has broken out as the starting opposite with 2.76 points per set after appearing in only five matches and 12 sets as a sophomore in 2024.
• Serena Nyambio | MB | Sr. | Led Michigan in hitting percentage (.331) and blocks (114) last year as a junior; Pacing the Wolverines once again with 42 blocks and a .471 clip on 136 attacks.
• Jenna Hanes | MB | Soph. | Forms the middle blocker tandem with Nyambio, compiling 92 points with 65 kills, 37 blocks, and five aces so far this season after five total sets in 2024.
• Ella Demetrician | OH | Soph. | Battling to be the second outside hitter behind Jacobs with 3.68 points per set in 22 sets and eight matches played in 2025.
• Morgan Burke | S | Jr. | Omaha native and Skutt graduate returns as the Wolverines' starting setter after averaging 9.98 assists and 2.51 digs per set as a sophomore starter in 2024.
• Maddi Cuchran | L | Gr. | Second-year starter at libero for Michigan; On pace to match her 2024 totals, where she racked up 454 digs (3.88 D/S).
• Ellie White | S | Soph. | Appeared in 15 sets as a true freshman in 2024, but has improved enough for Virtue to go to a 6-2 system where she's split time with returning starter Morgan Burke.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

• Jacyn Bamis | MB | Gr. | Depth player at middle blocker who spent two seasons at Clemson ('21 & '22) and Hawaii ('23 & '24) before transferring to Michigan.
• Sydney Schnichels | OPP/OH | R-Soph. | Spent her first two college seasons at Minnesota before coming to Ann Arbor.

Key Departures

• Valentina Vaulet | OPP/OH | Transfer (Oregon) | Selected to the 2024 All-Big Ten Second Team as a sophomore, averaging 3.29 kills per set and 10th in the country with 63 aces.
• Mira Choppa | MB/OPP | Graduated | Appeared in 26 of 31 matches as a serving specialist during her senior season with 23 aces, which was third on the team.
• Jacque Boney | MB | Graduated | 6-foot-4 middle blocker that finished third on the team in points (302.5) while being second in both hitting percentage (.311) and blocks (110).

Outlook

In one of the most shocking moves of the 2023 college volleyball coaching carousel, Michigan let go of Mark Rosen, who spent 24 seasons with the Wolverines and racked up nearly 500 career wins. Plus, his departure was revealed months after the program announced a multi-year contract extension.

As strange as it was, the Wolverines snagged a quality coach in Erin Virtue, who was on the bench as an assistant coach when the U.S. Olympic team won the gold medal during the 2020 Tokyo Games. Due in part to her late hiring, Virtue struggled in her first season with a 7-22 record, but vastly improved with an 18-13 mark one year later.

With 13 players returning for 2025, the Wolverines have shot out of the gate with a 10-1 record in non-conference play. Granted, the competition has not been the best, but that's included wins over Power Four programs in Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Virginia, and Notre Dame.

Allison Jacobs is the star player for Virtue and Michigan as the outside hitter is averaging 5.07 points per set in 2025 with 164 kills, 74 digs, 18 blocks, and a team-leading 17 aces. She's aided by junior opposite Lydia Johnson, who's broken out for 105 points (2.76) as a first-year starter after sitting out for most of 2024.

The second outside hitter spot has rotated amongst a few Wolverines following the departure of Valentina Vaulet. The attacker joined the new coaching staff at Oregon after being named to the All-B1G Second Team last season, finishing inside the top ten in aces with 63. Ella Demetrician has seen the bulk of that playing time, collecting 81 points on 68 kills, eight aces, and a few blocks across eight of the team's 11 matches.

Serena Nyambio projects as one of the best returning middle blockers in the conference after being second on the Wolverines in both hitting percentage (.311) and blocks (110) last year. She's made a jump over the offseason as she paces the team in blocks (42) while hitting an impressive .471 on 136 attacks, plus 1.95 kills per set. She's joined by 6-foot-2 sophomore Jenna Hanes in the middle. After only five sets of action in 2024, Hanes has firmly established herself as the second middle with 92 blocks (2.56 P/S) while providing stiff defense with 37 blocks.

Omaha native and Skutt graduate Morgan Burke was the team's starting setter last season, but returns as a split starter with sophomore Ellie White as both players see time on the floor as part of a 6-2 offensive system. Maddi Cuchran brings veteran experience at libero as she's in the midst of her second-straight year starting.

Despite being projected to finish 10th in the Big Ten's preseason poll, this Michigan team has the capability to surprise some folks around the conference. Jacobs is one of the best outside hitters in the country, while Nyambio and Hanes are a solid duo in the middle. Cuchran is experienced at libero, but it'll be interesting to see if Virtue sticks with a 6-2 as Burke showed her prowess as the team's starter last season. However, losing Vaulet over the offseason was massive, and the lack of a clear-cut starter to replace her brings down the ceiling for this team.

This should be Nebraska's 11th-straight win to begin the 2025 campaign, but with this match being a rare midweek conference opener, don't be shocked if Jacobs muscles her way to one winning set.