Serena Nyambio and Allison Jacobs spearhead attack against Kent State

Amid the ebb and flow of momentum between the Michigan volleyball team and Kent State, two Wolverines remained steadily at the top of the net — junior middle blocker Serena Nyambio and graduate outside hitter Allison Jacobs. 

Coming into the matchup hot off a dominant win against the Golden Flashes just hours earlier, Nyambio and Jacobs wasted no time before going on the offensive, totaling 36 total kills in the matchup. 

“They bring a lot to us, not just as performers, but they’re also part of our leadership committee,” Michigan coach Erin Virtue said. “Tonight, they showed such poise, and they were really our go-to attack.” 

Key kills characterized Nyambio’s performance throughout the matchup. Her keen ability to find the holes in Kent State’s formations, coupled with the power in her swing, upped the pressure on the Flashes as they fought to keep the ball afloat. 

Leading 24-18, Nyambio had a chance to seize the first set for Michigan. And she did exactly that by leaping in the air and palming the ball directly into the gap of Kent State’s defense. As the Flashes fell just short of the save, Nyambio shouted in triumph, having given the Wolverines the early lead. 

But as the teams rallied back and forth, the momentum soon shifted in favor of Kent State. Despite Nyambio’s offensive charge giving Michigan an early leg up, the Wolverines fell behind in the second set due to a slew of errors. So, despite three pivotal kills from Jacobs that narrowed the gap between the teams, Michigan ultimately fell behind, and Kent State claimed the second set. 

Yet, this lapse did not deter Nyambio and Jacobs. 

“I think our goal is always to outwork every team,” Jacobs said. “Our identity has been grit, grit through it regardless of what’s happening. And we continue to show that.”

Digging deeper, Nymabio and Jacobs showed exactly why Virtue called them the Wolverines’ “go-to attacks.” As they battled to keep Michigan in the game, their respective kill tallies soared to record-breaking heights. As Nyambio and Jacobs lined up kill after kill, they each surpassed their career-high number of kills in a game with 17 and 19, respectively. 

“It’s kind of like a new standard,” Nyambio said. “Our team works so hard. We don’t want to limit ourselves to how we did the year before or the year before that. So it’s nice to get that record high so early in the season.”

Scraping by with a 25-22 win in the third set, Nyambio shrugged off her fatigue in the final set. Her eyes locked in on sophomore setter Morgan Burke’s airborne ball, finding herself once again at a pivotal point in the game. And once again, Nyambio delivered. Catapulting into the air, she delivered three back-to-back kills to take Michigan to the set point. 

And then it was Jacobs who sealed Kent State’s fate. 

Bounding up to the net, Jacobs hammered the ball down onto the court, dashing the Flashes’ hopes of a comeback with a resounding thump. As soon as Jacobs touched down, the Wolverines erupted in cheers, leaving the matchup just as they had arrived — undefeated.

“I personally just feel like my college career has only begun,” Jacobs said. “So to set this standard so high at the beginning is really exciting. It’s just another bar and another goal to beat.” 

Indeed, with just seven total wins to its name last year, Michigan’s undefeated start — on the backs of Nymabio and Jacobs — has set a new bar for the team. And if this duo can continue to deliver in clutch moments, the bar will only continue to rise.

The post Serena Nyambio and Allison Jacobs spearhead attack against Kent State appeared first on The Michigan Daily.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *