Volleyball Travels to No. 25 Wisconsin, Northwestern

Oct. 29, 2008

Volleyball Coverage
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Live Audio vs. Wisconsin |Live Audio vs. Northwestern

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 2008 Michigan State volleyball squad (11-10, 3-7 Big Ten) will hit the road this weekend as it begins the second leg of Big Ten play. The Spartans first stop will be at No. 25 Wisconsin (14-8, 4-6) on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at the Wisconsin Field House. The Spartans will clash with Northwestern (7-14, 1-9) at Welsh-Ryan Arena the following night at 8 p.m. ET.

The Spartans split a weekend series with Wisconsin and Northwestern earlier this season at Jenison Field House, topping Northwestern, 3-2, and losing to Wisconsin, 3-0. Wisconsin will be the Spartans third consecutive ranked opponent and will mark the seventh time in the last 10 matches that the Spartans have faced a team with a top-25 ranking.

Last weekend, the Spartans had breakout performances from several freshmen, including Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) and Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.). Both Zlabis and Abron tallied career-best marks in kills and total attacks in Saturday's match against No. 18 Purdue. Zlabis led the team with 19 kills on 42 attacks while Abron added 17 kills on 36 attempts. Zlabis and Abron were key factors in the Spartans offensive output in the match against Purdue as MSU tallied 65 kills, its second-highest total of the season.

With her 23 kills over the weekend, Zlabis now ranks second on the team in kills (185) and points (209). Her 19 kills versus the Boilermakers was the sixth highest match-total by a Spartans this season; Jenilee Rathje (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) holds the top five. Abron currently stands at fourth on the team with 153 kills, just 20 shy of Rathje.

Freshman setter Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.) was also able to post a career-best of her own in the match against Purdue. Emro handed out 54 assists, tying her career-high set on two other occasions this season. Emro has become one of the Spartans top weapons this season, accounting for 72.9-percent of the team's total offense. She is one of only two setters in the Big Ten that account for better than 70-percent of their teams point production. Emro currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten in assists (10.53).

Junior middle blocker Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.) is also having a fine season for the Spartans. King is hitting .359 on the season, ranking her among the nation's best hitters. In fact, her .359 clip this season has moved her career hitting percentage to .310, ranking her as the third-most efficient hitter in Spartan history. King has hit .300 or better in 14 of the Spartans 21 contests and has eclipsed .400 in nine of those matches. She also leads the team in kills (233) and points (294).

Wisconsin enters Friday's match having lost its last four matches, three of which came against ranked opponents. The Spartans upset the Badgers in Madison last season, earning their first win at Wisconsin since 2003.

Northwestern comes into the weekend at 1-9, placing them in a tie for last-place in the conference. The Wildcats were able to take the Spartans to five sets earlier this season at Jenison Field House, but the Spartans hit .444 in the fifth set, winning 15-12. In that match, the Spartans totaled 68 kills, a season-best.

Live audio, featuring the voice of the Spartans John Kreger, and live stats for both matches can be found at www.msuspartans.com.