Volleyball Concludes Regular Season with Big Ten Road Matches

Nov. 26, 2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Spartans closes out the regular season on Thanksgiving weekend when they travel to University Park, Pa. on Friday, Nov. 27, for its return match with No. 1 Penn Sate. The following night, Nov. 28, MSU will close out the regular season against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan State looks to split the series with both teams, which it has not done with the Nittany Lions since 2002. MSU will look for its fourth win in five tries against the Buckeyes.

This Week for the Spartans
Michigan State (17-13, 5-13) at No. 1 Penn State (30-0, 18-0)
Friday, Nov. 29, 2009 • 7 p.m.
University Park, Pa. • Rec Hall
Live stats: www.msuspartans.com

Series Information
• PSU leads 32-6
Last meetings:
Oct. 17, 2009 • East Lansing, Mich.
PSU def. MSU, 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-12)
Nov. 7, 2008 • East Lansing, Mich.
PSU def. MSU, 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-18)

Michigan State (17-13, 5-13) vs. Ohio State (22-9, 10-8)
Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 • 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio. • St. John Arena
Live stats: www.msuspartans.com

Series Information
• OSU leads 39-27
Last meetings:
Oct. 16, 2009 • East Lansing, Mich.
OSU def. MSU, 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 16-25, 25-21)
Nov. 15, 2008 • Columbus, Ohio
MSU def. OSU, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21)

Last Time Out
The Spartans traveled to Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Nov. 18, for its return match with No. 14 Michigan. After a hard fought battle that went five sets, MSU ended up dropping the match 3-2. Three nights later, on Saturday, Nov. 21, Michigan State hosted No. 12 Minnesota. The Spartans found themselves up 2-0 as they went into intermission, but the Golden Gophers wound up taking the final three sets to win 3-2.

Scouting the Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions have posted a perfect record of 30-0, with a 18-0 Big Ten record. Penn State is led up front by Megan Hodge who currently leads the team with 436 kills, 278 of those have occurred in Big Ten play. Alisha Glass quarterbacks the Nittany Lions offense, tallying 711 assists in conference play, and 1,144 overall. The backcourt is led by Alyssa D'Errico who currently averages 3.52 digs per set overall and 3.46 in conferences matches. Arielle Wilson has tallied 146 total blocks this season, while seeing 94 of those in Big Ten play. Head coach Russ Rose is currently in his 31st season with the Nittany Lions. Rose enters the weekend with a career record of 991-159. Penn State has been the No. 1 ranked team in the nation for 37 consecutive weeks, and are the two-time defending national champions.

Scouting the Buckeyes
The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a 22-9 overall record, while also posting a 10-8 conference record. Ashley Hughes is leading the team with 535 assists this season, seeing 524 of those in conference action. Pacing the attack is Katie Dull who has tallied 268 kills in conference play and 446 overall. Kristen Dozier leads the team with 95 blocks, tallying 53 in the conference. Chelsea Noble anchors the last line of defense for the Buckeyes with her 441 overall digs, and 266 within the conference. At the helm of the Buckeyes is second-year head coach Geoff Carlston, who boasts a record of 33-24.

Approaching 450
Head coach Cathy George is one win shy of her 450th career victory. George will look to be come the 38th active coach to achieve the 450 milestone.

Follow the Leader
Junior Megan Schatzle has followed in the foot-steps of older sister Ashley Schatzle. Ashley, a third-team AVCA All-American in 2007, led the team with 553 kills during the year. Megan, like her older sister, is currently leading the 2009 squad with 304 kills on the season. MSU hopes Megan follows the path her older sister paved for her, as the last time MSU made it to the NCAA Tournament was Ashley's senior season.

Sophomore Sensations
With the 2008 No. 7 PrepVolleyball.com recruiting class able to see ample amount of court time last season, the sophomore class seems to really be finding their element this season. Collectively, the class has amounted for 8295 of the 1,550 team kills. Also, the sophomores have also accounted for 222 total blocks. Having added redshirt-sophomore Jenilee Rathje to their class, the Spartans are bound for success in the years to come. The class has collectively earned three of the four MVP honors this season for the Spartans.

Movin' On Up
Sophomore Natalie Emro currently ranks fifth all-time in career assists with 2,445. Senior Vanessa King recently moved into fourth place all-time with 450 total blocks in a career. King also ranks fourth all-time with 411 block assists.

Big Ten Rankings
The Spartans currently boast four members ranking in the Big Ten individually. Sophomore Natalie Emro currently is fourth in the conference with 10.61 assists per set, while ranking seventh in aces per set with 0.27. Junior Allyson Karaba is third in the conference with 4.14 digs per set. Senior Vanessa King ranks eighth in blocks per set with 1.03. Senior Mischelle Nelson is seventh in the conference with a .340 hitting percentage.

Fandemonium
MSU is currently listed as 16th in the recent DI Volleyball Attendance Rankings. To date, the Spartans have seen 26,092 fans pass through the turnstyles for their 12 matches, which averages out to be 2,007 fans per match. The Spartans are one of six Big Ten schools to be ranked in the top-25 and have been in the top-25 since 1995.