Michigan State University Athletics
Volleyball Concludes Homestand with No. 11 Purdue
10/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2011
| Michigan State (17-6, 6-5 Big Ten) vs. No. 11 Purdue (18-3, 7-3 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Saturday, Oct. 29 - 6:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | Jenison Field House |
| Game Notes | Michigan State | Purdue |
| Live Stats | |
| Live Audio (Free) | SpartanSportsNetwork.com |
| Live Video (Pay) | BTN.com |
| Social Media | @MichStVB  | Facebook  |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team (17-6, 6-5 Big Ten) closes out its homestand with a 6:30 p.m. contest on Saturday, Oct. 29 against No. 11 Purdue (18-3, 7-3 Big Ten) inside Jenison Field House. The contest will have live video streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network at BTN.com. John Kreger (play-by-play) and Andrea Nelson (color analyst) will be on the call.
Scouting Michigan State
Leading the squad on the outside are seniors Kyndra Abron and Jenilee Rathje. To date, Rathje has recorded 4.53 kills per set, while Abron currently boasts 3.40 kills a set. At the net, Alexis Mathews leads the Green and White in blocks with 1.21 per set. In the backcourt, Kori Moster anchors the defense with 3.71 digs per set, starting the last 16 matches as MSU's libero.
Head coach Cathy George is in her seventh season at the helm of the Spartans, compiling a record of 116-98 at MSU. In her 25 seasons as a head coach, George has appeared in eight NCAA tournaments, including being the first woman to coach in the NCAA Division I Final Four in 1989. During her time at MSU, the Spartans have appeared in the tournament in three of her six seasons, including an NCAA Regional Semi-final appearance in 2007.
Scouting Purdue
Purdue currently boasts a record of 18-3 and 7-3 in the conference, ranking 11th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Boilermakers are led up at the net by Ariel Turner. Turner currently has 4.72 kills per set on the year. Defensively, Blair Bashen and Kierra Jones are the top defenders in the back row and at the net, respectively. Bashen has 4.03 digs per set while Jones has 1.31 blocks per set.
Series History: The Spartans lead in the all-time series, 45-28.
Last Meeting: MSU lost to Purdue earlier this season by a score of 3-0.
Coach: Dave Shondell is in his ninth season at the reigns of the Boilermakers, going 180-106 over the course of her career.
Recapping Last Weekend
The Green and White turned in an impressive 3-1 win over arch rival No. 21 Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in front of a vivacious crowd inside Jenison Field House. The Spartan's impressive performance on national television was paced by senior Jenilee Rathje's double-double of 21 kills and 17 digs.
The Spartans dropped a tough 3-1 contest to No. 23 Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Columbus, Ohio. In her first trip back to Ohio, freshman Kori Moster led all individuals on the night as she tied her career-high digs mark with 28. Offensively, Rathje netted her fourth-straight double-double of the season with 23 kills and 16 digs.
It Starts At The Top
MSU has received plenty of support this season offensively from its senior class. A group which entered Michigan State as the seventh-ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2008, the seniors added Jenilee Rathje to their class following her redshirt season. Currently this season, the seniors make-up 69-percent of the team's offense, with 362 kills coming from Rathje and 275 kills coming for 2009 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention Kyndra Abron. Defensively, the senior class makes up for 51-percent of the team's total dig tally, lead by Weiler's 177 digs. At the net, the senior class comprises 86-percent of the team's block total. Abron paces the group with the second-most on the team, 68 blocks.
Sweeping Success
The Spartans have found success in 3-0 matches this season, posting an 11-2 record. Of MSU's 17 wins thus far this year, 11 of which of been 3-0 sweeps for the Green and White. MSU started off the season by winning the first six matches of the season in straight sets, the first time since 1975 the Spartans have topped their first six opponents without dropping a set.
Conference Laurels
Freshman Kori Moster was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 26. The award marked the first in Moster's career. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native concluded the first half of conference play with a pair of 20+ digs performances to earn both Big Ten Freshman of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week laurels on Oct. 24.
Come One, Come All
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2011 Michigan State volleyball season. Reserved seat season tickets are priced at $56 for adults and $28 for youth and seniors, while general admission season tickets are priced at $42 for adults and $28 for youth and seniors. With the purchase of season volleyball tickets fans also earn three Spartan Points for each consecutive year they maintain Spartan volleyball tickets. Spartan Points help in determining seat adjustments for both men's basketball and football. With the next seat adjustment occurring in 2014, fans have the opportunity to earn up to nine (9) Spartan Points to their account via the purchase of volleyball season tickets for the next four seasons.
Preseason Recognition
Prior to the 2011 season, several Spartans were recognized for their work both on and off the court. Senior Jenilee Rathje was tabbed as one of 17-members of the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Rathje found herself on the conference coaches' radars after earning first-team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors her sophomore campaign.
As a team, the Spartans were selected to finish sixth in the conference, as selected by the conference coaches in August.
Rathje was also recognized by the conference in July for her dedication to her class work. Rathje was one of 534 student-athletes to receive Big Ten Scholar Athlete distinction. In order to be recognized, each student-athlete must achieve at least a 3.7 or higher for the corresponding academic year.
Playing With CLASS
Senior Jenilee Rathje was named as one of 30 candidates to be named for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Fandemonium
Annually, the Spartans have found themselves as one of the national leaders in attendance among NCAA Division I teams. Michigan State has been ranked in the top-25 in average attendance in 15 of the last 16 seasons. MSU posted a program best sixth during the 1996 campaign. To date in the 2011 season, the Green and White finds themselves ranked 19th after nine weekends of action with 15,415 fans. In MSU's 12 home contests to date, it has averaged 1,777 fans.
Fab Freshman
Freshman Kori Moster has taken the conference by storm since being named the Spartans' starting libero prior to the Green and White's match against Canisius on Sept. 10. Since then, she has moved into first among Big Ten leaders for conference-only matches with 4.90 digs per set and ranks first overall in total digs with 211. Her 0.28 service aces a set in conference matches rank her 10th overall.
The Millennium Kills Club
Senior Becca Zlabis is closing in on joining 18 other Spartans in the 1,000-kill club. With nine matches left to be played in the 2011 season, Zlabis is 51 shy. She looks to join classmates Jenilee Rathje and Kyndra Abron in the 1,000-kill club. Rathje netted her 1,000th kill on Nov. 26, 2010 at Northwestern, while Abron reached the milestone on Oct. 15, 2011 at Illinois. Sitting atop the list is Jenna Wrobel (1995-98) with 2,292 kills.
First Set Success
The Spartans have been quick to pounce on their opponents this season, seeing multiple significant success in the opening set of a match. On the year, MSU boasts a record of 15-1 when taking the first set, and 2-5 when dropping set one.
Tournament Eligible
With MSU's 3-1 win over Indiana on Wednesday, Oct. 26, it is now eligible for the NCAA tournament for the fourth time under head coach Cathy George. The win also marked the quickest the Spartans have reached 17 wins since 1998, when it took 21 matches. The 23 matches needed to become eligible is the quickest since 2003, when the Green and White also needed 23 wins.
Climbing the Ladder
Senior Jenilee Rathje is closing in on several records in the MSU record books.
Total Matches Played
1st Michelle Kasper, 1981-84 141
Cheryl Histed, 1981-84 141
7th Jenilee Rathje, 2007-11 131
Total Sets Played
1st Veronica Morales, 1994-97 477
t-4th Jenilee Rathje, 2007-11 455
Kills
1st Jenna Wrobel, 1995-98 2,292
10th Jenilee Rathje, 2007-11 1,361
Attempts
1st Veronica Morales, 1994-97 5,353
10th Jenilee Rathje, 2007-11 3,103
Block Assists
1st Jenna Wrobel, 1995-98 552
9th Jenilee Rathje, 2007-11 315
Big Ten Digital Network
MSU is currently scheduled to have 10 total matches covered by the BTDN. Fans are able to watch the fee-based streaming video at BTN.com
Spartan Sports Network
The Michigan State volleyball team will have its entire home schedule aired live on SpartanSportsNetwork.com this season.
