Final Week of Big Ten Play Awaits MSU

Nov. 24, 2015

Michigan State at No. 14 Purdue, vs. Iowa
Dates	Wednesday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m. at Purdue Halloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Ind. Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 p.m. vs. Iowa; Jenison Field House
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
TV/Video Stream	BTN+ vs. Purdue \| College Sports Live vs. Iowa
Radio	Spartan Sports Network; John Kreger, pxp (Wednesday); Nick Chase, pxp (Saturday) \| Download the SSN App
Live Statistics	\|
Download Game Notes	Michigan State \| Purdue \| Iowa
Previews	Cathy
Social Media	@MichStVB \| Facebook
Promotions	Saturday: Free volleyball admission with MSU-PSU football ticket stub

SERIES NOTES

• Michigan State enters the final week of Big Ten play with another split home/road week, traveling to West Lafayette on Wednesday for a battle with No. 14 Purdue and a home date with Iowa on Saturday.

• MSU's three seniors - Maggie Halloran, Kristen Muir, and Halle Peterson - will be honored at Saturday's match vs. Iowa.

• Fans attending the football game vs. Penn State (3:30 p.m., Spartan Stadium) can show their ticket stub at Jenison Field House to gain free admission to the volleyball match.

• Purdue is coming off a 3-1 win over No. 3 Minnesota on Saturday, and is 22-7 on the season overall with a 13-5 mark in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have won five straight coming into Wednesday's match, and finish the Big Ten schedule with MSU and Wisconsin on their docket.

• Michigan State felt like one slipped away in a four-set loss to No. 20 Purdue (25-18, 14-25, 24-26, 23-25) on Sept. 26 at Jenison Field House. MSU lost a three-point advantage at set point in the third, and Purdue used the momentum from the rally to take the fourth set and the match 3-1. Brooke Kranda led MSU with a match-high 19 kills on a career-high 58 attempts, and added four blocks, while Holly Toliver's 16 kills was her then-career best. Sam Epenesa led the Purdue attack with 16 kills while Annie Drews added 12, while Ashley Evans had 47 assists and 11 digs for a double-double.

• The Spartans have put together a commanding 45-24 record against Saturday opponent Iowa. MSU has a streak of 11 consecutive wins in the series, 10 of which are a 3-0 sweep. The Hawkeyes currently sit in 13th in the Big Ten standings with a 12-19 overall record and have struggled through a 2-16 Big Ten schedule thus far. Iowa has dropped five straight after back-to-back 3-0 sweeps of Rutgers and Indiana, and will play at Maryland on Wednesday before coming to East Lansing for Saturday's match.

• Michigan State posted a 3-0 sweep in Iowa City on Oct. 10 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19). Holly Toliver had 13 kills , six digs and a block, while Brooke Kranda had 10 terminations and hit a team-best .320. Rachel Minarick had 32 assists, and added eight digs and three kills, and two blocks. Lauren Brobst was the lone Hawkeye to reach double-digit kills (11), and setter Loxley Keala had 31 assists and eight digs.

TEAM NOTES

• The Spartans are coming off a pair of wins last week that snapped a seven-game losing streak, the team's longest skid dating back to the 1993 season. The Spartans downed Northwestern 3-1 by hitting .262 and out-blocking their guests by a 13-7 margin, then wrapped up the week with a .383 hitting performance at Rutgers with seven blocks in a 3-0 sweep. MSU's 50 assists vs. the Scarlet Knights is the second-most in a three-set Big Ten match this season , while MSU's 51 kills ranks second (Michigan had 52 vs. Ohio State).

• MSU has faced six ranked opponents in its last nine matches, with four of those in the top eight of the AVCA National poll. MSU defeated then-No. 6 Ohio State (3-0), Northwestern (3-1) and Rutgers (3-0), and has fallen to No. 5 Penn State (0-3), No. 21 Illinois (1-3) No. 4 Minnesota (0-3), No. 13 Wisconsin (0-3) and No. 8 Nebraska (2-3) in that stretch.

• MSU concluded the first half of Big Ten play at 6-4, and now at 8-10, sits in a tie for eighth place. MSU was .500 at the halfway mark in 2014 (5-5), 6-4 at the midpoint of the 2013 season, and went 4-6 in 2012 before rallying for a 7-3 second half to finish 11-9.

• MSU played seven of its first 10 Big Ten games at Jenison Field House, and has played six of its eight second-half matches on the road. MSU has one road game and one home game in the final week of the season.

• MSU has concluded its season meetings with all six "one-plays" on the schedule this season. In the scheduling format employed beginning in 2014, each team plays seven teams twice and six teams just once. The Spartans went 2-4 with wins against Maryland, and No. 6 Ohio State, falling to No. 5 Penn State, No. 21 Illinois, No. 4 Minnesota, and No. 13 Wisconsin.

• MSU stopped receiving votes in the AVCA poll after its losses to Illinois and Northwestern Halloween weekend. MSU was among teams receiving votes the previous eight weeks after starting the season at No. 19 in the survey. Seven Big Ten teams appear in the current top 25, in addition to non-conference opponents North Carolina (22) and Kentucky (24).

• The first RPI rankings of the year were released on Oct. 4, and the Spartans come in at No. 58 in the seventh release, dropping three spots despite a 2-0 week. Five teams (No. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Wisconsin, , No. 7 Nebraska, No. 9 Penn State No. 11 Ohio State) populate the top 11 overall. Illinois (24) Michigan (30), Purdue (32), Northwestern (42), and MSU (58) give the Big Ten 10 of the top 58 teams. In addition to the 10 B1G schools, two MSU non-conference opponents are in the RPI top 20: Kentucky (19) and North Carolina (20). In the next RPI grouping, Iowa (76), Duke (85) Virginia Tech (95) and Indiana (97) also appear.

• Despite a 2-2 record in its last four matches, MSU has been strong statistically. The Spartans hit .254, .262, and .383 in its last three, which ranks 7th, 6th, and 2nd in its Big Ten matches this season overall. In those last four matches, MSU is hitting .257, with 13.81 kills, 2.88 blocks, and 15.81 digs per set.

• The Spartans are ranked seventh in the Big Ten in blocks per set (2.50), but that total is good for 41st in Division I in the most recent national statistical rankings. The Spartans are averaging 13.83 kills per set (52nd nationally), and 12.83 assists per set (61st), despite ranking seventh in both categories in Conference.

• The Spartans had three-straight double-digit blocking matches before the contest at Rutgers, outblocking the Scarlet Knights by a 7-6 margin. MSU has out-blocked its opponent in each of those four matches, and established a season best with 15 stuffs against Nebraska (Nov. 11). The Spartans have out-blocked their last four opponents by a 46-33 margin. The Spartans had four solo blocks against Indiana, its third highest total of the season.

• MSU committed just 10 errors on Saturday at Rutgers, its second-lowest total of the season (The Spartans had nine vs. Duke, and in the first meeting with the Scarlet Knights). MSU's .383 hitting percentage was its second-best effort of the Big Ten season as well, behind the .405 vs. Rutgers on Oct. 17.

• MSU has opened with a first-set victory in 18 of its 27 matches, and is 14-4 in those contests. The four losses when winning the first set have all come in Big Ten play, to No. 20 Purdue, No. 23 Michigan, No. 4 Nebraska, and Northwestern. The eight times MSU has lost the first set, it resulted in a Spartan match loss.

• In its seven-match skid, the Spartans lost 21 sets - one set less than MSU had lost in its first 20 matches of the season.

• In the latest NCAA rankings, the Spartans come in at eighth in average attendance, welcoming 2,808 fans per match at Jenison Field House. With 12 matches at home so far this season, MSU ranks 10th in total attendance (33,690). MSU has just 13 home matches in 2015, the fewest since the 2009 campaign.

PLAYER NOTES
• Rachel Minarick was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week, as announced by the Conference office on Monday. Minarick earns the award for the third time this season, and shares this week's award with Nebraska setter Kelly Hunter. In a pair of MSU victories over Northwestern and at Rutgers, Minarick posted back-to-back double-doubles. Her 15 digs vs. Northwestern was her season best, and her 45 assists was three shy of her season high; she also contributed a pair of blocks and a service ace against the Wildcats. On Saturday, Minarick posted 44 assists and 13 digs in MSU's road sweep at Rutgers, adding three kills and a block.

• Minarick and Wisconsin setter Lauren Carlini are the only two players in the Conference to earn Setter of the Week honors three times this season. Minarick's three Setter of the Week awards is tied for the fourth-most in a single season, while the three in her career is tied for sixth for career Setter of the Week selections.

• Minarick now has 10, 40+ assist performances this season, and also owns 11 double-doubles, which includes three in the last four contests. Minarick's 11 double-doubles is the most for a Spartan since Ashley Schatzle posted 20 in the 2007 season.

• Minarick is 10th in the Big Ten, averaging 9.04 assists per set. She has alternately run a 6-2 and 5-1 this season, and is also averaging 0.52 blocks, 2.34 digs, and 0.97 kills per set on the season, while hitting .241.

• Minarick posted the 11th triple-double in MSU history against North Carolina. In her triple-double she posted career-bests in kills (11) and aces (4), while recording 25 assists and 10 digs and also contributing two blocks. MSU's last triple-double was by setter Allison Ianni, who did it in the 2006 season opener vs. IPFW (55 assists, 11 kills, 10 digs.) Minarick is the lone player in the Big Ten with a triple-double this season. She has twice earned Big Ten Setter of the Week honors in 2015.

• MSU is spreading out its offense, with five starters averaging between 2.26 and 3.11 kills per set. Brooke Kranda maintains the team lead at 3.09, followed by Chloe Reinig (2.98), Allyssah Fitterer (2.43), Holly Toliver (2.41), and Alyssa Garvelink (2.26).

• Chloe Reinig has had double-digit kill efforts in eight of her last nine matches, which included her season-bests of 18 kills (18, vs. Northwestern, Nov. 18), hitting .382 at Indiana Nov. 14) and three times matching her season high in block assists with four. In the last four matches, Reinig is hitting .287 with 3.63 kills per set.

• Reinig averages 2.98 kills and 0.65 blocks per set on the season.

• Allyssah Fitterer has had four consecutive double-digit kill performances, her longest stretch since posting five straight to start the season. She had 13 kills, hit .304, and also posted seven digs and four blocks vs. Northwestern, then added a double-double with 10 kills and a career-best 11 digs in the sweep at Rutgers.

• Fitterer leads the Spartans in hitting percentage (.301), averaging 2.43 kills, 0.87 digs and 0.81 blocks per set. She is hitting .286 in B1G matches only, which ranks 15th in the Conference, and averaging 0.88 blocks.

• Megan Tompkins tied her career best with nine blocks in the match vs. Northwestern (Nov. 18), which she also accomplished earlier in the season vs. Delaware. She added seven kills and hit .278 against the Wildcats, and then had five kills and three blocks at Rutgers. Tompkins now owns the team blocking lead (1.12 per set), which ranks 12th in the Big Ten. She is hitting .363 and averaging 1.29 kills per set as well.

• Alyssa Garvelink posted a team-best 12 kills at Rutgers on Saturday, hitting .588 - her first double-digit kill effort since the Oct. 21 win over Ohio State and her best hitting percentage since posting 12 kills and hitting .647 with the first meeting against the Scarlet Knights on Oct. 17. On the season, she's averaging 1.09 blocks per set (second on the team and 15th in the Big Ten), while posting 2.26 kills per set and hitting .266.

• Holly Toliver posted seven kills, four blocks and added six digs in the midweek tilt vs. Northwstern, and then had six kills at Rutgers. She is contributing 2.41 kills and 1.28 digs per set. In Big Ten play only, she averages 2.50 kills and 1.42 digs per frame, and has posted 11 service aces.

• Autumn Christenson missed the Indiana match with injury, but had six kills in Wednesday's win over Northwestern and another four vs. Rutgers in Saturday's road win. She has averaged nearly two kills per set over her last four appearances.

• Halle Peterson, who has been in and out of the lineup this season with nagging injury, posted 15 assists and seven digs vs. Nebraska on Nov. 11, and added 12 assists and three digs at Indiana. It was her first back-to-back double-digit assist performances since the games vs. Michigan on Sept. 30 and Oct. 3.

• Brooke Kranda continues to lead MSU with 3.09 kills per set - which is 15th in the Big Ten.

• Senior Kristen Muir has posted seven double-digit dig efforts in the last nine matches and nine times in MSU's 16 Big Ten contests, which includes the last four - her career best. She had 22 digs vs. Northwestern for her third match this season with 20 or more digs (her career best of 26 was set in the opener vs. Kentucky) .

• Muir ranks 15th in the Big Ten with 3.21 digs per set, while sophomore Abby Monson is averaging 3.25, which is 13th. MSU is the only school with two players among the top 15 in the B1G in digs.

• Monson's 3.20 digs per set in Big Ten play ranks 13th among Conference players. In her 17 matches playing the libero position, she was held without double-digit digs just once - in the Oct. 17 match vs. Rutgers, where she had nine.

• Megan Tompkins was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14, and Abby Monson earned the same honor on Sept. 21. This gives MSU four different players a Conference weekly honor in the same season for the first time since 1999, when Jessica Sanborn, Erin Hartley, Angela Morley, and Vicki Basil had all earned Player of the Week honors. The only other time it happened in school history was in 1995 -- when Player of the Week honors were earned by Dana Cooke, Veronica Morales, Val Sterk,(twice) and Jenna Wrobel.

• Tompkins was the Defensive Player of the Week after the Holly Young Invitational at New Hampshire, in which she compiled her career best nine blocks vs. Delaware (Sept. 12). She matched that total with nine vs. Northwestern on Nov. 18. That's tied for the third-most total blocks in a single match in the Big Ten this season, along with Garvelink - who had nine in the first matchup with the Wildcats).

• Six weekly Player of the Week awards have been won by this current Spartan team, which is the first time in program history that MSU has had this many weekly awards in a single season. The previous best was five, by the 1995 Final Four team.

• The season of junior transfer and two-time All-American Autumn Bailey came to an end before it really even got started. Bailey suffered a leg injury against Kentucky in the season opener on Aug. 28, and will miss the remainder of the year. She will be eligible to petition for a medical hardship waiver to have two more years to play in East Lansing. Bailey had a double-double in the Green & White exhibition match, and also had a double-double (11k, 12d) vs. Kentucky before leaving the match with injury.