Volleyball Hosts Rutgers Wednesday on BTN, Travels to OSU

Oct. 18, 2016

Spartans vs.Rutgers, at No. 19 Ohio State
Dates/Times	Wednesday, Oct. 19 vs. Rutgers, 6 pm \| Saturday, Oct. 22 at OSU, 6 pm
Location	Wednesday: East Lansing, Mich.; Jenison Field House Saturday: Columbus, Ohio; St. John Arena
Tickets	Purchase MSU vs. Rutgers Tickets Family Four Pack
Live Statistics	\|
Television	Wednesday: Big Ten Network Lisa Byington, pxp; Beth Karpiak, analysis
Live Video Streams	at Ohio State
Radio Broadcast	Spartan Sports Network Keaton Gillogly, pxp Download the SSN App
Download Game Notes	Michigan State \| Ohio State
Promotions	WEDNESDAY: Breast Cancer Awareness Night \| EVE Night MSUFCU Night (two free tickets with proof of membership)
Social Media	@MichStVB \| MichiganStateVB @MichStVB

MATCH NOTES

• No. 11 Michigan State has a road/home split for the second straight week, hosting Rutgers on Wednesday evening at Jenison Field House and heading to Columbus on Saturday for a rematch with No. 19 Ohio State.

• MSU's match at home against the Scarlet Knights on Wednesday will be it's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The game will air live on BTN, with Lisa Byington and Beth Karpiak, who played collegiately at Michigan.

• Wednesday's match will also be EVE (End Violent Encounters) night. Fans are encouraged to please bring new or gently used clothing as well as non-perishable food items to benefit the EVE House for women and children in Lansing. More information on EVE House can be found at eveinc.org

• Fans attending the Wednesday match vs. Rutgers are reminded that there are multiple athletic events at Jenison Field House/Old College Field complex that day. Please plan to arrive early, and utilize the parking lots at Kellogg Center, IM West, and Breslin Center if the Jenison lot is full.

• Saturday's match will be available online on the BTN+ on BTN2Go platform. Both matches will have a radio broadcast via SpartanSportsNetwork.com with Keaton Gillogly on the call.

TEAM NOTES

• MSU's 16-4 record through 20 matches is MSU's best since the 2013 team sat at 18-2 at this point of the season.

• MSU sits at 5-3 through four weeks of Big Ten play, and has it's first repeat opponents of the season this weekend. MSU posted 3-0 wins over both Rutgers and then- No. 14 Ohio State earlier this season.

• In the first meeting this season with the Scarlet Knights (10/1), No. 18 Michigan State used a balanced scoring attack in a 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-18, 25-18) in Piscataway. The Spartans spread their offense around the floor, with six players recording between seven and 12 kills, hitting .377 as a team. Autumn Bailey led the way with 12 terminations, while Alyssa Garvelink had eight kills, hit .636, and added a match-best four blocks. Jillian Duffin paced Rutgers with seven kills, and Meme Fletcher had 11 digs. MSU improved to 6-0 all-time against Rutgers with the victory.

• In their last meeting on Oct. 1, the Spartans limited Rutgers to hitting .067 (Oct. 1), the lowest of any team against MSU this season. The Scarlet Knights were held to an MSU-opponent low 23 kills and 22 assists.

• In the match between MSU and Ohio State on Oct. 7, the No. 21 Spartans swept visiting OSU, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23). The Buckeyes were coming off a win over No. 1 Nebraska in Lincoln the previous week, and the Spartans overcame a slow start (hitting just 0.88 in the first set. MSU got 14 kills and eight digs from Autumn Bailey, and added eight kills on .533 hitting (8-0-15) from Allyssah Fitterer with two blocks. OSU standout Taylor Sandbothe had 12 kills for the Buckeyes, who hit .198.

• The Spartans are coming off a split of their two matches last week, falling in straight sets at No. 24 Illinois on Wednesday before posting a thrilling five-set victory over No. 3 Minnesota on Saturday at home. The Spartans are now 3-4 against ranked opponents this season.

• The Spartans' strength of schedule sits at No. 8 this week, which ranks fourth among Big Ten teams (measured based on the teams already played.) Taking in all past and future opposition, MSU's schedule ranks 11th nationally.

• Michigan State moved up three spots to No. 11 in the American Volleyball Coaches (AVCA) National poll for the week of Oct. 17. Nine Big Ten teams appear in this week's top 25, including the Conference holding down three of the top four spots (No. 1 Nebraska, No. 3 Minnesota, and No. 4 Wisconsin). No. 10 Penn State gives the Big Ten four teams among the top 10.

• This is MSU's highest ranking since Oct. 21, 2013, when the Spartans came in at No. 10 in the AVCA poll. That team fell to both Michigan (3-1) and Indiana (3-2) that week.

• The Saturday match vs. the Buckeyes will be the sixth this season when both MSU and its opponent are ranked. This is the most matches for MSU where both teams are ranked since 2013, when MSU had 15 matches with both teams in the AVCA top 25, which is also a program record. The 1996 team played 13, and the 1995 team 12. If all of the Big Ten teams currently in the top 25 remain there, the Spartans would have 13 in the 2016 regular season.

• The RPI for Division I volleyball, which is one of the tools used for post-season NCAA Tournament selection and seeding, was initially released on Oct. 3. MSU has moved from No. 19 in the initial release to No. 12, and finally to No. 9 this week in the third release. The Spartans are also one of eight programs from the Big Ten in the RPI top 20 and six in the top 12. In all, 10 Big ten teams and five of MSU's non-conference opponents are in the RPI top 64.

• MSU dropped its only back-to-back matches this season with losses to No. 1 Nebraska (Sept. 24) and No. 16 Penn State (Sept. 30.) MSU's longest winning streak was eight matches, its longest stretch since the 2013 season when the Spartans won 15 straight.

• The Spartans lead in the Big Ten and rank fifth nationally in service aces per set (1.97). MSU has six service aces or more in 13 of 20 matches. MSU's 132 aces is on the verge of bettering the team's 2015 total of 134.

• MSU has limited opponents to a 0.181 hitting percentage, which ranks fifth among B1G schools. The Spartans limited seven of 12 non-conference opponents to a .115 hitting percentage or lower.

• Minnesota hit .268 in Saturday's match vs. the Spartans, and limited MSU to .201. It is the first win this season for MSU when its opponent had a better hitting percentage.

• In MSU's four losses overall on the season, all four opponents hit better than .300 - No. 7 Florida hit .341, No. 1 Nebraska hit .202, No. 16 Penn State .333, and No. 24 Illinois .319. They are the only four occasions that an MSU opponent hit .300 or better. The Spartans have held four opponents under a .200 hitting percentage in Big Ten play - their victories over Iowa ,Rutgers, Penn State, and Maryland.

• On the year, MSU is hitting .259, which would fall eighth all-time in the Spartan record book. MSU's hitting percentage is 10th in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.

• MSU boasts a balanced attack, with five players averaging between 2.11 and 3.23 kills per set, and defensively has four averaging between 1.92 and 3.10 digs per frame.

• The Spartans rank ninth in the Big Ten with 2.31 blocks per set. MSU has 14 matches with seven team blocks or more, including eight double-digit efforts. MSU established a new season high with 15 in the most recent match vs. Minnesota, and has double-digit blocks in each of its last three matches.

• The Spartans have allowed just two double-digit block performances - No. 3 Minnesota had 10, and No. 1 Nebraska 13.5 - both in five-set matches.

• The Green and White owns 12 three-set victories in 20 matches. Just four times in 18 matches has MSU played more than three sets - the Spartans are 12-3 in three-set matches overall, 2-0 in four-setters, and are 2-1 their five-set affairs. MSU ranks fourth in the Big Ten in overall winning percentage (.800) and 21st among Division I schools.

• MSU shares the team lead in the Big Ten in overall wins - Penn State, Nebraska, and Michigan also sit at 16 victories. Western Kentucky and Dayton lead the nation with 20 wins each.

• Big Ten teams went a combined 122-36 (.772) in non-conference play, the best overall record in the country. The B1G was ahead of the Pac-12 (95-31, .753) and the SEC (108-49, .688). • The Spartans opened 2016 with a sweep of the competition at the San Diego State Aztec Invitational (Aug. 26-27). This was the eighth time in 12 years under Cathy George that the Spartans started the season 3-0, and the second time in three years.

• MSU's lone loss of the pre-B1G season came to No. 7 Florida in the final match of the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 4.) MSU swept both Morgan State and Central Michigan on day one, but fell to the Gators in straight sets on day two.

• The Spartans outlasted host No. 23 Western Kentucky in a five-set thriller to win the Holiday Inn Invitational (Sept. 9-10). MSU swept both Cincinnati and Southern Illinois before matching up with the host school.

• MSU won its third non-conference tournament of the season by sweeping the Spartan Classic (Sept. 16-17). MSU opened with a victory over Notre Dame on Friday, then posted wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore and DePaul on Saturday.

• The Spartans have won 11 of their last 16 non-conference tournaments over the last six seasons.

• MSU was selected seventh in the Big Ten's pre-season volleyball poll. Defending National Champion Nebraska was the unanimous choice to win the league, followed by Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State, Illinois, and Ohio State.

• MSU is one of four programs in the Big Ten to finish .500 or better in Big Ten play over the last five seasons. Penn State, Nebraska, and Purdue are the other three.

• The Spartans will host 16 games at Jenison Field House, where the Spartans are routinely a top-10 ranked attendance draw. MSU currently averages 2,753 fans per match at home (seventh nationally) and its total attendance of 30,281 ranks sixth. Last season, MSU was eighth among Division I volleyball teams with an average of 2,872 fans per match, and were 11th nationally with a total of 37,333 fans in 13 home matches.

• MSU has two on the road next weekend, traveling to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers (Friday) and Purdue (Saturday) to start the second half of Big Ten play. MSU then begins a four-game homestand that spans the first two weeks of November.

PLAYER NOTES

• Michigan State has four athletes ranked among the top seven in the Big Ten in service aces per set: Brooke Kranda (0.53, first), Holly Toliver (fourth, 0.37) and Rachel Minarick (fifth, 0.34), and Autumn Bailey (seventh, 0.31); Kranda is ninth nationally.

• Alyssa Garvelink averaged 3.35 kills, hit .417, and averaged 2.12 blocks in MSU's pair of games last week, which included her first career double-double with 10 blocks (one solo) and 18 kills in a home win over No. 3 Minnesota. Garvelink established a new career high in kills and fell just one shy of her career best in blocks.

• Garvelink has had seven or more blocks in each of the last three matches. She surpassed 300 career blocks with her three against Penn State (Sept. 30) while fellow middle Allyssah Fitterer secured her 300th career block vs. No. 1 Nebraska the previous Saturday. To move into the MSU all-time top 10, they need to surpass Jenilee Rathje's 366 (2007-11); Garvelink currently has 333, and Fitterer 315.

• Garvelink's 298 career block assists is also just outside MSU's career top 10. Erin Hartley (1998-2001) sits in 10th place with 321. Fitterer has 284 block assists.

• Garvelink is averaging 1.34 blocks per set on the year, which is 30th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten. She ranks fourth in the B1G (32nd nationally) with a .385 hitting percentage, and averages 2.52 kills per set. In Big Ten play only, Garvelink is third in blocks (1.59 per set) and fifth in hitting percentage (.393).

• Garvelink's current 1.11 blocks per set average ranks seventh in the MSU career annals. Her 1.34 blocks per set on the season would fall 7th in the single-season record book.

• Garvelink has led the Spartans in blocks in 15 of 20 matches, and six times has led the Spartans in hitting percentage. In addition to new season bests in kills and blocks against Minnesota, she also established new season standards in attacks (33), digs (2), and block assists (9), which was also a career best for the middle.

• Garvelink's .385 hitting percentage and 1.34 blocks per set are her career bests. In her first two collegiate seasons, Garvelink hit .244 and averaged 2.15 kills and 1.05 blocks per frame.

• Allyssah Fitterer is hitting an impressive .413 on the season, averaging 2.19 kills per frame and 0.62 blocks per set. She is second in the Big Ten (and 12th nationally) in hitting percentage, and in Big Ten games only, she is hitting .393 - good for fifth. She posted a season-high five blocks against Minnesota. • Fitterer has 930 career kills with 12 regular-season matches left to play, leaving her within striking distance of becoming the 22nd Spartan to accomplish 1,000 in her career. Chloe Reinig accomplished the feat earlier this season against Morgan State, and is the first Spartan to 1,000 kills since Lauren Wicinski in 2013.

• Fitterer's junior season saw her hit a career-best .301, but through the first 20 matches of the season, she is 12th in the nation with a .413 hitting percentage. She has committed just 22 errors on 201 swings. Fitterer's career hitting percentage was .277 entering her final collegiate campaign.

• Both Fitterer and Garvelink have hitting percentages that would rank among MSU's top single-season performances. Fitterer's .413 would rank third, and Garvelink's .385 would be sixth. Only one time in school history has a pair of teammates had top-10 single-season hitting performances in the same season - in 2001, both Erin Hartley and Angela Morely hit .337, which is tied for 10th in a single season in the MSU annals.

• Chloe Reinig led the Spartans in an upset of Ohio State with a six-block performance, her season high. In the win over Minnesota, she had 14 kills and added five blocks. She is second among the Spartans, averaging both 2.73 kills and 0.83 blocks per set.

• Reinig is among the 30 NCAA women's volleyball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court who were announced last Thursday as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Reinig is one of five candidates from the Big Ten. Joining her on the ballot is Nebraska's Kadie Rolfzen, Ohio State's Valeria Leon, and both Paige and Hannah Tapp from Minnesota.

• Autumn Bailey leads MSU with 3.23 kills per set, which is 11th among Big Ten leaders. She is hitting .224, and owns five double-doubles, most recently a 11-kill, 11-dig performance last Saturday vs. Minnesota.

• Bailey has posted double-digit kills in 10 of the last 12 matches, including a team-high 14 against the Buckeyes in the last meeting of the teams. In Big Ten play, Bailey leads the Spartans with 3.07 kills per set, which is 11th in the league.

• Rachel Minarick recorded 54 assists, one shy of her career best, and also had three blocks, six digs, and a pair of kills. Her career best of 54 helpers came in the 2014 season as a freshman, with 55 (along with 19 digs) at Oregon State.

• Minarick has averaged 10.24 assists per set over the first eight Big Ten matches, which puts her ninth in Conference games. She is averaging 10.20 assists per set overall, which ranks 11th.

• Minarick's 2,893 career assists ranks seventh all-time in the MSU record book. Assistant coach Kristen Kelsay ranks sixth with 3,040 assists. Minarick's career average of 9.81 assists per frame is currently eighth in the Spartan record book.

• Brooke Kranda is averaging 2.11 kills per set overall, and leads the Big Ten with 0.53 aces per frame. In eight Big Ten starts, she is contributing 2.14 kills and 0.54 blocks per set.

• Kranda also leads the Conference in aces per set in Big Ten matches, averaging 0.50 per frame.

• Holly Toliver, who dealt with several injuries in her first two seasons that limited her court time, is now one of two players to appear in 67 of 68 sets, sharing the team lead.

• Toliver ranks fourth in the Big Ten in service aces per set (0.37). She averages 1.51 kills and 0.34 blocks per frame. She averages 1.97 digs per set, third behind libero Abby Monson and Autumn Bailey. Her 1.97 digs per set is nearly double her career best coming into the season.

• Abby Monson has started all 20 matches at libero this season, and is averaging 3.10 digs per frame, good for 13th in the Big Ten. She established a new season-best total of 21 digs against Minnesota (Oct. 15), adding two assists. In Big Ten games only, her 3.07 digs per set ranks 10th.

• Senior DS Kristen Brashear had four digs in MSU's five-set victory over Minnesota. Against the Gophers, Brashear had a season-best 15 service attempts, the second-most of any Spartan in the match behind Minarick's 19.