Spartans Continue Road Swing at Northwestern, Illinois

Friday, October 19

Evanston, IL

8 pm

Michigan State University

Northwestern

10/18/2018 9:22:00 AM | Volleyball

First half of Big Ten play finishes this weekend

**Big Ten Week Five: Spartans at Northwestern, at No. 7 Illinois**
at Northwestern	Friday Oct. 19, 7 pm CT; Evanston Township High School
	Live Stats \| Watch: BTN2Go \| Tickets
at No. 7 Illinois	Saturday, Oct. 20, 7 pm CT; Huff Hall
	Live Stats \| Watch: BTN2Go \| Tickets
Radio	SpartanSportsNetwork.com (or download the SSN24/7 app); John Kreger, pxp
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Northwestern \| I llinois
Press Conference	Watch This Week's Volleyball Press Conference
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram

Team Notes

• Michigan State continues a four-match road swing with games at Northwestern (Friday) and No. 7 Illinois (Saturday).

• Both matches will have a live video broadcast via BTN2Go. Visit MSUSpartans.com or BTN2Go.com for direct links.

• John Kreger returns behind the mic to call the action for Michigan State volleyball on the Spartan Sports Network. All games - home and away - will be carried live.

• The Spartans split last weekend's Big Ten action, winning a five-set battle at Maryland on Friday before falling to Ohio State on Sunday afternoon, 3-0. It is the third straight Big Ten split for MSU this season.

• MSU improved to 2-0 in five-set matches with its road victory on Friday at Maryland. After MSU took a 2-0 match lead, the Terps pushed the Spartans to the limit with 25-22 and 25-23 wins in the next two frames. The fourth set went to the home team with an eye-popping 20 kills in the set, hitting .405 – while MSU hit a more-than respectable .385 (18-3-39). The final set started out all MSU (8-2), with the Terps fighting back to within a pair before the Spartans closed it out 15-11. MSU had 10 kills and three blocks in the final frame.

• The Spartans hit .287 in the match but struggled to terminate, as Ohio State took a 3-0 decision (23-25, 19-25, 26-28) on Sunday. The Buckeyes had 53 digs on the day and hit .282, and also compiled 52 kills to MSU's 41 and served up six aces. MSU was hindered by seven service errors on the day compared to just three aces. MSU did have its fewest hitting errors of the season (10).

• The Spartans did post their two highest hititng percentages of the Big Ten season last weekend, hitting .340 against Maryland (their second highest efficiency in a game this season overall) and then .287 at Ohio State.

• The Spartans won three straight non-conference tournament titles in the pre-conference portion of the schedule. MSU swept through the competition at the Carolina Classic, Fairfield Invitational, and Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational, and finished second in the opening weekend at the Tennessee Classic.

• MSU (14-5) is no longer receiving votes in the most recent AVCA National Poll. Five teams from the Big Ten appeared in the national top 17, with three appearing in the top five and one team (Iowa) among the teams receiving votes.
• MSU first plays at Northwestern this trip, playing for the second straight season at Evanston Township High School. Shane Davis is in his third season at the helm of the Wildcats, and is looking for his team's first Big Ten victory of the season. Northwestern owns a 10-10 overall record.

• MSU owns a 40-34 edge in the all-time series between the teams, including four straight victories. This will be the only meeting of the teams in 2018.

• MSU and Illinois will meet twice in the regular season, with a return date in East Lansing coming during the final week of the regular season. The Illini hold a 50-27 all-time record in the series, but MSU has won three straight - which includes a win in the NCAA round of 16 in 2017.

• Chris Tamas has guided his team to a 16-3 overall record and No. 7 national ranking in his second season with the Illini. UI comes in with a 5-3 record in Big Ten matches, which includes a big win at Wisconsin last Saturday.

• The Spartans have earned eight 3-0 sweeps and played eight four-set matches in 2018. MSU is a perfect 7-0 in neutral-site matches, 2-3 in true road games, and 5-2 at home.

• MSU owns the third-most victories (15) overall among Big Ten teams, behind Michigan (17) and Illinois (16).

• MSU ranks third in the Big Ten and ranks 30th nationally in service aces per set (1.60), with 120 aces over 75 frames. The Green & White boast five matches with double-digit aces, the most of any team in the Big Ten. The single-match high of 14 is held by both Maryland (vs. Ohio State) and Rutgers (vs. Coppin State), with MSU's single-match best of 13 aces vs. Chattanooga ranking third.

• The Spartans are averaging 2.81 blocks per set, which is good for third in the Big Ten and 13th nationally. MSU's total blocks (210.5) also ranks 11th nationally, and leads the Big Ten.

• MSU has double-digit blocking totals in each of the last five of the last six matches and 11 of 21 matches overall. The Spartans had 9.5 blocks at Ohio State, just missing the double-digit threshold. MSU has posted eight or more blocks in all but two matchups this season.

• MSU has out-blocked its opponent 15 times, but has had fewer blocks in four of its eight Big Ten contests.

• MSU has gone 132-26 (.835) in non-conference action in Cathy George's 14 years at the helm, and has never lost more than four games prior to the beginning of the Big Ten season.

• MSU's 2018 roster features one senior (captain Maddie Haggerty), two juniors (setter Maggie Midgette and DS Samantha McLean), and two large classes of sophomores and freshmen. The 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 9 by PrepVolleyball, while the current freshmen came in ranked at No. 15.

• MSU's streak of seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is the third-longest in the Big Ten, behind Penn State and Nebraska. In addition, MSU, Nebraska, and Penn State are the only teams to finish .500 or better in Big Ten play in each of the last seven seasons (2011-17).

• The Big Ten coaches selected defending National Champion Nebraska as the 2018 pre-season conference favorite, followed by Wisconsin and Minnesota in second and third, respectively. The Spartans appeared at No. 9 in the Big Ten preseason survey.

• Cathy George is one of four Big Ten head coaches to amass 600+ wins (636), along with Penn State's Russ Rose (1,261), Wisconsin's John Cook (708), and Michigan's Mark Rosen (610). She entered the 2018 season 19th among active coaches in coaching victories with a 621-398 overall record, 50th all-time in Division I history.

Player Notes

• Sophomore OH Alyssa Chronowski led the Spartans with 19 kills in the win over Maryland. Chronowski hit a match-best .429 against the Terps and had career bests in both total (7) and solo (3) blocks. She added 12 kills and four digs against Ohio State as well, averaging 3.88 kills and 1.12 blocks per set on the weekend, both team bests.

• Chronowski is 11th in the Big Ten in kills per set (3.41), and ranks 14th in service aces (0.31). She is also averaging 0.64 blocks per set and 1.00 digs over the first 21 matches of the season.

• Chronowski has 17 matches with double-digit kills.

• Naya Gros ranks third in the Big Ten and ranks 18th nationally in hitting percentage (.396). In addition, she ranks 16th nationally in total blocks (99) and 30th in blocks per set (1.34), which is fifth in the Big Ten rankings. Among league freshmen, Gros leads the pack in hitting percentage (.396), is 11th in kills (2.28) and third in blocks (1.34).

• Last weekend, Gros hit .256 and posted 2.75 kills per frame, sharing the team lead in blocks per set with Chronowski (1.12).

• Gros' 10 blocks against Chattanooga on Aug. 25 is her career best in that category, and ranks second among single-game match highs for any player in the Big Ten this season.

• Gros is establishing herself as one of MSU's top first-year blockers in program history. Her 99 blocks this season ranks eighth all-time on the all-time freshman list at MSU, with the record being held by Angela Morley (181 in 1999). Next ahead of her is Dana Cooke (100 in 1993) and Val Sterk (101 in 1993).

• Gros has a solo block in 14 of 21 matches so far, and with 16 total on the season, which is tied for 10th in a season for an MSU freshman. She also ranks seventh on the block assists list, with 83.

• Gros's hitting percentage (.396)would be first on MSU's all-time freshman list, which is headed by Morley, who hit .321 in 1999.

• Elena Shklyar played in front of her hometown crowd last weekend at Maryland, and posted 58 assists in the win over the Terps. She had a team-best five blocks against Ohio State, along with 29 helpers.

• Shklyar is averaging 8.98 assists per set, which is good for 11th in the Big Ten. She is also averaging 1.26 digs, 0.54 blocks, and 0.23 aces.

• Shklyar has 548 assists on the year, which is good for ninth all-time on the MSU record book for a freshman. Right ahead of her is current assistant coach Kristen Kelsay, who had 574). Shklyar's assists per set (8.98) raks sixth for a first-year setter in Green and White.

• Senior Maddie Haggerty averaged 2.75 kills and 2.50 digs per set per set last weekend, including a new MSU career best with 15 kills against Maryland to go with 12 digs for her second double-double of the season. She added seven kills and eight digs at Ohio State.

• On the year, Haggerty is averaging 2.62 kills per frame, which is good for second on the team. She also adds 1.86 digs per set as a six-rotation player.

• Molly Johnson (1.03) and Rebecka Poljan (1.10) are both averaging better than 1.0 blocks per set this season, giving MSU a three-headed monster at the net that includes Gros (1.34).

• Poljan posted a career-best 13 kills at Maryland, and then had seven kills and four blocks at OSU.

• Poljan ranks 11th in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.18), and is hitting .234 with 1.71 kills per frame. She ranks fifth among Conference freshmen in blocks and ninth in hitting percentage. She has led the team in blocking in three of the last five matches.

• Johnson missed last weekend with an injury, but is averaging 1.83 kills per set on the year with a .190 hitting percentage and 1.03 blocks per set.

• Redshirt sophomore Lauren Swartz has been hampered with a nagging injury this season, but made her season debut at Iowa. She averaged 1.5 kills and a .212 hitting percentage last weekend as she works herself back into the lineup.

• Maggie Midgette is averaging 7.52 assists per set with 0.54 aces and 1.14 digs per frame. She ranks third on the team with 15 service aces, behind Chronowski's 23.

• Midgette recorded five aces in the MSU win over Chattanooga (Aug. 25), which is tied for the single-match high among Spartan players this season. Elena Shklyar had five against Northeastern (Sept. 8).

• Jamye Cox missed four matches at the Fairfield Invitational, appearing in 17 of 21 matches this season. She is averaging 3.79 digs (10th, B1G) and 0.27 assists per frame.

• Cox established a new career best with seven assists in the match vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 15). Her 29 digs vs. Belmont is the third-highest total for a Big Ten player this season, and also her career best.

• Cox has had double-digit dig totals in all but three matches in 2018.

• Junior Samantha McLean has appeared in all 75 sets, one of just two athletes to do so (Chronowski is the other). She is third on the team with 2.12 digs per set, and she also has 14 service aces on the year.

• McLean tied her career high with 13 digs against Indiana, and has three straight matches with double-digit digs. She had four straight matches earlier in the season.

• Sophomore OH Meredith Norris is averaging 1.93 kills and 1.83 digs per set. She is fourth on the team with 14 service aces (0.30 per set), which ranks just outside the top 15 in the Big Ten.

• Freshmen back-row specialists Lauryn Gibbs and Talia Edmonds are bolstering MSU's passing game.

• Gibbs established a new career best with 12 digs in the win over Indiana, and tied that with 12 against Maryland last Friday. She averages 1.22 digs per set as a regular in the Spartan back row.

• Edmonds has stood out at the service line with seven aces on the season, and also posted a career-best five digs against Alabama-Birmingham (Sept. 15).

• Julia Hatcher started all four matches in the Fairfield Invite, but will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. She averaged better than a block per set (1.10) for MSU before her season came to a halt after appearing in just 20 sets this season.

• Redshirt freshman Bella Legarza made her MSU debut vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, and also saw time at Ohio State.