Four-Game Homestand Kicks Off Friday

Friday, September 28

East Lansing, MI

7 pm

Michigan State University

Penn State

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Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

9/26/2018 11:03:00 AM | Volleyball

Spartans welcome Penn State and Rutgers to Jenison Field House

**Big Ten Week Two: Spartans vs. No. 9 Penn State, Rutgers**
v. No. 9 Penn State	Friday Sept. 28, 7 pm Jenison Field House
	Live Stats \| TV: BTN \| Watch: BTN2Go \| Tickets
	**Ticket Promotions: Family Four Pack \| MSUFCU Night (member + 1 guest free if you show your card)**
	Game Promotions: MSUFCU Giveaway \| Alyssa Garvelink All-America Banner Raising \| High School Night
vs. Rutgers	Saturday, Sept. 29, 7 pm; Jenison Field House
	Live Stats \| Watch: BTN2Go \| Tickets
	Ticket Promotions: Four Seats, Four Treats \| Free Admission with MSU-CMU Football Ticket Stub
	Game Promotions: Post-game Meet & Greet with Spartan freshmen
Radio	SpartanSportsNetwork.com (or download the SSN24/7 app); John Kreger, pxp
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Penn State \| Rutgers
Press Conference	Watch This Week's Volleyball Press Conference
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram
No-Bag Policy	Patrons are asked to review MSU's No-Bag Policy
Parking	Patrons are encouraged to utilize Kellogg Center, IM West, or Breslin Center as Jenison lot fills quickly.

Team Notes
• (RV) Michigan State gets its first home matches of its Big Ten schedule this weekend when it hosts Penn State and Rutgers. It opens a four-game homestand for MSU, its longest of the season.

• Two-time All-America Alyssa Garvelink will be honored prior to Friday's game vs. Penn State with her jersey number lifted into the Jenison Field House rafters. She was a two-time All-Big Ten pick and ranks fifth all-time at MSU with 557 total blocks and third with 499 block assists, and also finished 25th all-time in the Big Ten in career blocks.

• Friday night's match be carried live on the Big Ten Network, with Mike Monaco and Audrey Flaugh. Both Friday and Saturday's game will have webstreams on the BTN2Go platform.

• 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 had a rough opening weekend in Big Ten play, falling 3-0 at Iowa on Friday and 3-1 on Sunday to No. 3 Nebraska in Lincoln.

• Michigan State had its streak of 12 straight victories - the longest active streak in the Big Ten - snapped with the loss at Iowa on Friday. The 12-game winning streak was MSU's longest winning streak since the 2013 season when the Spartans won 15 consecutive matches. It was also Iowa's first win in the series since 2009, a stretch of 15 matches.

• 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 (12-3) is receiving votes in the most recent AVCA National Poll (Sept. 24). Seven teams from the Big Ten appeared in the national top 20, with five appearing in the top 10.

• MSU and Penn State meet on Friday in a match that will air live on Big Ten Network. The teams met three times in 2017: in addition to the home-and-home matches in the regular season, the teams also met in the Elite Eight, where Penn State earned a 3-0 win on its home floor. The Nittany Lions have won eight straight in the series and owns a 45-7 mark in matches between the teams. Head coach Russ Rose is celebrating his 40th season on the Penn State sideline.

• Volunteer assistant coach Arielle Wilson was a three-time All-American and four-time National Champion at Penn State (2007-10). She is still the program's all-time leader in hitting percentage (.468), and also sits fifth on Penn State's all-time block leaders list. She ranks among the all-time single-season leaders for PSU in hitting percentage (.540 in 2009, first), total blocks (186 in 2009, second) and blocks per set (1.52 in 2009, third).

• Rutgers and MSU will meet for the ninth time in program history on Saturday evening. The Spartans are a dominating 8-0 in the all-time series with the Scarlet Knights, all 3-0 victories. CJ Wernecke is in his 11th season as the head coach at Rutgers.

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

• MSU suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season at Iowa and Penn State, and the first time overall since November 2016. The Spartans still own the second-most victories (12) in the Conference, tied with Michigan and Purdue behind Illinois.

• MSU fell to second place in the Big Ten rankings and seventh nationally in service aces per set (1.96), with 100 aces over 51 frames. The Spartans failed to record an ace in Friday's match at Iowa, MSU's first without an ace this season.

• 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 Rutgers, with MSU's 13 aces vs. Chattanooga ranking second.

• The Spartans are averaging 2.69 blocks per set, which is good for eighth in the Big Ten and 10th nationally. Penn State the B1G with 3.18 blocks per set.

• MSU averaged 2.43 blocks per set last weekend in their first two B1G matches, but were out-blocked in both. The Spartans have eight or more blocks in 13 of 15 matches this season, including eight at Iowa and nine at Nebraska.

• The Spartans recorded a season-low .047 hitting percentage at Nebraska. MSU had not hit below .182 in a match before this past weekend's games, with the low coming in the season opener at Tennessee.

• The Spartans had not allowed an opponent to hit better than .188 since Tennessee hit .226 in the opening match of the season. On Friday, Iowa hit .290, a season high for any opponent.

• 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.

• The 2017 Spartans finished the season with a 24-9 overall record, and were 14-6 for a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten Conference. MSU graduated seven athletes from the 2017 team, including its entire starting rotation. The only returning starter from last year's NCAA team is sophomore libero Jamye Cox.

• 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 (633), along with Penn State's Russ Rose (1,255), Wisconsin's John Cook (703), and Michigan's Mark Rosen (605). 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 was MSU's top offensive producer last weekend, averaging 2.86 kills and hitting .267, adding 0.57 blocks and 0.29 aces per set in the matches at Iowa and Nebraska. She led the Spartans with 12 kills vs. Iowa and hit .455.

• Chronowski is just outside the top 15 in the Big Ten in kills per set (3.10), and ranks seventh in service aces (0.45/s), which is good for 55th nationally. She is also averaging 0.61 blocks per set and 0.92 digs over the first 15 matches of the season.

• Naya Gros leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in hitting percentage (.435). In addition, she ranks 18th nationally in both total blocks (70) and 21st in blocks per set (1.40), which is seventh in the Big Ten rankings. She added two aces to her offensive output last weekend as well.

• Among league freshmen, Gros leads the pack in hitting percentage (.435), is seventh in kills (2.38/s) and third in blocks (1.40/s).

• 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.

• Senior Maddie Haggerty was second among Spartans with 2.0 kills per set last weekend, and averaged 0.86 digs as well. She had a career- high 44 swings in the Nebraska match, and shared the Spartan lead of nine kills with Molly Johnson. On the seasoan she's appeared in eight of 15 matches, and averages 2.5 kills per frame.

• Molly Johnson (1.02) and Rebecka Poljan (1.18) are both averaging better than 1.0 blocks per set this season, giving MSU a four-headed monster at the net that includes Gros (1.40) and sophomore Julia Hatcher (1.10) The duo both averaged 0.86 blocks per set last weekend in the Big Ten opening weekend.

• Johnson posted 1.86 kills per set last weekend, and is averaging 1.90 on the year. Johnson shared the team lead at Nebraska with nine kills.

• Rebecka Poljan averaged 1.14 kills per set last weekend, and despite missing the third weekend of the non-conference schedule, has continued to rapidly improve and serve as a factor for the Spartans in each match. Playing in 10 of 15 matches so far, Poljan is averaging 1.53 kills to go with her 1.18 blocks per set.

• Both setters have continued to see significant time, splitting the action last weekend.

• Elena Shklyar is averaging 8.11 assists per set, which is good for 12th in the Big Ten. She is also averaging 1.49 digs, 0.57 blocks, and 0.35 aces per set, which ranks 12th in the B1G.

• Maggie Midgette is averaging 8.0 assists per set with 0.60 aces and 1.28 digs per frame. She ranks second on the team with 15 service aces, behind Chronowski's 22.

• 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).

• Sophomore OH Meredith Norris is averaging 2..13 kills and 2.03 digs per set. She is fifth on the team with 12 service aces (0.32 per set).

• Julia Hatcher started all four matches in the Fairfield Invite, but has missed the last two matches with injury. She's averaging better than a block per set (1.10).

• Junior Samantha McLean has appeared in all 51 sets, one of just three athletes to do so (Chronowski and Johnson are the other two). She is third on the team with 2.00 digs per set, and she also has eight service aces on the year.

• Jamye Cox missed four matches at the Fairfield Invitational, appearing in 11 of 15 matches this season. She is averaging 4.08 digs per set (ninth, B1G) and 0.67 assists per frame. Her 0.33 aces per set is 15th in the Big Ten.

• Cox established a new career best with seven assists in the match vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 15).

• Freshmen back-row specialists Lauryn Gibbs and Talia Edmonds are bolstering MSU's passing game. 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). Gibbs' career-best six digs came at Fairfield (Sept. 8), and she also established a career high with three service aces in the same match.

• Redshirt freshman Bella Legarza made her MSU debut vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, recording a kill.

• Redshirt sophomore Lauren Swartz has been hampered with a nagging injury, but made her season debut last Friday at Iowa.