Volleyball Plays Annual Green & White Match Friday

Michigan State volleyball unofficially opens the 2019 season on Friday, hosting its annual Green & White exhibition match.

The annual event will be held at 7:30 pm at Jenison Field House, with free admission for all patrons. At the conclusion of the match, the team will hold an autograph session at the south end of the fieldhouse. Limited concession offerings (beverages and ice cream carts) will be open as well.

The Spartans return 14 letterwinners from the 2018 team that went 17-16, losing just one player to graduation. The 2019 squad will feature 18 players, as head coach Cathy George will enter the season with three seniors, five juniors, seven sophomores, and three freshmen.

2018 was a learning year for MSU, which fielded the youngest team in the Big Ten after graduating seven seniors (all starters) from its 2017 Elite Eight squad. The team was essentially all first-year Big Ten players a year ago, the staff was encouraged by the consistent improvement from game to game and knows that a more seasoned squad is starting the 2019 campaign.

"While we certainly improved match-to-match last season, we were very well aware that the improvement needed to continue into the spring season, then the summer, and carry it into pre-season camp, noted George. "The players have worked hard and helped set that standard in the gym. We're a year older and a year wiser, and that's important. Friday will give our fans a nice chance to see some areas where we've improved as we introduce our 2019 team. We're looking forward to a great night."

Friday's teams have been split as follows: the Green Team will be coached by assistant Jesse Ortiz and feature the following athletes: Audrey Alford, Alyssa Chronowski, Lauryn Gibbs, Molly Johnson, Bella Legarza, Samantha McLean, Maggie Midgette, Emma Monks, Meredith Norris, and Becka Poljan. The White team will be coached by the coaching staff newcomers – Associate Head Coach Kimi Olson and volunteer assistant Vladimir Frenc. Their arsenal will include Jamye Cox, Talia Edmonds, Hannah Grant, Naya Gros, Julia Hatcher, Biamba Kabengele, Elena Shklyar, Lauren Swartz and fifth-year student coach Maddie Haggerty.

George has assembled a challenging slate for her Spartans, who went 12-1 in non-conference games a year ago. Five non-conference games out of the 10 in 2019 will be at Jenison Field House – back to back weekends that bring Indiana State, Cincinnati, and Tennessee to East Lansing for the Spartan Invitational and single games against Oakland and North Carolina.

"Playing in front of our home crowd always gives our team a big lift," said George. "We've been blessed with an amazing base of fans who support our program in so many ways. We're able to have a real home-court advantage in every match, and we're hoping that will continue this season. There's some really good volleyball to watch not only throughout our Big Ten schedule, but also in our non-conference games."

OUTSIDE HITTERS
Six-rotation OH Maddie Haggerty was MSU's only loss from last year's squad, and there's a considerable amount of firepower available to the Spartans returning to the roster. Junior Alyssa Chronowski was the top kill threat a year ago, and is expected to raise her game to another level as she enters her third varsity season. Teammate Meredith Norris has been impressive in pre-season camp, and the staff is encouraged with her opportunity to earn more playing time. MSU has a pair of big arms in 6-5 redshirt junior Lauren Swartz and 6-4 sophomore Molly Johnson that earned valuable experience a year ago, and newcomer Biamba Kabengele has been a quick learner in camp that could challenge to get into the rotation.

MIDDLE BLOCKERS
The sophomore duo of 6-3 Naya Gros and 6-2 Becka Poljan shouldered the load in the middle last year, and both saw blocking numbers among the best for a freshman in program history. Junior Julia Hatcher missed the second half of the season (and all of the spring) with injury, and is working to get her game back throughout pre-season camp to give MSU another weapon in the middle. Redshirt sophomore Bella Legarza also returns, and the addition of 6-4 freshman Emma Monks – a product of the most prolific high school program in the country in Assumption (Kentucky) will give the unit more depth and skill than it had a year ago.

SETTERS
Sophomore Elena Shklyar and senior Maggie Midgette both saw time last year, and the duo is joined by graduate transfer Audrey Alford, who earned her undergraduate degree at Oklahoma and has one year of eligibility remaining. Alford lends a veteran presence to the group, with three years of varsity experience for the Sooners, but Shklyar and Midgette both were able to learn a lot on the job in their first Big Ten experience a year ago

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS/LIBERO
The most seasoned unit on the team is in the back row, as two-year starter at libero Jamye Cox and senior DS Samantha McLean are back. McLean has played a significant role each of the last two seasons as the primary DS, with 67 matches under her belt. Sophomore Lauryn Gibbs was the team's Most Improved Player a year ago, and showed she can handle the rigors of back-row play in the Big Ten. Classmate Talia Edmonds will be sidelined for the season with an injury, but freshman Hannah Grant gives the Spartans more depth at the position.

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Players Mentioned

Audrey Alford

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Talia Edmonds

Lauryn Gibbs

Hannah Grant

Naya Gros

Maddie Haggerty

Julia Hatcher

Molly Johnson

Biamba Kabengele

Bella Legarza

Samantha McLean

Maggie Midgette

Emma Monks

Meredith Norris

Elena Shklyar

Lauren Swartz