Biamba Kabengele Earns B1G Freshman of the Week Honors

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State freshman outside hitter Biamba Kabengele (Burlington, Ontario) has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, as announced by the Big Ten office on Monday afternoon. It is the first Big Ten weekly honor of her career.

Kabengele played an expanded role in the Western Michigan tournament with injuries altering the Spartan lineup. With between one and three starters missing each of the three matches, Kabengele rose to the occasion and was named to the All-Tournament Team. On the weekend, she averaged 3.64 kills per set and hit .333 over the three matches.

In MSU's opening match, she established a new career best with 15 kills against Auburn and hit .303, then bettered both with 18 terminations later in the day vs. IUPUI, where she hit .306 and added a dig. In the finale against host Western Michigan, she tallied seven kills, hit .500 (7-1-12) and added to solo blocks and two digs.

On the year, Kabengele is averaging 2.65 kills per set and hitting .295 overall on the season. She has contributed seven blocks (two solo). Among first-year players in the Big Ten, she ranks third in hitting percentage, second in blocks per set, and fifth in blocks per frame (0.35).

Michigan State completed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a Big Ten-best 9-1 overall record and has won five straight matches entering Conference play. The Spartans travel to State College for their B1G opener at Penn State on Wednesday, then return home to host Maryland this Saturday at 8 pm.

Players Mentioned

Biamba Kabengele

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