MSU Welcomes Maryland For Big Ten Home Opener

2019 Volleyball Week Five / Big Ten Week One
Maryland (8-5, 0-1 B1G) **at Michigan State** **(9-2, 0-1B1G)**
vs. Maryland	Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 pm \| Jenison Field House \| Tickets
	Webstream (BTN+) \| Live Stats \| MSU Athletics No-Bag Policy
Parking	Please utilize the parking map for accessing Jenison Field House
Ticket Promotions (Saturday)	Spartan Football: Show your MSU/IU football ticket stub for FREE Admission Four Seats, Four Treats
Radio	SpartanSportsNetwork.com (or download the SSN24/7 app)
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Maryland
Press Conference	Watch This Week's Volleyball Press Conference
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram

Important Logistics

  • MSU's homecoming football game is a 3:30 pm kickoff, which will re-route traffic around the beginning of the volleyball match. Please utilize this transportation/parking map to find the easiest way to get to Jenison Field House.

• Fans attending the football game against Indiana can show their ticket stub to gain free admission to the football game.

• The Jenison Field House lot does fill quickly, so you may need to utilize IM West, Breslin Center or Kellogg Center.


Let's Play Pepper: What You Need to Know about the MSU -Maryland Matchup

• MSU opens its home portion of the Big Ten schedule when it hosts Maryland on Saturday in East Lansing.

• Both squads are coming off Wednesday losses - the Spartans dropped a 3-0 decision (24-26, 21-25, 18-25) at No. 5 Penn State, and the Terps fell to Ohio State at home, 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 20-25, 22-25).

• MSU suffered its toughest hitting night of the season, finishing with a season-low .126 – and Penn State out-blocked MSU by a 9-6 margin. Both teams struggled from the service line – MSU had 12 errors, PSU nine – and Penn State hit .258, the second-best for a 2019 Spartan opponent.

• MSU and PSU battled through 20 tie scores and six lead changes in the match.

• The Spartans were held to less than 20 points in a set this season for the first time in the third set against the Nittany Lions. In its eight set losses this season (25-point sets), MSU has averaged 22 points per set, and two of those sets have gone to extra points. The fifth-set loss to Tennessee was by an 11-15 score.

•    MSU is in the middle of a stretch of playing eight of nine matches away from Jenison Field House. This is the lone home game in this stretch - MSU has Ohio State/Maryland next weekend, then goes to Nebraska/Iowa the following week. The Spartans will play nine of 14 at home to round out the season.

• The Spartans are averaging 2.79 blocks per set - good for second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally. Penn State outblocked the Spartans by a 9-6 margin, the largest blocking margin MSU has had by an opponent this year.

• MSU has limited opponents to a .144 hitting percentage, which is third in the Conference Offensively, MSU ranks sixth in the league in hitting percentage (.269).

• For the second straight weekend, the Spartans were plagued by service errors, logging 12 at Penn State on Wednesday. MSU had 17 last Friday vs. Auburn (a season high) and 15 against IUPUI.

• MSU was led by 10 kills and six digs from junior Meredith Norris in State College, the only Spartan to record double-digit kills. Norris leads MSU with 3.45 kills per set (14th, B1G) and is second with 2.23 digs per frame, while adding 0.52 blocks and 0.45 aces (third, B1G).

• MSU got seven kills, four blocks, and an ace from Rebecka Poljan, who hit .417 on Wednesday. Poljan is averaging 1.26 blocks per frame (seventh in the B1G) and her .348 hitting percentage ranks ninth in the league.

• Lauren Swartz had six kills and four digs at Penn State, and hit .455. She's averaging 1.36 kills, 0.97 digs, and 0.67 blocks per set.

• Jamye Cox led the Spartans with seven digs on Wednesday, the first match this season that she was held below double digits. With a 4.00 digs per set average, Cox ranks seventh in the Big Ten.

• Naya Gros is sixth in the Big Ten with 1.28 blocks per frame, and is 13th in hitting percentage (.333). She's contributing 1.62 kills per set.

• Alyssa Chronowski played two sets on Wednesday and finished with four kills and two blocks. She's second on the team with 2.53 kills per set and hitting .258, adding 0.77 blocks per set.

• Through five non-conference home games, the Spartans have welcomed more than 12,000 fans through the turnstiles, an average of 2,426 per match. MSU is 10th nationally in average attendance and ninth in total attendance (12, 128).

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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Naya Gros

Meredith Norris

Rebecka Poljan

Lauren Swartz