MSU Hits The Road For Matches at Purdue, Maryland


B1G Week Five - Spartans at [7] Purdue, at Maryland
at Purdue	Wednesday Oct 20 - 8 pm Halloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana
at Maryland	Saturday, Oct 23 - 7 pm XFinity Center Pavilion, College Park, Maryland
Radio	at Purdue \| at Maryland John Kreger, pxp; Spartan Media Network
Television	Wednesday - Big Ten Network / Fox Sports App
Webstreams (B1G+/$)	at M aryland
Live Statistics	at Purdue \| at Maryland
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Purdue \| Maryland
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
• MSU goes back on the road this week, traveling to Purdue for a midweek tilt before a rematch with Maryland in College Park.

• John Kreger returns behind the mic to call the action for Michigan State volleyball on the Spartan Sports Network. He will call both MSU matches this weekend.

• Wednesday's match against Wisconsin will air live on Big Ten Network, with Chris Vosters and Salima Rockwell on the call. The Maryland match will have live video webstream on B1G+. MSUSpartans.com has links to all live statistics and webstreams.

• MSU dropped a pair of tough decisions last weekend to Wisconsin (3-0) and Maryland (3-1). The No. 3 Badgers hit .301 and had nine blocks to MSU's two in the Friday contest. On Saturday, MSU had a season-best 58 kills and hit .201, but had some unforced errors at the service line. Maryland hit .250 and out-blocked the Spartans in a four-setter.

• The Spartans went 2-1 in each of the first two weekends of non-conference tournaments before sweeping the final weekend of non-conference play with wins against Oakland, IUPUI, and Central Michigan in the Green & White Classic.

• Purdue is 14-3 overall on the season and 6-2 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers split last weekend's matches - falling 3-1 to No 7 Ohio State in Columbus before earning a five-set victory over No. 15 Penn State on Sunday in West Lafayette.

• MSU looks to snap a four-match losing streak to the Boilers, and trails the series 32-55 overall. MSU is 12-27 all-time in West Lafayette.

• Dave Shondell is in his 19th season at the helm of the Purdue program, and recently celebrated his 400th victory with the Boilers.

• Adam Hughes is in his fourth season as the Maryland head coach, and owns a 51-53 overall record through three-plus seasons.

• Maryland split its road trip to Michigan and Michigan State last weekend, and sits at 15-5 and 3-5 in the Big Ten.

• MSU leads the all-time series with Maryland by a 13-2 margin, with the Terps earning their first-ever victory in East Lansing last Saturday.

Team Notes
• MSU's average of 1.58 service aces per set on the season ranks fourth in the Big Ten. The Spartans are averaging 1.52 service aces per set in Conference games, which ranks second.

• MSU's 12.04 assists per set is good for sixth in the Big Ten.

• After a season-best 58 kills vs. Maryland on Saturday, the Spartans are averaging 12.82 kills per frame, which ranks seventh in the Big Ten.

• MSU has led in kills in 11 of its 17 matches, and has been tied or led in blocks in 11. The Spartans are 8-2 when leading in hitting percentage, and had just one opponent in non-conference play to hit .200 or better. Wisconsin hit .301 on Friday, the highest for an opponent this season.

• The Spartans hit .203 against Minnesota (10/9) and then hit .201 last Saturday vs. Maryland - the only times this season the Spartans have hit .200 or better and lost.

• Seven of MSU's eight victories have come by 3-0 scores, and the eighth a 3-1 triumph against Central Michigan. Seven of MSU's seven losses are to either a ranked team (No. 13 BYU, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 7 OSU, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin) or a team receiving votes in the AVCA poll (Wright State, Michigan).

• The Spartans have played four top-12 teams over its last five matches, and gets another on Wednesday in Purdue.

• Head coach Cathy George picked up her 299th victory as the coach of the Spartans with the 3-0 win at Iowa on Oct. 1. She is 299-224 in her 17th season at Michigan State and 664-448 overall in her 35th season.

• Michigan State completed the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-2 record, having won its final three matches. MSU's two losses came in five sets (to RV Wright State) and three sets (to No. 13 BYU).

• MSU has gone 148-30 (.844) in non-conference action in Cathy George's tenure (2005-21), and has never lost more than four games prior to the beginning of the Big Ten season.

• Three schools on MSU's non-conference schedule were NCAA Tournament qualifiers in 2020, while five Big Ten teams were selected. As a result of Covid-19, the NCAA Tournament consisted of just 48 teams in 2020, compared to the usual 64. A 64-team event returns in 2021.

• MSU currently ranks seventh in overall attendance this season, a list which features eight B1G teams among the top 15 attendance draws. The Spartans are 10th nationally in average attendance through seven weeks of the 2021 campaign (2,520).

• Cathy George is one of four Big Ten head coaches to enter the 2021 season with 600+ career wins (656), along with Penn State's Russ Rose (1,309), Nebraska's John Cook (765), and Michigan's Mark Rosen (642). Through the 2020-21 season, she ranks 13th among active coaches in coaching victories with a 663-443 overall record. She also ranks 45th all-time in head coaching victories.

Player Notes
• Three players have appeared in all 13 matches for MSU thus far: Naya Gros, Cecilee Max-Brown, and Talia Edmonds. Max-Brown and Edmonds have started all 17.

• MSU returned a trio of middle blockers which includes two, three-year starters in Gros and Rebecka Poljan, as well as junior Emma Monks. It has proven to be MSU's deepest and most prolific position.

• Naya Gros ranks third in the Big Ten and sixth nationally with 1.49 blocks per set on the season, and her 72 total blocks is fourth in the B1G and 64th among Division I players. She is hitting .273 and averaging 1.41 kills per frame.

• Gros put up 10 blocks against Dixie State (Sept. 3) is tied for seventh among single-game performances in the Big Ten this season.

• Gros' five solo blocks vs. Dixie State (Sept. 3) tied the record for solo stuffs in a three-set match, last accomplished by Alyssa Garvelink vs. Michigan in 2015. Her 10 total blocks in the contest tied for the fifth-highest total in a three-set match, last posted by Sarah Gustin vs. Northwestern in 1998. The school record of 12 total blocks in a three-setter is held by Alexis Matthews vs. Michigan (November 2010).

• Gros' career average of 1.22 blocks per set ranks fifth on MSU's career list, and is just ahead of the career average of most recent two-time All-American Alyssa Garvelink, who averaged 1.21 blocks per set from 2014-17. Gros' 350 career block assists ranks ninth all-time at MSU in that category, and her 411 total blocks ranks 10th in the MSU annals.

• Gros needs four blocks to move up to seventh all-time in the MSU block assist recordbook. She would pass Jessica Sanborn (353) and Sarah Gustin (352) on the all-time list.

• Gros' 1.22 blocks per set average for her career ranks 10th among active Division I players this season.

• Poljan ranks fourth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.421). The senior had seven kills and three blocks in her last match Iowa (10/1), with three digs and an ace. Poljan has missed the last five matches, but remains fourth on the team in blocks (0.76) and points (3.26) per set, and was also contributing 2.49 kills per frame (third) on the year before missing extended time.

• Poljan delivered seven kills or more in eight of her 12 matches, and has hit .300 or better in eight of 12 matches as well. She has two top-10 hitting performances in the Big Ten this season: her .77

• Monks made her first Big Ten start of the season at Nebraska (10/3), and delivered a team-best four blocks and added five kills. She has started the last five matches, averaging 1.46 kills and 0.77 blocks in that span.

• Monks is averaging 0.85 blocks per frame, good for second on the team. She also adding 1.54 kills per set while hitting .240.

• Sarah Franklin is averaging 3.96 kills per set (third, B1G) and 4.55 points per frame (fourth, B1G).
In Conference games only, she averages 4.37 kills and 5.04 points, both figures that rank second among conference student-athletes. She is also averaging 2.31 digs and 0.74 blocks per set, which ranks fourth behind MSU's three middles.

• A six-rotation player, Franklin delivered a double-double against Maryland last Saturday (her fifth of the season) with 20 kills, 13 digs, and a pair of blocks. The night prior, she led MSU with nine kills and added eight assists, the second highest total on the team.

• Franklin's 25 kills vs. Michigan (Sept. 29) is the third-most by a B1G player this season, and the second-most in a Conference contest.

• Cecilee Max-Brown also plays six rotations for the Spartans. She delivered a career-best 15 digs last Saturday vs. Maryland to lead all players while just missing a double-double (nine kills), and also had six kills in the first game of the weekend vs. Wisconsin.

• In 17 starts, Max-Brown is averaging 2.77 kills, 2.19 digs, and 0.37 blocks. She owns three of the team's 13 double-doubles.

• Junior Biamba Kabengele is near career bests in both kills (2.12) and digs (1.90) this season. She tied her season best of 11 kills against Minnesota (10/9), and this past Saturday she had three aces, five kills, and three digs against the Terrapins.

• Kabengele recorded her second career five-ace game against Michigan (Sept. 29), a mark she originally set last February against Maryland. That is tied for the most aces in a Big Ten game this season. She is fourth in the Big Ten with 0.44 aces per set this season.

• Molly Johnson appeared in both matches last weekend and in 13 overall on the season. She is averaging 0.88 kills, 1.32 digs, and 0.36 blocks per set.

• MSU's most youthful position is at setter, but both sophomore incumbent Celia Cullen and freshman Julia Bishop have seen significant action.

• Cullen ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 10.14 assists per frame (37th nationally), and is averaging 0.27 aces, 2.41 digs, and 0.51 blocks as well.

• Cullen has four double-doubles this season , with her most recent a 18-assist, 11-dig performance last Friday vs. Wisconsin. She just missed another on Saturday against Maryland when she had 48 assists, nine digs, and a pair of blocks.

• Bishop made her first career start at Brigham Young, delivering 26 assists, seven digs, and two blocks; she also recorded four kills on seven attempts without an error. Overall on the year, she has started three of the nine matches in which she has appeared, and is averaging 3.59 assists and 0.91 digs.

• Redshirt junior and captain Talia Edmonds wore the libero jersey in the first 16 matches of the season, and has responded with a team-best 3.56 digs per set. She is adding 0.77 assists per frame as well.

• Senior Lauryn Gibbs returned to the lineup against Ohio State and Minnesota after missing the first six weeks with injury. She had nine digs in her second game back against Minnesota, and contributed seven digs and five assists when she wore the libero jersey against Maryland last Saturday.

• Gibbs had seen a significant increase in her defensive role for MSU, and in 2020-21 averaged 0.36 assists and 1.28 digs per frame. She had the third-most service aces and boasted a .934 percentage. She has played in 67 matches (193 sets) in her career.

• First-year DS Grace Danziger has appeared in six of eight B1G matches for the Spartans She is averaging 0.70 digs per set and has three aces.

• Freshman outside Eleanor Stothoff saw her first action in a Green & White jersey in the match against BYU, and her first career kill came as match point in the win over Central Michigan.

• Abby Olin, Aubrey O'Gorman and Lia Moore have not yet appeared in any matches in 2021. Olin will miss the entire season with injury.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Julia Bishop

Celia Cullen

Grace Danziger

Talia Edmonds

Sarah Franklin

Lauryn Gibbs

Naya Gros

Molly Johnson

Biamba Kabengele

Cecilee Max-Brown

Emma Monks

Lia Moore

Aubrey O'Gorman

Abby Olin

Rebecka Poljan

Eleanor Stothoff