Spartans Start Four-Match Homestand Friday


B1G Week Three- Spartans vs. No. 7 Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota
vs. [7] Ohio State	Friday, Oct. 8 \| 7 pm
vs [8] Nebraska	Saturday, Oct. 9 \| 6:30 pm
Location	Jenison Field House; East Lansing, Mich.
Radio	Spartan Media Network; John Kreger, play-by-play v s. Ohio State \| vs. Minnesota
Television	none
Webstreams (B1G+/$)	v s. Ohio State \| vs. Minnesota
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Ohio State \| Minnesota
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram
Press Conference	Watch this week's Cathy George Press Conference
Gameday Program	Download This Weekend's Game Program
Parking Information	The lot at Jenison Field House fills quickly; fans are encouraged to utilize parking lots at the Breslin Center, IM West, or the Kellogg Center parking ramp, which features a walkway to Jenison Field House.

In line with indoor mask mandates campus-wide, all fans, media, and individuals working at Michigan State volleyball matches will be required to correctly wear a mask.

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
• MSU gets its first two home matches in Big Ten play, welcoming Ohio State and Minnesota to Jenison Field House.

• 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.

• The matches against Ohio State and Minnesota this weekend will have live video webstream on BTN+. MSUSpartans.com has links to all live statistics and webstreams.

• MSU split last weekend's matches, winning 3-0 at Iowa before falling at No. 12 Nebraska, 3-0. The Spartans stand at 8-5 overall and 1-3 in Conference action.

• 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.

• Ohio State is 12-2 overall on the season, and is coming off a pair of sweeps against Indiana and Maryland. The Buckeyes stand at 2-2 in conference play, with the losses coming at Purdue (3-2) and Penn State (3-0).

• Jen Flynn Oldenburg is in her second season as the head coach at her alma mater. She was a four-year letterwinner who graduated in 2001.

• MSU is 22-49 all-time against the Buckeyes, and dropped both games against Ohio State in the 2020-21 season (0-3, 2-3).

• Minnesota is 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten on the year, with all four losses coming to top 10 teams (Baylor, Texas, Florida, and Wisconsin). Saturday's match wraps a four-game road swing for the Gophers.

• Hugh McCutcheon is in his 10th season at the helm of the Gopher program in 2021. He has guided his program to three Final Four appearances in the last six seasons.

• MSU trails the all-time series against Minnesota by a 19-58 margin. Minnesota has won five straight in the series, including a pair of 3-0 straight-set victories last year in Minneapolis to kick off the spring 2021 campaign.
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TEAM NOTES

* Michigan State enters 2021 with a 16-man roster, which includes four seniors, four juniors, two sophomores, and six freshmen.

• MSU's average of 1.70 service aces per set on the season ranks third in the Big Ten and 54th among Division I institutions. The Spartans are averaging 1.85 service aces per set in Conference games.

• MSU has limited its opponents to a .174 hitting percentage against, which is eighth in the B1G.

• MSU is averaging 2.34 blocks per set, which ranks 10th in the B1G and 52nd nationally. Opponents are averaging just 1.55 blocks against MSU, an average of a +0.79 differential.

• MSU has led in kills in 10 of its 13 matches, and has been tied or led in blocks in 10 as well. The Spartans are a perfect 8-0 when leading in hitting percentage, and had just one opponent in non-conference play to hit .200 or better. Michigan hit .255 against the Spartans on Sept. 29, the season best for an opponent.

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

• 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 299-219 in her 17th season at Michigan State and 664-443 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 10th in overall attendance this season, a list which features six B1G teams among the top 15 attendance draws. The Spartans are 14th nationally in average attendance through six weeks of the 2021 campaign (2,242).

• 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 13.

• 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 eighth nationally with 1.62 blocks per set on the season, and her 63 total blocks is third in the B1G and 59th among Division I players. She is hitting .320 and averaging 1.49 kills per frame.

• Gros has a pair of single-match performances which both rank among the top 10 in the Big Ten this season. She put up 10 blocks against Dixie State (second), and had seven block assists in the game against Central Michigan, which ranks in a tie for 10th.

• 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' 337 career block assists ranks ninth all-time at MSU in that category, and her 395 total blocks ranks 10th in the MSU annals.

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

• Poljan ranks third in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.421), which ranks 13th nationally. The senior had seven kills and three blocks in the match against Iowa last weekend, with three digs and an ace.

• Poljan is second on the team in blocks (0.76) and points (3.26) per set, and is also contributing 2.49 kills per frame (third) on the year.

• 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.

• Monks made her first Big Ten start of the season on Sunday at Nebraska, and delivered a team-best four blocks and added five kills. On the year, she's hitting .370, averaging 1.86 kills and 0.71 blocks per frame in six matches.

• Sarah Franklin led the Spartans with 4.17 kills in the two matches last weekend, adding 1.5 digs and 0.83 blocks.

• A six-rotation player, Franklin delivered her second consecutive 20+ kill effort and third in her last four matches with 20 terminations, six digs, and three blocks on Friday at Iowa. She hit .375 in the game.

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

• Franklin is ranked third in the Big Ten in both kills per set (3.94), and points per frame (4.49) - both numbers which rank in the top 55 among Division I players. . Her 2.30 digs per set is third on the team, and she is also chipping in 0.65 blocks, fourth among Spartans.

• Cecilee Max-Brown also plays six rotations for the Spartans. She led MSU with 10 kills and added five digs at Nebraska, hitting .269. On Friday at Iowa, she tied her season best with three service aces, and contributed six kills and seven digs against the Hawkeyes.

• In 13 starts, Max-Brown is averaging 2.79 kills, 2.28 digs, and 0.37 blocks. She has been the top target in MSU's serve receive (302 chances).

• Max-Brown averaged 2.67 kills and 2.00 digs per set last weekend in MSU's B1G games at Iowa and Nebraska, hitting a team-best .293 over the two matches.

• Junior Biamba Kabengele is near career bests in both kills (2.21) and digs (2.25) this season. She had a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs against Wright State, establishing a new career best in digs. She had seven digs to go with four kills and a pair of blocks at Nebraska in MSU's last time out.

• Kabengele recorded her second career five-ace game against Michigan (Sept. 29), a mark she originally set last February against Maryland. She is fourth in the Big Ten with 0.46 aces per set this season.

• Senior Molly Johnson has appeared in nine of MSU's 13 matches, starting two. She's averaging 1.00 kills, 0.37 service aces, and 1.68 digs per frame.

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

• Cullen ranks third in the Big Ten with 10.69 assists per frame (24th nationally), and is averaging 0.34 aces, 2.43 digs, and 0.54 blocks as well.

• Cullen had her third double-double of the season on Sunday at Nebraska when she put up a season-high 14 digs and added 24 assists. A week prior, she posted 50 assists at Michigan (Sept. 29) to tie her career best, initially set last February at Maryland.

• Kabengele and Cullen each have one of the Big Ten's most prolific performances from the service line this season. Kabengele's five aces at Michigan is the second-most overall and tied for the lead in a B1G game, while Cullen's four service aces against Dixie State (Sept. 3) is fourth.

• Cullen, Franklin and Max-Brown each have three double-doubles this season, and Cullen has two. Kabengele has recorded one.

• 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 seven matches in which she has appeared, and is averaging 4.16 assists and 1.05 digs.

• Redshirt junior and captain Talia Edmonds earned the libero jersey this season, and has responded with a team-best 3.88 digs per set, which is good for eighth in the Big Ten. She is adding 0.88 assists per set.

• First-year DS Grace Danziger has appeared in each of the four B1G matches for the Spartans She is averaging 0.75 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.

• Senior Lauryn Gibbs has missed each of the first six weekends of the season with an injury. She 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 63 matches (179 sets) over her first three seasons, averaging 1.4 digs and 0.2 assists per frame.

• 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