Spartans Take On Rutgers, Penn State at Home


B1G Week Eight- Spartans vs. Rutgers, [15] Penn State
vs. Rutgers	Friday, Nov. 12 \| 7:30 pm
vs. [15] Penn State	Saturday, Nov. 13 \| 8 pm
Location	Jenison Field House; East Lansing, Mich.
Radio	Spartan Media Network; John Kreger, play-by-play vs. Rutgers \| vs. Penn State
Webstreams (B1G+/$)	vs. Rutgers \| vs. Penn State
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Rutgers \| Penn State
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram
Press Conference	Watch this week's Cathy George Press Conference
Gameday Program	Download this week's game progam
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
• The Spartans open the final three weekends of the season facing the same teams it took on a week ago, welcoming both Rutgers and Penn State 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 both MSU matches this weekend.

• Both matches will have live video webstream on B1G+. MSUSpartans.com has links to all live statistics and webstreams.

• MSU has six games remaining on the schedule, and five of them will be played at Jenison Field House.

• MSU split last weekend's games - the Spartans won a 3-1 decision at Rutgers on Friday, and then overcame a 2-0 deficit to force five sets at Penn State on Saturday, falling 15-13 in the fifth set to the Nittany Lions.

• Rutgers enters the weekend at 8-17 overall and 0-14 in Big Ten play, falling to both Michigan State and Michigan by 3-1 scores. Caitlin Schweihofer is in her second season as the mentor for the Scarlet Knights.

• MSU leads the all-time series with Rutgers by an 12-2 margin, with just one of those matches played prior to the Scarlet Knights joining the league. Rutgers earned their first-ever victories over MSU last year in East Lansing, 3-2 and 3-1.

• Penn State comes into the weekend series with a 17-7 overall record and is 10-4 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions earned wins over both MSU and Michigan last weekend after splitting each of the previous four weekends. MSU trails the all-time series with the Nittany Lions 7-51, and Penn State has won 14 straight between the teams.

• Russ Rose is in his 43rd season as the head coach of the Penn State program, and is the sport's all-time winningest coach with more than 1,300 career victories.

Team Notes
• MSU has been without the services of at least one starter in every match this season. Senior DS/L Lauryn Gibbs missed the first 13 matches of the season,MB Rebecka Poljan has missed nine of the last 12 contests (and has not started any of the last three) and Cecilee Max-Brown has not played in each of the last four. The latest injury is Celia Cullen missing last Saturday's match at Penn State.

• Michigan State had season bests in kills (69), and digs (71) in the match at Penn State, and posted its second-highest hitting percentage during the Big Ten season, hitting .316.

• MSU's 69 kills at Penn State is the seventh-most in a Conference match by a team this season. Penn State had 71 on the other side of the net, for the No. 3 spot on that list.

• MSU's top three hitting percentages in Big Ten matches this season have come on the road - the Spartans hit .324 in the road win at Iowa, .313 in the five-set victory at Purdue, and .316 in the five-set loss at Penn State. MSU's best hitting percentage in a home B1G match was .201 against Maryland.

• MSU's average of 1.55 service aces per set on the season ranks second in the Big Ten. MSU tied its season best with 13 aces at Rutgers last Friday, matching its total at Michigan (Sept. 26).

• Seven of MSU's 10 victories have come by 3-0 scores, with two in four (Central Michigan, Rutgers) and one in five (at Purdue). Eight of MSU's 13 losses are to either a ranked team (No. 13 BYU, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 7 OSU, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 15 Penn State) or a team receiving votes in the AVCA poll (Wright State, Michigan). The Spartans have lost to Maryland twice.

• The Spartans have played seven top-15 teams over its last 10 matches, and gets another on Saturday vs No. 15 Penn State.

• 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 (27,777), a list which features eight B1G teams among the top 15 attendance draws. The Spartans are eighth nationally in average attendance through 11 weeks of the 2021 campaign (2,525).

• 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
• Sarah Franklin is averaging 3.99 kills per set and 4.53 points per frame, which both rank second in the Big Ten. In Conference games only, she ranks third in the Big Ten with 4.76 points per set and 4.21 kills per frame. She is also averaging 2.23 digs (third on the team) and 0.61 blocks per set, which ranks fourth behind MSU's three middles.

• A six-rotation player, Franklin delivered her eighth double-double of the season (27k, 10d) at Penn State last Saturday. Her 27 terminations was a career best, and the second most by any player in a Conference game this season (Stephanie Samedy of Minnesota, 30 vs. Michigan).

• In addition to her 27 kills at Penn State, Franklin's 25 kills in matches against vs. Michigan (Sept. 29) and Purdue (Oct. 20) gives her three of the top 10 single-game performances this season in the league.

• Junior Biamba Kabengele stepped into a new role over the last two weekends and the results have been season and career bests in numerous categories. She tied her career best with 18 kills against Rutgers, as well as establishing a new career high in digs at Penn State (17). At Rutgers, she hit a season-best .317 and added 11 digs, three blocks and three aces, while contributing 13 kills and a solo block against the Nittany Lions. Kabengele is tied for third on the team in kills per set (2.30) and is also averaging 1.93 digs.

• 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 and 52nd nationally with 0.42 aces per set.

• Molly Johnson has started each of the last four matches and like Kabengele, has established new season or career bests. She had eight kills in each of the two matches vs. Rutgers and Penn State last weekend for a season best, tied her career bests with nine digs at Penn State and four aces at Rutgers, and also tied her season high with five blocks at Penn State.

• Cecilee Max-Brown also plays six rotations for the Spartans, but has missed the last four matches. She has five double-doubles on the year: she had MSU career bests in both kills (17) and digs (18) at Purdue (10/20), and then delivered 14 kills and 15 digs at Maryland (10/23).

• In 19 starts, Max-Brown is averaging 2.86 kills, 2.39 digs, and 0.33 blocks. She is contributing 2.83 kills, 2.53 digs, and 0.44 aces in Conference games.

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

• Poljan missed nine straight matches, and has played more time in each of the last three matches. She played four of the five sets at Penn State and contributed six kills, two blocks, two aces and two assists. On the season, Poljan is hitting .406, and averaging 2.30 kills, 0.73 blocks, and 0.30 aces per set.

• Poljan would rank fourth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.406), but has missed nine games to fall beneath the qualification threshold. Poljan has missed nine matches, but remains third on the team in blocks (0.73) and points (3.03) per set, and is also contributing 2.30 kills per frame (fifth) on the year before missing extended time.

• Poljan's .778 (14-0-18) hitting percentage vs. Weber State (9/3) is the second-best single-game percentage by a player in the Big Ten this season.

• Naya Gros ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 20th nationally with her career best of 1.34 blocks per set on the season, and her 106 total blocks is fifth in the B1G. She is hitting a career-best .319, and averaging 1.63 kills per frame. She had eight blocks with six kills at Rutgers, and then hit .421 with nine kills and added six stuffs at Penn State.

• Gros' career average of 1.20 blocks per set ranks sixth on MSU's career list, and is just behind the career average of most recent two-time All-American Alyssa Garvelink, who averaged 1.21 blocks per set from 2014-17. Gros' .374 career block assists ranks seventh all-time at MSU in that category, and her 438 total blocks ranks seventh in the MSU annals.

• Gros' 1.20 blocks per set average for her career ranks 12th among active Division I players this season.

• Emma Monks had a big match at Ohio State (10/31), posting a career-best 10 blocks and nine kills and hitting a season-best .600 (9-0-15). She averages 1.46 kills and 1.02 blocks per set, hitting .265 on the season.

• Both Gros and Monks have 10-block performances this season. Gros' came against Dixie State (Sept. 3), with five solo and five block assists. Monks had one solo and nine block assists at Ohio State. Ten blocks is the fourth highest total in a game overall this season, and the third highest in a Big Ten game. 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.
• MSU's most youthful position is at setter, but both sophomore incumbent Celia Cullen and freshman Julia Bishop have seen significant action. MSU has utilized both as setters over the last seven matches after Bishop saw some time in early B1G games in a defensive role.

• Bishop earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Monday after posting a pair of double-doubles at Rutgers and Penn State. Bishop accumulated 20 assists and 11 digs, also contributing two aces, three kills, and a pair of blocks against the Scarlet Knights. Bishop helped the Spartans force the Nittany Lions into a five-set battle don Saturday and posted career bests in assists (51), digs (16), kills (5) and blocks (3), while hitting .625 (5-0-8).

• Bishop is averaging 4.87 assists per set splitting time between setter and DS, and is adding 1.50 digs per frame. She has 25 kills on the season with just one error on 43 attempts, (.512).

• The two setters are MSU's most reliable at the service line. Cullen has just eight service errors in 209 chances (.962), while Bishop has three miscues in 132 serves (.977).

• Cullen missed last Saturday's match at Penn State, but on the year is contributing 8.70 assists per frame, and is averaging 0.19 aces, 1.77 digs, and 0.48 blocks as well.

• Cullen has four double-doubles this season , with her most recent a 18-assist, 11-dig performance vs. Wisconsin (10/15).

• Senior Lauryn Gibbs returned to the lineup against Ohio State and Minnesota (10/8-9) after missing the first six weeks with injury. She has worn the libero jersey over the last seven matches. She had a season-best 14 digs in the most recent match at Ohio State, and is averaging 2.03 digs and 0.82 assist per set.

• Redshirt junior and captain Talia Edmonds wore the libero jersey in the first 16 matches of the season, and still leads the team with 2.67 digs per set. She is adding 0.59 assists and 0.16 aces per frame as well.

• First-year DS Grace Danziger has appeared in 12 of 14 B1G matches for the Spartans She is averaging 0.59 digs per set and has five 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 and Moore 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