Thursday, October 6
East Lansing, Mich.
8:00 pm
Michigan State University
vs
#3 Nebraska
Volleyball Hosts #3 Nebraska, #11 Minnesota at Breslin Center
10/5/2022 2:23:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -Â Michigan State returns to the Breslin Center for the first time in Big Ten play this week, hosting No. 3-ranked Nebraska and No. 11-ranked Minnesota. The Spartans square off against the Cornhuskers on the Big Ten Network on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 8:00 p.m. Sloane Martin (PxP) and Emily Ehman (Analyst) have the call for BTN, while John Kreger will be the home radio host on the Spartan Media Network for both matches this week. Michigan State has a two-day break before welcoming Minnesota to East Lansing for a 2:00 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 9.
Michigan State is holding it's student appreciation match on Thursday night against Nebraska, with students in attendance receiving a Michigan State volleyball t-shirt, pom-poms and a beanie. Students in attendance will receive a card redeemable for a Michigan State soccer scarf at Sunday's noon women's soccer match against Michigan.
Parking is free this week in lots 63 and 67.
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The Opponents
#3 Nebraska
Nebraska is 12-1 overall with a 4-0 mark in the Big Ten this season. The Huskers have 3-0 sweeps over Michigan State and Rutgers, while defeating Ohio State in five and Maryland in four. The Huskers boast the No. 1 opposing hitting percentage in the country at .117 while ranking No. 24 in blocks per set at 2.62. Kaitlyn Hord ranks No. 14 in blocks per set at 1.44.Â
Madi Kubik and Whitney Lauenstein lead the attack for Nebraska with 3.31 and 3.16 kills/set respectively. Kubik is hitting .264 to lead the Husker outsides. In the middle, Kaitlyn Hord is hitting .322, while Bekka Allick is hitting .302 with 1.07 blocks/set. Anni Evans and Kennedi Orr have handled the setting with Nicklin Hames out, with Orr averaging 5.34 assists/set to Evans' 5.00. Defensively, Lexi Rodriguez leads the team in digs with 4.07 digs/set and is receiving serves at a .977 clip.
Michigan State in 2-23-2 against Nebraska all-time and 2-5 when playing at home. Nebraska owns a 13-game streak over the Spartans dating back to 2013.
#11 Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten this season with wins over Iowa and Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers dropped B1G matches against Purdue and Northwestern. Minnesota ranks No. 12 nationally in blocks/set at 2.73 and is No. 51 in hitting percentage at .250. Opponents hit .205 against the Gophers, which ranks No. 183 in DI and 13th in the B1G.
Taylor Landfair ranks No. 12 nationally with 4.57 kills/set, while ranking No. 22 in attacks per set (11.50) and No. 19 in points/set (5.02). Landfair is hitting at a .251 clip. Melani Shaffmaster handles the setting duties In Minnesota's 5-1, averaging 10.30 assists/set to rank 2nd in the B1G. Three Gophers have 100+ digs on the season led by CC McGraw's 141 on 3.07 digs/set. Carter Booth leads Minnesota's blockers with 1.41 blocks/set. Middle blocker Naya Gros is a Michigan State graduate having played for the Spartans from 2018-2021. Gros finished her MSU career #6 in total blocks with 464.
Michigan State is 19-59 against the Golden Gophers all-time with an 11-27 mark when playing in East Lansing. Michigan State's last win over Minnesota came on Sep. 24, 2017 by a score of 3-0.
Last Time Out
The Spartans continued Big Ten play last weekend at Maryland and #12 Penn State.
at Maryland (9/30/22)
Michigan State earned its first conference win of the season at Maryland on Sep. 30, winning in five sets (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-8). The Spartans went on a 10-0 run to close out set five after trailing 8-5 at the side change. Michigan State out-hit the Terrapins .234 to .225 using a 60 to 50 kill advantage to its favor. The Spartans hit a whopping .632 in set five to spark the match-winning run. Three Spartans finished with double-digit kills, led by sophomore Aliyah Moore who posted a career-high 19 kills. Freshman Maradith O'Gorman had 13 kills for MSU, including six big ones in the fifth set to propel Michigan State to victory. Finishing with her first career double-double was freshman Evie Doezema who had 12 kills and 11 digs.
at #12 Penn State (10/2/22)
The Spartans fell to Penn State in four sets (17-25, 25-22, 22-25, 16-25), holding a lead in each set despite the loss. Moore finished with 15 kills and hit .364 on 33 attempts for MSU. Junior Nalani Iosia led all players with 17 digs on the day in another impressive performance for the Texas transfer. Sophomore Julia Bishop led the team with 30 assists while sophomore Aubrey O'Gorman posted a match-high five blocks. Michigan State trailed by as many as seven points to open set two, down 8-1 in the early stages, before storming back to steal the set. MSU ended the set on a 12-5 run to complete the comeback. Freshman Selin Aslayan had just two kills in set two, but both came late including the set clinching point.
Up Next
The Spartans split match locations next week, welcoming No. 24 Michigan for the Battle at Breslin on Friday, Oct. 14. Michigan State hits the road for a match at Indiana  on Sunday, Oct. 16.
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Michigan State is holding it's student appreciation match on Thursday night against Nebraska, with students in attendance receiving a Michigan State volleyball t-shirt, pom-poms and a beanie. Students in attendance will receive a card redeemable for a Michigan State soccer scarf at Sunday's noon women's soccer match against Michigan.
Parking is free this week in lots 63 and 67.
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Follow Along Live
Thursday, October 6: Michigan State vs. #3 Nebraska | 8:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen Live | Tickets | Big Ten Network
Sunday, October 9: Michigan State vs. #11 Minnesota | 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch Live (B1G+) | Listen Live | Tickets
Michigan State Volleyball Match Notes
Michigan State Cumulative Stats
The Opponents
#3 Nebraska
Nebraska is 12-1 overall with a 4-0 mark in the Big Ten this season. The Huskers have 3-0 sweeps over Michigan State and Rutgers, while defeating Ohio State in five and Maryland in four. The Huskers boast the No. 1 opposing hitting percentage in the country at .117 while ranking No. 24 in blocks per set at 2.62. Kaitlyn Hord ranks No. 14 in blocks per set at 1.44.Â
Madi Kubik and Whitney Lauenstein lead the attack for Nebraska with 3.31 and 3.16 kills/set respectively. Kubik is hitting .264 to lead the Husker outsides. In the middle, Kaitlyn Hord is hitting .322, while Bekka Allick is hitting .302 with 1.07 blocks/set. Anni Evans and Kennedi Orr have handled the setting with Nicklin Hames out, with Orr averaging 5.34 assists/set to Evans' 5.00. Defensively, Lexi Rodriguez leads the team in digs with 4.07 digs/set and is receiving serves at a .977 clip.
Michigan State in 2-23-2 against Nebraska all-time and 2-5 when playing at home. Nebraska owns a 13-game streak over the Spartans dating back to 2013.
#11 Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten this season with wins over Iowa and Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers dropped B1G matches against Purdue and Northwestern. Minnesota ranks No. 12 nationally in blocks/set at 2.73 and is No. 51 in hitting percentage at .250. Opponents hit .205 against the Gophers, which ranks No. 183 in DI and 13th in the B1G.
Taylor Landfair ranks No. 12 nationally with 4.57 kills/set, while ranking No. 22 in attacks per set (11.50) and No. 19 in points/set (5.02). Landfair is hitting at a .251 clip. Melani Shaffmaster handles the setting duties In Minnesota's 5-1, averaging 10.30 assists/set to rank 2nd in the B1G. Three Gophers have 100+ digs on the season led by CC McGraw's 141 on 3.07 digs/set. Carter Booth leads Minnesota's blockers with 1.41 blocks/set. Middle blocker Naya Gros is a Michigan State graduate having played for the Spartans from 2018-2021. Gros finished her MSU career #6 in total blocks with 464.
Michigan State is 19-59 against the Golden Gophers all-time with an 11-27 mark when playing in East Lansing. Michigan State's last win over Minnesota came on Sep. 24, 2017 by a score of 3-0.
Last Time Out
The Spartans continued Big Ten play last weekend at Maryland and #12 Penn State.
at Maryland (9/30/22)
Michigan State earned its first conference win of the season at Maryland on Sep. 30, winning in five sets (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-8). The Spartans went on a 10-0 run to close out set five after trailing 8-5 at the side change. Michigan State out-hit the Terrapins .234 to .225 using a 60 to 50 kill advantage to its favor. The Spartans hit a whopping .632 in set five to spark the match-winning run. Three Spartans finished with double-digit kills, led by sophomore Aliyah Moore who posted a career-high 19 kills. Freshman Maradith O'Gorman had 13 kills for MSU, including six big ones in the fifth set to propel Michigan State to victory. Finishing with her first career double-double was freshman Evie Doezema who had 12 kills and 11 digs.
at #12 Penn State (10/2/22)
The Spartans fell to Penn State in four sets (17-25, 25-22, 22-25, 16-25), holding a lead in each set despite the loss. Moore finished with 15 kills and hit .364 on 33 attempts for MSU. Junior Nalani Iosia led all players with 17 digs on the day in another impressive performance for the Texas transfer. Sophomore Julia Bishop led the team with 30 assists while sophomore Aubrey O'Gorman posted a match-high five blocks. Michigan State trailed by as many as seven points to open set two, down 8-1 in the early stages, before storming back to steal the set. MSU ended the set on a 12-5 run to complete the comeback. Freshman Selin Aslayan had just two kills in set two, but both came late including the set clinching point.
Up Next
The Spartans split match locations next week, welcoming No. 24 Michigan for the Battle at Breslin on Friday, Oct. 14. Michigan State hits the road for a match at Indiana  on Sunday, Oct. 16.
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Players Mentioned
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