Spartans Set Sail to Navy

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball sets sail on its first road trip of the season this weekend as the team looks to remain unbeaten at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational hosted by the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

The Spartans will meet UAlbany, Navy and VCU over the weekend, with matches being played at the Wesley A. Brown Field House. MSU plays twice on Friday, Sep. 2, with an 11:00 a.m. match against UAlbany to kick of the invitational and a 7:00 p.m. match against host Navy. The Spartans conclude the weekend with a 12:00 p.m. match against VCU on Saturday, Sep. 3. Admission is free throughout the weekend.

This season marks the 10th playing of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, named after a Navy volleyball player who unexpectedly passed away as a freshman in 2008.

Fans are not allowed to drive onto the USNA unless they have a Dept. of Defense ID card. Those without must park outside of the USNA and either walk through the visitors center or ride the free shuttle bus. The shuttle bus begins running one hour before the matches. It will depart from and return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis, MD, 21401) on Friday and from the Navy Health Clinic (695 Kinkaid Rd., Annapolis, MD, 21402) on Saturday. There is a $10 parking fee at the football stadium and no parking charge at the health clinic.

Fans ages 18 and older must have and be prepared to display a government issued photo ID (driver's license) and those ages 17 and under will not be allowed through unless they are accompanied by an adult.

Only matches played against Navy will be streamed at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational. Michigan State's 7:00 p.m. Friday night match will be streamed on ESPN+ ($). Live stats will be available through StatBroadcast on NavySports.com.

THE OPPONENTS

UAlbany is 0-3 this season after losses to Kent State (3-1), James Madison (3-1) and Robert Morris (3-1) at the JMU Invitational. The Great Danes were 14-15 last season, falling to UMBC in the America East championship game. Alexa Harris leads UAlbany in kills averaging 4.00 per set, hitting .238 in the team's first three matches. Zosia Szczotkiewicz started the final two matches of the weekend at setter, averaging a team-best 8.80 assists per set. Anissia Wong led the Great Danes with 10 total blocks over opening weekend.

The Great Danes are coached by Michigan State graduate Josh Pickard '02 in his fourth season. UAlbany assistant coach Adam Rollman coached alongside Michigan State assistant coach Jake Barreau for one season at Missouri State (2017) under head coach Leah Johnson's collegiate head coach Melissa Stokes.

Navy opened the season 1-2 after playing in the Maryland Invite last weekend. The Mids fell to Florida Gulf Coast (3-1) and Maryland (3-0) before defeating Rhode Island (3-1) to round out the weekend. Navy was 13-14 last season and 8-8 in the Patriot League. Navy is coached by Paco Labrador in his fifth season.

Twins Jamie and Jordan Llewellyn lead the Mids on the outside, with 3.55 and 3.36 kills per set respectively. Setter Averi Miller led the team with 8.09 assists per set over the weekend. Maggie Bodman averages 1.27 blocks per set for Navy through three matches.

VCU hosted the VCU Invitational last weekend, going 1-2 with losses to High Point (3-0) and Elon (3-1), while the Rams defeated Liberty (3-1). Last season the Rams finished 18-12, along with a 13-3 mark in the A10. Jasmine Knight leads VCU with 3.36 kills per set and 1.00 blocks per set. Corinna Jones and Taylor Aquano have shared the setting duties thus far with 4.82 and 4.55 assists per set respectively.

The Rams are coached by interim head coach Kevin Maureen Campbell. Campbell is in her third overall season at VCU after previously serving at N.C. State. Campbell is no stranger to Big Ten teams having coached at Penn State in 2005-06.

MICHIGAN STATE NOTES

Michigan State is fresh off a 3-0 start, winning the 2022 Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational with wins over Louisiana (3-2), Eastern Michigan (3-2) and Fairfield (3-0). Junior Nalani Iosia was named MVP of the tournament, while graduate student Zoe Nunez and freshman Maradith O'Gorman were named to the All-Tournament team.

Graduate student Rebecka Poljan, Nunez and O'Gorman were the only three Spartans to start in every match of the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational. A total of eight different Spartans drew starts and Michigan State used a different starting lineup combination in every match. Nunez surpassed the 4,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs mark over this past weekend.

Michigan State added six student-athletes via the transfer portal prior to the season (Nalani Iosia - Texas, Zoe Nunez - Notre Dame, Avery Horejsi - DePaul, Aliyah Moore - Illinois State, Grace Kelly - Virginia Tech, Rachel Muisenga - Penn State) and welcomes six freshmen (Selin Aslayan, Nil Okur, Lauren Schutter, Maradith O'Gorman, Evie Doezema and Jayhlin Swain).

The Spartans are one of the youngest teams in the country with just four total upperclassmen (Nalani Iosia - Jr., Emma Monks - Sr., Rebecka Poljan - Grad, Zoe Nunez - Grad). The Spartans roster seven sophomores and six freshmen. Head coach Leah Johnson is no stranger to leading youthful teams, taking the youngest team in the Missouri Valley Conference to the NCAA Tournament last season after winning a third consecutive MVC Tournament title.

Michigan State heads to North Carolina next weekend for matches at UNC and Duke.

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Players Mentioned

Selin Aslayan

Evie Doezema

Avery Horejsi

Nalani Iosia

Grace Kelly

Emma Monks

Aliyah Moore

Rachel Muisenga

Zoe Nunez

Maradith O'Gorman

Nil Okur

Rebecka Poljan

Lauren Schutter

Jayhlin Swain