Michigan State University
#3 Nebraska
Volleyball Opens B1G Action at Nebraska, Rutgers
9/21/2022 12:24:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State opens Big Ten play on the road, heading to Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday, Sep. 23 to face No. 3-ranked Nebraska at 8:00 p.m. EDT before traveling to Piscataway, New Jersey for a 1:00 p.m. match at Rutgers on Sunday, Sep. 25. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+. Spartan radio broadcasts will be available on MSUSpartans.com and on the Spartan Media Network.
AT NEBRASKA and RUTGERS
Friday, September 23: Michigan State at #3 Nebraska | 8:00 p.m. EDT | Live Stats | Watch Live (B1G+) | Listen Live
Sunday, September 25: Michigan State at Rutgers | 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch Live (B1G+) | Listen Live
The Opponents - Nebraska
Nebraska is the No. 3-ranked team in the country in this week's AVCA poll, sitting at 8-1 heading into B1G action. The Huskers have defeated ranked opponents in Creighton and Kentucky, and haven't dropped a single set to unranked opponents this season. Their lone loss came against then No. 9-ranked Stanford, 3-1.
As a team the Huskers rank No. 3 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.127), No. 12 in kills per set (14.10), No. 22 in blocks per set (2.67), No. 23 in assists per set (12.83), No. 24 in digs per set (16.13) and No. 35 in hitting percentage (.265).
Middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord ranks No. 11 in Division I with 1.50 blocks per set. Hord leads Nebraska in blocks with 45 through nine matches. Outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein leads the team in kills (108), kills per set (3.60) and hitting percentage (.325). Nicklin Hames started the season at DS, but has since moved back to setting along with Anni Evans in Nebraska's 6-2 system. Evans leads the team with a 5.41 assists per set while Hames is at 4.35. Hames missed last weekend's action, with Kennedi Orr stepping into that role. Lexi Rodriguez and Kenzie Knuckles are talented back-row players, with Rodriguez averaging 4.10 digs per set, and leading the team with 123 digs. Rodriguez leads the team in service aces with six, while Knuckles is tied for second on the team with five.
The Opponents - Rutgers
Rutgers enters the weekend at 6-6, going 1-2 at its home tournament last weekend. Rutgers opened play with a 3-0 sweep over Fairleigh Dickinson before dropping matches to Florida International (3-0) and Princeton (3-0). Caitlin Schweihofer coaches the Scarlet Knights in her third season at the helm.
The Scarlet Knights rank No. 88 in blocks per set (2.27), No. 111 in opponents hitting percentage (.189), No. 134 in hitting percentage (.218), No. 148 in assists per set (11.50), No. 143 in digs per set (14.41) and No. 169 in kills per set (12.30).
Alissa Kinkela leads the team in kills (147) and kills per set (3.34) while hitting .260). Megan Vernon is hitting a team-best .353 in the middle. Tina Grkovic is second on the team in kills (100) averaging 2.44 kills per set. Grkovic leads the team with 16 aces from behind the service line and has 49 blocks to her name this season averaging 1.20 blocks per set. Vernon has 10 solo blocks to her name. Lauren DeLo leads at setter with 303 assists on the season, averaging 7.58 assists per set. Alyssa Nayar has also seen time at setter for the Scarlet Knights averaging 5.28 assists per set, but appeared in just one set for Rutgers last weekend. Lucy Malone leads Rutgers in digs (145) and digs per set (3.30). Madyson Chitty is also over the 100 dig mark with 114, averaging 2.59 per set.
Spartan Notes to Know
The Spartans are fresh off of a 3-0 weekend as they claimed the championship at the 2022 Green & White Classic, defeating the likes of Oakland (3-0), Chicago State (3-1) and Evansville (3-0). Michigan State narrowly missed one of the best hitting performances in program history against Oakland as the team went into the late stages of the match hitting over .500. MSU ended the match hitting .475, with no Spartan hitting under .333. Senior Emma Monks led the team in hitting, matching a career best mark at .727 (8-0-11). Against Chicago State the Spartans limited All-American Yanlis Feliz to .156 hitting on 45 attempts. The Spartans made quick work of Evansville, using a 13-0 run in set three to sweep the Purple Aces.
Freshman Nil Okur was named MVP of the Green & White Classic, being joined on the All-Tournament Team by Emma Monks and Aliyah Moore. Okur hit .381 on 22-6-42, along with averaging .90 blocks per set and recording five aces. Monks hit .476 over the weekend on 23-3-42 and averaged 1.40 blocks per set. Moore led the team in kills from the outside, hitting .391 on 34-9-64.
Michigan State went a perfect 9-0 in non-conference tournaments to open the season, winning the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational, the Kristen Dickmann Invitational and the Green & White Classic. Junior Nalani Iosia, graduate student Rebecka Poljan and freshman Nil Okur all earned MVP honors. The Spartans were spotless at home in the Breslin Center going 6-0, and are now 12-2 in Breslin all time.
Michigan State's starting lineup featured three freshmen during the non-conference portion of the schedule with Maradith O'Gorman, Evie Doezema and Nil Okur all playing significant roles. Jayhlin Swain also made several starts for the Spartans at DS. Only two players (Emma Monks and Julia Bishop) on MSU's 2021 team started against Evansville, with five newcomers rounding out the lineup.
Michigan State opened the season with its best start since 2012, sitting at 6-0 through the first two weeks of competition. The Spartans rank No. 30 in Division I in opponent hitting percentage at .157. Michigan State boasts 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. Maradith and Aubrey O'Gorman are the first set of sisters to play for Michigan State simultaneously since 2010 (Allyson and Mandi Karaba).
Head coach Leah Johnson is seven wins away from 200 career victories. Johnson enters the weekend with a career record of 193-153 (.558) in 12 seasons as a head coach (SIUE, Illinois State, Michigan State).
Up Next: The Spartans remain on the road next week in B1G play, heading to College Park, Md. to face Maryland on Friday, Sep. 30 and State College, Pa. to face Penn State on Sunday, Oct. 2.
