Spartans Set for Road Trip to Maryland, Penn State

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State hits the road for the fourth time in six weeks this weekend, heading to College Park, Maryland on Friday, Sep. 30 for a 6:30 p.m. B1G road contest at Maryland. Friday's match will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network. Larry Punteney (PxP) and Liz Tortorello-Nelson (Analyst) have the call. The Spartans turn around and head to University Park, Pa. for a 1:00 p.m. match at No. 12-ranked Penn State on Sunday, Oct. 2. Jeremy Otto will have the Spartan radio call for both matches.

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Michigan State Volleyball Match Notes
Michigan State Cumulative Stats

The Opponents

Maryland
Maryland enters the weekend 9-5 and is 0-2 in the Big Ten after falling to Illinois (3-1) and Indiana (3-2) last weekend. The Terps are coached by Adam Hughes in his fifth season at the helm, with a career record of 64-66. Maryland is the top ranked blocking team in the country with 3.27 blocks per set and 173.5 total blocks due in part to the play of Rainelle Jones, who leads the country with 1.75 blocks per set and 89 total blocks. Anastasia Russ is No. 16 with 69 total blocks, averaging 1.33 blocks per set.

Behind the service line Maryland ranks No. 10 in Division I with 2.06 aces per set and No. 12 with 109 team aces. Sydney Dowler is No. 17 in DI with 27 aces and No. 32 with 0.51 aces per set. Maryland runs a 5-1 with Dowler handling the setting with 8.66 assists per set. Milan Gomillion leads the Terps in digs with 187 overall and 3.53 digs per set. Sam Csire leads the team in kills (174), kills per set (3.28) and points per set (3.80) hitting .215 on the outside. Csire is a six rotation player ranking second on the team with 100 digs (1.89 per set). Laila Ivey is second on the team in kills (127) averaging 2.54 kills per set on .187 hitting.

Michigan State is 13-3 against Maryland in the all-time series with a 5-2 mark on the road. Maryland has won each of the last two meetings however by scores of 3-1. Michigan State is 9-3 since Maryland joined the conference prior to the 2014 season.

Penn State
No. 12-ranked Penn State enters the weekend at 12-1 and 1-1 in the Big Ten after defeating Indiana (3-0) and falling to Michigan (3-0) last week. The Nittany Lions are coached by Katie Schumacher-Cawley in her first season at the helm and 10th overall season as a head coach. Schumacher-Cawley had previous head coaching stops at UIC and Penn before spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach under legendary Penn State head coach Russ Rose. Penn State ranks just behind Maryland in blocking, ranking No. 2 nationally with 3.07 blocks per set. The Nittany Lions have held opposing teams to just a .149 hitting percentage this season to rank No. 13 in DI.

Kashauna Williams (120), Anjelina Starck (117) and Zoe Weatherington (116) are all closely contesting the top spot on Penn State's team in kills. Williams and Weatherington are each hitting .250+ and all three average more than 2.50 kills per set. Allie Holland is No. 5 nationally in blocks per set at 1.57. Seleisa Elisaia is the setter in PSU's 5-1 averaging 9.87 assists per set. Maddy Bilinovic leads the team with 178 digs and 3.87 digs per set.

Penn State leads the all-time series 52-7 and have won 15 consecutive matches against the Spartans. Michigan State is 3-27 when playing in University Park dating back to 1985.

Last Time Out

The Spartans opened Big Ten action last weekend at #3 Nebraska and Rutgers.

at Nebraska (9/23/22)
Michigan State was defeated by the No. 3-ranked Cornhuskers, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-23) and improved in every set as the match went on. MSU out-hit the highly ranked Nebraska squad in set three, .184 to .135 and out-blocked the Cornhuskers 9-6 overall with a trio of blocks in each set. Michigan State rallied back from a 20-13 deficit in set three to tie the match at 22-22 and nearly forced a fourth set. Freshman Evie Doezema led the team with eight kills, sophomore Julia Bishop had 19 assists, junior Nalani Iosia had 16 digs and senior Emma Monks led with four blocks.

at Rutgers (9/25/22)
The Spartans fell to Rutgers in five sets, 3-2 (25-17, 27-25, 13-25, 20-25, 7-15). It was the fifth time MSU has played to five sets in the 2022 season. Michigan State was out-hit .200 to .044 due in part to a strong blocking effort by the Scarlet Knights, who finished the match with 19 total blocks, the most Michigan State has faced in a match this season and the most against the Spartans since 2018 (19 - 10/5/18 at Indiana). Freshman Maradith O'Gorman led the Spartans in kills (14) for the fourth time this season. Bishop had a team best 33 assists while Iosia posted 24 digs for the Spartan defense. Freshman Nil Okur had a team-high five blocks.

Up Next

The Spartans return home next week for their B1G home opener against Nebraska at 8:00 p.m on Thursday, Oct. 6. Thursday's match will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network. Michigan State stays at home over the weekend, meeting Minnesota on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Julia Bishop

Evie Doezema

Nalani Iosia

Emma Monks

Maradith O'Gorman

Nil Okur