Volleyball Welcomes Pair of Ranked B1G Opponents
10/25/2023
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball starts a stretch of four consecutive home matches this weekend hosting No. 2-ranked Wisconsin and No. 13-ranked Penn State as the program enters the second half of its 2023 B1G slate. Action kicks off Friday night when the Spartans take on Wisconsin in the Breslin Center at 7:00 p.m. Play continues on Saturday night against Penn State with first serve set for 7:00 p.m.
Friday night's match will be streamed live on B1G+, while Saturday night was selected for the Big Ten Network. Larry Punteney and Liz Tortorello Nelson will call the action for BTN on Saturday evening. Fans can listen in live via MSUSpartans.com for both matches where John Kreger calls the action.
WHO'S UP NEXT?
Follow along live with the Spartans this weekend
Polish Power ??
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 23, 2023
Zuzanna Kulig made the most of her first career start on Sunday hitting .350 with nine kills, five blocks and an ace. Karolina Staniszewska led us with 11 kills and posted her second double-double of the season with 10 digs.#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/5OUFMifgh7
NOTES TO KNOW
ABOUT #2 WISCONSIN
Wisconsin swapped places with Nebraska in the AVCA poll after a five-set thriller that ended in the Badgers' first loss of the season last weekend. Wisconsin enters this week 18-1 overall and 9-1 in the B1G.
The Badgers rank No. 3 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.142), No. 3 in team hitting percentage (.308), No. 6 in blocks per set (2.84), No. 25 in kills per set (13.75), No. 18 in assists per set (12.84), No. 75 in aces per set (1.72) and No. 155 in digs per set (14.39).
Carter Booth is No. 9 in DI in blocks per set at 1.48 and leads the Badgers with 99 overall this season (11 solo, 88 assisted). Booth is also hitting .441 which is among the best marks in the nation. Caroline Crawford is second in blocks with 83 on 1.24 blocks/set.
Sarah Franklin leads the team with 248 kills, hitting .290 on 3.82 kills/set and has 122 digs. Anna Smrek is hitting .399 with 171 kills and 70 blocks, ranking second on the team in kills and third in blocks. Devyn Robinson has 164 on .326 hitting and Temi Thomas-Aliara has 154 on .222 hitting.
Izzy Ashburn and MJ Hammill run a 6-2 at the setter spot, with Asburn averaging 6.70 assists per set. Julia Orzol is the libero with 3.48 digs per set and a team-high 233 digs.
ABOUT #13 PENN STATE
PSU fell two spots in the AVCA poll this week after dropping its second B1G match of the season, at Purdue (3-1). Penn State is 14-5 overall and 8-2 in conference.
Penn State ranks No. 4 nationally in blocks per set (2.93), No. 43 in opponent hitting percentage (.170), No. 46 in team hitting percentage (.250), No. 30 in kills per set (13.65), No. 182 in digs per set (13.96) and No. 330 in aces per set (.90).
Jess Mruzik is No. 9 nationally in attacks per set (11.71), No. 10 in kills per set (4.50) and No. 14 in points per set (5.11). Mruzik is hitting .237 with a team-high 297 kills. Allie Holland is No. 10 in DI with 1.46 blocks per set and No. 26 in total blocks with 99 (14 solo, 85 assisted).
Mac Podraza ranks No. 35 nationally in assists per set with 10.33 and has 692 assists this season. Podraza was named B1G Setter of the Year in 2022 and is a three-time All-American.
Gillian Grimes leads Penn State with 3.71 digs per set along with 252 total digs in her sophomore season.
SERIES HISTORY
Wisconsin
- Wisconsin leads the overall series 57-28. Michigan State is 14-23 when playing Wisconsin in East Lansing.
- The Badgers have won eight of the last 10 meetings against Michigan State, with MSU sweeping the season series in 2017.
- The Spartans last defeated Wisconsin on Oct. 7, 2017 by a final score of 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16). Wisconsin was ranked No. 7 at the time and it was MSU's first season sweep of the Badgers since 2012. Autumn Bailey and Holly Toliver each recorded 16 kills, with Bailey adding 13 digs. Rachel Minarick led with 52 assists. Alyssa Garvelink and Toliver each had four blocks.
Penn State
- Penn State leads the overall series against MSU 53-7. MSU is 4-23 when playing PSU in East Lansing.
- The Nittany Lions have won 16 straight against Michigan State.
- MSU last defeated Penn State on Sept. 27, 2013, winning 3-2 (25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 19-25, 15-9) over the then No. 1-ranked Nittany Lions. Lauren Wicinski posted 21 kills and Chloe Reinig added 12. Kristen Kelsay had a double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs. Kori Moster led with 18 digs and Alexis Mathews had 6 blocks.
McARTHUR MAKING HER MARK
- Fifth year middle blocker Amani McArthur is making the most of her first and only season in the Big Ten after transferring to Michigan State from Charlotte last summer.
- McArthur ranks No. 9 in the conference in blocks per set (1.14) since the start of the season and leads the conference in solo blocks with 23.
- Since the start of B1G however, McArthur has found another gear, ranking No. 10 in the conference in hitting percentage (.331) and No. 9 in blocks per set (1.17) with a conference leading 15 solo blocks.
- McArthur was named B1G Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18 after earning MVP honors at the Dog Pound Challenge.
??Calling all Girl Scouts ??
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 24, 2023
This Friday is Girl Scouts Day at Breslin. Participate in our match day activity to earn a new patch! #GoGreen | #Honor pic.twitter.com/ky8iqHKfat
LAST WEEK IN SPARTAN VOLLEYBALL
- MSU moves to 5-5 in B1G action to improve upon its conference record of 4-16 last year with 10 matches remaining.
- The Spartans brought home the State Pride Flag for the first time since 2015 against Michigan on Wednesday and earned the first season sweep of the Wolverines since 2006.
- Taylah Holdem led MSU with 16 kills in the match. Evie Doezema hit .588 with 10 kills, no errors, on 17 attempts.
- Amani McArthur led with 8 total blocks (three solo, five assisted) and Nalani Iosia posted 20 digs.
LAST WEEK IN SPARTAN VOLLEYBALL
- Michigan State split a pair of B1G contests last week defeating Michigan at home (3-1) and falling to Minnesota on the road (3-1).
- Michigan State was defeated by Minnesota on Sunday in four sets, taking set two to tie things up before losing sets three and four.
- MSU was led by Karolina Staniszewska's 11 kills and 10 digs, her second double-double of the season. Zuzanna Kulig made her first career start in the middle and posted nine kills along with five blocks.
- Taylah Holdem had 10 kills and 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
This Saturday in collaboration with MSU Safe Place we are hosting our Serving for Awareness match #GoGreen | #Serve pic.twitter.com/Hy0qMKgiMK
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 25, 2023
HOLDEM AMONG BEST IN B1G
- In B1G play, Holdem ranks No. 8 in kills per set (3.71) and No. 8 in points per set (4.18).
- Holdem leads all B1G freshmen hitters in points per set and kills per set in her first 10 conference matches.
- Holdem ranks No. 9 in the B1G in kills per set (3.46) and No. 9 in points per set (3.89) in the season-long leaderboard.
- Holdem had a season-high and career-best 25 kills against Northwestern on 9/29, the most single match kills by an MSU freshman since 1998 (Erin Hartley, 28).
- If the season ended today, Holdem's 3.46 kills per set would rank third all-time by an MSU freshman behind Veronica Morales (5.06) and Jenna Wrobel (4.59).
B1G STATISTICAL RANKINGS
- Nalani Iosia ranks No. 2 in the B1G in digs (333) and is No. 4 in digs per set (4.22).
- Amani McArthur is No. 9 in blocking in the conference at 1.14 blocks per set. In B1G play only, McArthur is No. 10 in the conference in hitting at .331.
- Taylah Holdem in No. 9 in kills per set (3.46) and No. 9 in points per set (3.89).
- Jayhlin Swain ins No. 7 in aces per set at 0.35.
- Michigan State ranks No. 6 in opponent hitting percentage in the B1G at .183 and is No. 8 in hitting percentage at .226.
We’re back in Breslin during the month of October. Don’t miss out on amazing volleyball and some pretty cool promotions ??#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/Jau8G6iGPh
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 25, 2023
