Volleyball Travels to Iowa, No. 1 Nebraska This Weekend

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball (15-3, 5-3 B1G) heads back on the road this week to face Iowa (10-10, 1-7 B1G) on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. ET before traveling to Lincoln to take on No. 1 Nebraska (18-0, 8-0 B1G) on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Friday's match will stream on B1G+. Saturday's match against Nebraska will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network with Larry Punteney and John Cook on the call.

Friday's match against the Hawkeyes will be the fourth of five Big Ten | Discover Volleyball Challenge matches for MSU. Select conference matches played during the month of October will count toward the inaugural Discover In-Season Volleyball Challenge. Each team will play five designated challenge matches throughout the month, with the winner determined by the highest win total across the five games. MSU is 2-1 in Discover Challenge matches so far and will wrap up the challenge next week at home against Purdue on Oct. 31.

MSU went 1-1 last week at home, falling to the Huskers in three sets in front of a program-record crowd of 11,578 fans inside the Breslin Center on Oct. 17. Despite the loss, MSU hit .209 for the match, becoming the only conference team and just second team overall (Arizona, .250) to hit above .200 against Nebraska so far this season. The Spartans bounced back to win a five-setter over Maryland on Oct. 19.

At 5-3 in conference action, MSU sits in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league alongside Minnesota and Penn State. Undefeated Nebraska sits in first, while Illinois (7-1) is second and Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin all hold a 6-2 record to sit in a tie for third.

Junior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska led MSU in total kills last week with 28, including a career-high-tying 19 against Maryland. She also tallied 12 digs in MSU's win over the Terps to record her third double-double of the season. Freshman outside hitter Bianca Mumcular posted her seventh double-digit kill match of the season against Maryland with 13 kills.

Redshirt freshman setter Malayah Long, who will make her hometown return to Lincoln this weekend, totaled 63 assists over MSU's two matches last week, while also tying for a team-high combined 16 digs with junior libero Lia Schneider and Staniszewska. Junior middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig posted a team-high eight total blocks.

About Iowa
Iowa is 10-10 overall and 1-7 in the conference this season, falling to ranked USC and UCLA teams at home last week.

MSU is 56-29 overall against Iowa and 27-13 on the road in the series. The Spartans have not dropped a contest since a home loss on Nov. 26, 2022, and won 3-2 in East Lansing this season on Oct. 10.

Jim Barnes is in his fourth season as head coach in 2025.

About Nebraska
Nebraska is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA (Texas) at a perfect 18-0 and 8-0 in conference play. The Huskers defeated the Spartans in a sweep last week on Oct. 17 before taking down Michigan on Oct. 19. Nebraska has not dropped a Big Ten set this season.

The Huskers lead the all-time series, 29-2-2, including an 15-0 record in Lincoln. MSU's last and only wins in the series came on Nov. 4, 2012 (3-2) and Oct. 12, 2013 (3-1), both at home.

Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly is in her first season at Nebraska.

Up Next
MSU hosts Purdue on Friday, Oct. 31 inside the Breslin Center at 7 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Zuzanna Kulig

Malayah Long

Bianca Mumcular

Lia Schneider

Karolina Staniszewska