Michigan State University
4-0,0-0Big Ten
Southern Indiana
1-3,0-0OVC
Spartans Ground Screaming Eagles to Close Road Trip
9/4/2025 10:23:00 PM | Volleyball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Michigan State volleyball completed its first road trip of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Southern Indiana (25-16, 25-18, 25-13) Thursday night inside Liberty Arena.Â
MSU moves to 4-0 with the win, while USI falls to 1-3 on the season. The Spartans have dropped only one set through its first four matches in 2025, marking MSU's fewest sets lost through its four matches since the 2016 season.Â
The Spartans hit .307 for the match and held USI to .011 hitting, the lowest hitting percentage by an MSU opponent so far this season. MSU led USI in kills (37-to-20), digs (42-40) and service aces (12-4). The Eagles outblocked the Spartans, 7-4.Â
Redshirt freshman Malayah Long posted the Spartans' first double-double of the season and the first of her career, dishing out a career-high 29 assists while providing a team-high and career-high 12 digs. She also added a team-high four aces. Junior outside hitter Taylah Holdem led the Spartans in kills with 11 on .259 hitting and totaled seven digs and a pair of service aces, while senior opposite Evie Doezema, junior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska and sophomore middle blocker Breccan Scheck each recorded six kills. Holdem and sophomore middle blocker Mia Hood led MSU in total blocks with two each.Â
MSU dominated the first set, getting out to a 12-7 start after a Staniszewska service ace to force a USI timeout. USI made it 13-10 in favor of the Spartans following the break before MSU followed with five-straight points to force a second Eagle timeout at 18-10. The Eagles got as close as six points at 21-15, but USI errors down the the final stretch a kill from Doezema followed by back-to-back kills from Staniszewska secured the first set for the Spartans, 25-16. Staniszewska posted three of her six kills and hit .400 in the first frame.Â
After a back-and-forth start to the second set, MSU took a five-point lead at 11-6 before the Eagles scored back-to-back points to shrink the MSU advantage to three. MSU responded, but the Eagles went on a three-point swing to get within two at 14-12. A Doezema kill out of the timeout and kills from Staniszewska and Holdem gave MSU a 17-14 lead before two-straight kills from USI got the Eagles within a point at 17-16. Â
An attacking error from the Eagles, back-to-back services aces from Long and a block from Holdem and Kulig then made it 21-16 in favor of the Spartans. USI earned two points from MSU errors but could not get closer than four as MSU rattled off four straight-points to take the second, 25-18.Â
MSU made quick work of the Eagles in the third set and posted its best hitting of the night (.400) in the final frame. The Spartans started the set on a 4-0 run and made it 8-2 after a service ace from junior libero Lia Schneider and a USI attacking error. The Eagles went on a three-point swing to get within two at 8-6, but kills from Scheck and Holdem extended the MSU lead back to four. MSU then went on a 7-3 run capped off by a block from Hood and freshman opposite Carolina Formankova at 17-9. The Spartans held the Eagles to just three points for the rest of the frame and wrapped the set on a seven-point run, ending the match on a service ace from Schneider.Â
MSU continues its road stretch with a trip to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan on Monday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.Â
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