Michigan State University Athletics
Thursday, October 15
Champaign, Ill.
7 PM ET/6 PM CT
Michigan State University
at
Illinois
Photo by: Ynhi Le
No. 22 Volleyball Begins Four-Match Road Swing this Weekend in Illinois
10/14/2026 1:32:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -Â No. 22 Michigan State volleyball kicks off a four-match road stretch this weekend, traveling to Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. ET before visiting Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. ET.
Thursday's match against the Fighting Illini will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network with Kelsie Kasper and Mac Podraza on the call. Saturday's match at Northwestern will stream on B1G+.
MSU is 14-2 (4-2 B1G) after splitting its matches at home last weekend, falling to No. 13 Oregon in four sets on Oct. 9 before defeating Iowa, 3-1, on Oct. 11. The Spartans remained at No. 22 in this week's AVCA Poll and are nationally ranked in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 2017.Â
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston put up her team-leading 12th match of the season with double-digit kills over the weekend, providing a team-best 26 kills across MSU's two matches. She led the Spartans with 14 against Oregon and added 12 against the Hawkeyes. Freshman outside hitter Madi Andrews returned to the starting lineup in MSU's win over Oregon and led MSU with a career-high 16 kills while also adding a trio of service aces and two blocks for a 20-point afternoon.Â
MSU's middle blockers, Zora Hardison and Carmen Waye, totaled 14 and 11 total blocks, respectively, across last weekend's matches, with Waye posting a team-high six against Oregon before Hardison tied a career-high nine against Iowa to eclipse 300 career blocks. The pair ranked third (Hardison, 1.75 bps) and eighth (Waye, 1.38) in blocks per set in the conference across last week's matches. Overall, Waye is fifth in conferece this season in blocks per set (1.28) and Hardison sits in a tie for eighth (1.22).
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long totaled 71 assists across last week's matches to average 8.88 assists per set, posting 32 against Oregon before adding 39 against Iowa. Long also averaged 0.50 service aces per set last week along with Andrews and Waye to rank fourth in the conference.
Senior libero Lia Schneider led MSU in digs last week with a combined 20 digs for 2.50 digs per set. She just missed her first-career double-double against Iowa, posting a career-high 10 assists to go with eight digs.
As a team, MSU ranked first in the conference in last week's matches in service aces per set, averaging 2.25. Eight different Spartans recorded at least one service ace in MSU's matches last week.
This weekend will be a homecoming weekend for head coach Kristen Kelsay, who is a native of nearby Wheaton, Illinois. Kelsay's sister, McKenna, played volleyball at Illinois from 2013-16.
About Illinois
Illinois is 11-6 overall this season and 3-3 in the conference. The Illini dropped contests against No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 16 Purdue last week, but started the Big Ten season with three-consecutive wins over ranked opponents.Â
The Illini lead the all-time series, 59-28, including a 29-9 record in Champaign. The two teams last met in a five-set thriller last year in Huff Hall, which was the third-consecutive five-set match between the two teams. MSU has not won a contest in the series since defeating Illinois in the 2017 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite Eight on Dec. 8, 2017, and has not won in Huff Hall since Nov. 16, 2012, during Kelsay's junior season.
Head coach Chris Tamas is in his 10th season at Illinois.
About Northwestern
Northwestern is 7-10 overall and 0-6 in the conference this season. The Wildcats dropped road contests to Penn State and Maryland last week.
The Spartans lead the all-time series, 46-38, while the Wildcats hold a slight 20-19 advantage in Evanston. MSU has won five of the last six contests in the series and earned a 3-1 victory in Welsh-Ryan Arena on Oct. 3 last season.
Head coach Tim Nollan is in his third season with the Wildcats.
Up Next
MSU travels to Rutgers on Friday, Oct. 23 for a 7 p.m. match on B1G+.
Thursday's match against the Fighting Illini will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network with Kelsie Kasper and Mac Podraza on the call. Saturday's match at Northwestern will stream on B1G+.
MSU is 14-2 (4-2 B1G) after splitting its matches at home last weekend, falling to No. 13 Oregon in four sets on Oct. 9 before defeating Iowa, 3-1, on Oct. 11. The Spartans remained at No. 22 in this week's AVCA Poll and are nationally ranked in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 2017.Â
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston put up her team-leading 12th match of the season with double-digit kills over the weekend, providing a team-best 26 kills across MSU's two matches. She led the Spartans with 14 against Oregon and added 12 against the Hawkeyes. Freshman outside hitter Madi Andrews returned to the starting lineup in MSU's win over Oregon and led MSU with a career-high 16 kills while also adding a trio of service aces and two blocks for a 20-point afternoon.Â
MSU's middle blockers, Zora Hardison and Carmen Waye, totaled 14 and 11 total blocks, respectively, across last weekend's matches, with Waye posting a team-high six against Oregon before Hardison tied a career-high nine against Iowa to eclipse 300 career blocks. The pair ranked third (Hardison, 1.75 bps) and eighth (Waye, 1.38) in blocks per set in the conference across last week's matches. Overall, Waye is fifth in conferece this season in blocks per set (1.28) and Hardison sits in a tie for eighth (1.22).
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long totaled 71 assists across last week's matches to average 8.88 assists per set, posting 32 against Oregon before adding 39 against Iowa. Long also averaged 0.50 service aces per set last week along with Andrews and Waye to rank fourth in the conference.
Senior libero Lia Schneider led MSU in digs last week with a combined 20 digs for 2.50 digs per set. She just missed her first-career double-double against Iowa, posting a career-high 10 assists to go with eight digs.
As a team, MSU ranked first in the conference in last week's matches in service aces per set, averaging 2.25. Eight different Spartans recorded at least one service ace in MSU's matches last week.
This weekend will be a homecoming weekend for head coach Kristen Kelsay, who is a native of nearby Wheaton, Illinois. Kelsay's sister, McKenna, played volleyball at Illinois from 2013-16.
About Illinois
Illinois is 11-6 overall this season and 3-3 in the conference. The Illini dropped contests against No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 16 Purdue last week, but started the Big Ten season with three-consecutive wins over ranked opponents.Â
The Illini lead the all-time series, 59-28, including a 29-9 record in Champaign. The two teams last met in a five-set thriller last year in Huff Hall, which was the third-consecutive five-set match between the two teams. MSU has not won a contest in the series since defeating Illinois in the 2017 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite Eight on Dec. 8, 2017, and has not won in Huff Hall since Nov. 16, 2012, during Kelsay's junior season.
Head coach Chris Tamas is in his 10th season at Illinois.
About Northwestern
Northwestern is 7-10 overall and 0-6 in the conference this season. The Wildcats dropped road contests to Penn State and Maryland last week.
The Spartans lead the all-time series, 46-38, while the Wildcats hold a slight 20-19 advantage in Evanston. MSU has won five of the last six contests in the series and earned a 3-1 victory in Welsh-Ryan Arena on Oct. 3 last season.
Head coach Tim Nollan is in his third season with the Wildcats.
Up Next
MSU travels to Rutgers on Friday, Oct. 23 for a 7 p.m. match on B1G+.
Players Mentioned
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