EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball hits the road for a pair of B1G matches this week, first heading to College Park, Maryland for an 8:00 p.m. match at Maryland on Thursday, November 7 before meeting Rutgers at 7:00 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J. the next night on Friday, November 8. Both matches will stream live on B1G+.

ABOUT MARYLAND​

Led by seventh year head coach Adam Hughes, Maryland enters the week with a record of 10-13 (1-11 B1G) with a B1G victory over Rutgers. The Terrapins have lost eight straight.
Nationally, Maryland ranks No. 8 in aces per set (2.05) led by Samantha Schnitta who is the nation's leader with 0.74 aces/set and 61 total aces this season. The Terps also rank No. 128 in hitting percentage (.218), No. 168 in blocks/set (2.08), No. 227 in opponent hitting percentage (.219), No. 232 in kills/set (12.08), No. 259 in assists/set (10.93) and No. 288 in digs/set (12.99).
Schnitta also ranks tenth in the B1G with 4.30 points/set and is eighth with 353 total points this season on .220 hitting. Middle blocker's Eva Rohrbach and Anastasia Russ are hitting .305 and .337 respectively. Russ leads the team in blocking with 1.02 blocks/set. Libero Lilly Gunter is posting 3.25 digs/set this season. The offense runs through Sydney Dowler (5.59 assists/set) and Zoe Huang (5.02 assists/set).

SERIES HISTORY​

Maryland
- Michigan State is 15-3 all-time against Maryland dating back to 1976. The Spartans are 7-2 when facing the Terps in College Park.
- MSU has won back-to-back matches over Maryland in each of the last two seasons, winning 3-0 on Nov. 3, 2023 at home and 3-2 on Sept. 30, 2022 on the road. The Spartans trailed 8-5 in set five before rattling off 10 straight points to win.
- Last season, Taylah Holdem led MSU with 10 kills, while Amani McArthur added eight with six blocks. Nalani Iosia posted a team-high 17 digs in the sweep.

ABOUT RUTGERS​

Led by fifth-year head coach Caitlin Schweihofer, Rutgers is 5-18 (0-12 B1G) this season. Nationally, the Scarlet Knights rank No. 98 in blocks/set (2.27), No. 179 in aces/set (1.50), No. 255 in hitting percentage (.180), No. 284 in assists/set (10.47), No. 293 in kills/set (11.14), No. 308 in opponent hitting percentage (.244) and No. 326 in digs/set (11.85).

Natalie Robinson is among the better blockers in the B1G with 1.31 blocks/set to rank fourth in the conference and No. 34 nationally. Rutgers is led offensively by Alissa Kinkela who averages 3.90 points/set and 3.28 kills/set on .222 hitting. Setter Aly Borellis averages 6.71 assists/set, and Lexi Visintine has a team-high 27 service aces. Libero Kenzie Dyrstad has posted 2.99 digs/set this season.

SERIES HISTORY​

Rutgers
- Michigan State is 16-3 all-time against Rutgers dating back to 2000. The Spartans are 7-1 when facing the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway.
- MSU has won three consecutive matches against the Scarlet Knights, winning 3-2 and 3-1 in matches during the 2023 season.
- The Spartans completed a reverse sweep of Rutgers on Nov. 18, 2023 (20-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-13, 15-10).

IN THE B1G RANKINGS
​

Nalani Iosia is #1 in digs/set in the B1G at 4.43 and ranks #1 in total digs with 372.

Iosia is #2 in B1G only matches with 4.43 digs/set on 195 total digs.

Last week Iosia ranked #1 in digs/set with 6.29 on 44 total digs.

Zuzanna Kulig ranks #3 in the B1G in blocks thus far at 1.43 blocks/set, only behind Purdue's Raven Colvin (1.52) and Minnesota Phoebe Awoleye (1.51).

Kulig's total blocks (114) rank third in the conference behind Colvin's 125 and Awoleye's 118, and her solo blocks (21) lead the league.

In B1G only matches Kulig ranks #3 in blocks/set with 1.36.

Kulig is #8 in the B1G in overall season hitting at .363 (110-19-251).

Last week, Akasha Anderson was #7 in the B1G in kills/set (4.43).

LAST ONE BEST ONE​

Fifth-year libero Nalani Iosia saved her best for last, averaging a career-high 4.43 digs per set. Her previous career-high was 4.16 in 2023.

Iosia posted a career-best 34 digs against Ohio State on Nov. 3, the most digs by a B1G libero this season. It's the most digs by an MSU player ever in a four set match and the third-most digs in a match at MSU all time.

If the season ended today, Iosia's 4.43 digs/set would rank No. 6 in the program history book for a single season.

Iosia moved into No. 6 in career digs at MSU and now has 1,322 in a Spartan jersey. Allyson Karaba is No. 5 all-time with 1,335 career digs. Jamye Cox is No. 4 with 1,424.

Iosia ranks No. 26 in active career dig leaders among all DI players with 1,876.

Iosia is one the most experienced players in DI ranking No. 1 in matches played (143) and No. 14 in sets played (509).

Iosia leads the B1G in digs per set (4.43) and total digs (372).

Iosia entered the season ranked second in the B1G in career digs among active players with 1,504 (now 1,876).

Iosia ranked fifth in the B1G last season in digs/set at 4.16.

Iosia was an AVCA All-North Region honorable mention following the conclusion of the 2023 season, the first Spartan to earn a regional honor since 2017 and the first libero since 2014.

Iosia's 483 digs last season ranked No. 8 all-time for a single season at MSU.

KASH MONEY​

Over her last five matches junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson leads MSU with 4.58 kills/set and 4.97 points/set on .250 hitting.
Anderson has posted 20 or more kills in two of her last five matches with a career-high tying 26 kills in a win over #16 USC and 24 kills in a four set match against Ohio State last weekend.
Anderson tallied a career-best 30.5 total points against USC.

KULIG AS A CUCUMBER​

Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig inserted herself into the conversation as one of the best in the country.

Kulig ranks No. 17 nationally and No. 3 in the B1G in blocks per set (1.43).

Kulig's 114 total blocks rank No. 26 nationally and No. 3 in the B1G.

Kulig posted a new career-high 12 blocks against Illinois on Oct. 12, 2024.

12 blocks in a match is the fourth-most single match blocks in program history and was last accomplished by Alexis Mathews on Nov. 24, 2010 against Michigan.

Kulig's 1.43 blocks/set would rank No. 7 in program history for a single season. No Spartan has posted 1.40 blocks/set since 2016 (Alyssa Garvelink, 1.40).

Kulig's current career 1.24 blocks/set would rank No. 5 in program history.

Kulig is No. 8 in the B1G in hitting % (.363).

Anderson tallied a career-best 30.5 total points against USC.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State freshman Carmen Pucheta (Cordoba, Argentina) has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, as announced by the Conference office on Wednesday.

Pucheta was not only the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, but also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team as well as a on the All-Freshman Team. She is the first Spartan in program history to earn a spot on the First Team and Freshman of the Year honors in the same season.

In addition to Pucheta's honors, senior Ellie Wheatley (Louisville, Ky.) has been selected as the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner. Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, are in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Pucheta joins Emma Fernandez (1994), Bridget Cooper (1998) and Jantine Steinmetz (2007) as MSU's Big Ten Freshmen of the Year honorees. While the Freshman of the Year has been awarded in the conference since 1992, 2024 is the first time that the coaches have selected an All-Freshman Team.

She is also the first MSU player to earn a spot on the First Team since 2017, when Simone Vagnoni earned the honor for the second consecutive season. (The Spartans have had six players earn Second Team kudos from 2017-2023). Steinmetz earned First Team All-Big Ten honors in 2010 after her Freshman of the Year honor in 2007.

Pucheta started all 18 games for MSU one of eight Spartans and three freshmen to do so. She was a force both offensively and defensively for the Spartans throughout the season – compiled a 4-2-10 scoring line (tied with Lilian Knorr as the team's top-scoring first-year player) but her presence was felt far more than just on the scoreboard.

"We knew Carmen was an exceptionally talented hockey player when we recruited her and were excited when she came to MSU," said head coach Helen Knull. "Receiving First Team accolades as well as being selected the Big Ten Freshman of the Year is an incredible honor and well-deserved accomplishment considering the talent and level of play in our league. We're thankful that she's been recognized by the coaches in the Conference – all of NCAA field hockey will see what an incredible player she is and how much of an asset she is to our program.


Ellie has been an incredible part of our program for five years," continued Knull. "She has represented the Spartan culture both on and off the field. As a captain and mainstay in our defensive unit, this recognition is well earned for her as well. She's been an impressive representative of our program in the classroom, too – she will leave MSU as both a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a member of the NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad."


2024 Big Ten Post-Season Field Hockey Honors

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Maddie Zimmer, Sr., M, Northwestern

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ashley Sessa, So., F, Northwestern

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Josie Hollamon, So., B, Maryland

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Annabel Skubisz, Gr., GK, Northwestern

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Carmen Pucheta, Fr., M, Michigan State

COACH OF THE YEAR
Tracey Fuchs, Northwestern


FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG TEN (+ - unanimous selection)
Inés Garcia Prado (So. , M, Indiana)
Emma Deberdine (Gr. , M, Maryland)
Josie Hollamon (So. , B, Maryland)
Hope Rose + (Sr. , M, Maryland)
Lora Clarke (Gr. , M, Michigan)
Abby Tamer + (Jr. , F, Michigan)
Carmen Pucheta (Fr. , M, Michigan State)
Ashley Sessa + (So. , F, Northwestern)
Annabel Skubisz + (Gr. , G, Northwestern)
Ilse Tromp (So. , B, Northwestern)
Lauren Wadas + (Gr. , M, Northwestern)
Maddie Zimmer + (Sr. , M, Northwestern)
Katie Fichtner (Jr. , B, Ohio State)
Makenna Webster + (Gr. , F, Ohio State)
Sophia Gladieux + (Sr. , F, Penn State)
Paulina Niklaus (Sr. , B, Rutgers)

SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
Sofia Arrebola Garcia (Sr. , M, Indiana)
Yip van Wonderen (Sr. , B, Indiana)
Milly Short (Jr. , B, Iowa)
Dionne van Aalsum (So. , F, Iowa)
Gia Whalen (So. , M, Iowa)
Ella Gaitan (Fr. , F, Maryland)
Alyssa Klebasko (So. , GK, Maryland)
Annemijn Klijnhout (Fr. , F, Maryland)
Rayne Wright (5th , B, Maryland)
Kate McLaughlin (Gr. , F, Michigan)
Erin Reilly (So. , M, Michigan)
Olivia Bent-Cole (So. , F, Northwestern)
Greta Hinke (Jr. , M, Northwestern)
Anne Marie Krebs (So. , M, Ohio State)
Guillermina Causarano (Sr. , F, Rutgers)
Puck Winter (Jr. , B, Rutgers)

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Sadie Canelli (Fr. , GK, Indiana)
Sabrina McGroarty (Fr. , M, Iowa)
Ella Gaitan (Fr. , F, Maryland)
Annemijn Klijnhout (Fr. , F, Maryland)
Anjolie Northon (Fr. , B, Michigan)
Carmen Pucheta (Fr. , M, Michigan State)
Emilie Kirschner R-(Fr. , M, Northwestern)
Nadia Nemeth (Fr. , F, Northwestern)
Laura Salamanca (Fr. , M, Northwestern)
Cam Standish R-(Fr. , M, Ohio State)
Anna Cogdell (Fr. , B, Rutgers)

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Meredith Lee (Sr. , F, Indiana)
Mia Magnotta (Sr. , GK, Iowa)
Kylee Niswonger (Sr. , M, Maryland)
Lindsey Stagg (Gr. , B, Michigan)
Ellie Wheatley (Gr. , B, Michigan State)
Lane Herbert (Sr. , F, Northwestern)
Cameryn Forgash (Sr. , F, Ohio State)
Julia Lamb (5th , M, Penn State)
Vicky Jure (Sr. , M, Rutgers)

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

With MSU on a bye week, this one is short and sweet.

Big Ten action is pretty light and my computer doesn't even have a lot of advice, but the action in the rest of the country is pretty interesting. We should see a bit more separation in the SEC and Big 12 in particular this week.

Also, Indiana will very likely destroy Michigan, so that should be fun.

Enjoy this week's dose of Bad Betting Advice:

This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 5-seeded Michigan State men's soccer will take on No. 4-seeded Washington in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. ET. The quarterfinals and semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament will be held at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.

The Spartans ended the regular season with a 5-7-4 overall record and an even 4-4-2 mark in Big Ten action. Last time out, MSU fell to Rutgers, 1-0, in the home finale on Nov. 3.

Dean Linke and Patrick Doody will be on the call for the Big Ten Plus.

TOURNEY TIDBITS
Michigan State is the No. 5 seed in the tournament, facing No. 4-seeded Washington. This is the Huskies inaugural appearance in the B1G Tournament. Last season as the No. 3 seed, the Spartans fell to No. 6 Ohio State, 1-0 at DeMartin Stadium in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament

After a scoreless first half, OSU netted the match's lone goal in the 54th minute and withstood a late MSU rally. Michigan State is seeking its first Big Ten Tournament win since 2016.

WINDY CITY MAGIC
The game against the No. 4-seeded Huskies is MSU's first in Illinois since winning the 2012 Big Ten Tournament in Evanston. In that game, the Spartans defeated Michigan, 2-1 in overtime. The 97th minutes golden goal from Sean Conerty gave the Spartans their third Big Ten Tournament title.

LOOKING AT THE HUSKIES
Washington heads into the Big Ten Tournament on a hot streak, winning four-straight games. UW has moved up to No. 19 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll. The Huskies earned the No. 4 seed on the last day of the season with a 1-0 road win over UCLA on Nov. 3.

Charlie Kosakoff and Peter Kingston are tied for seventh in the Big Ten in points scored with 14 points. Kosakoff is tied for eighth in the league with five goals scored. Jadon Bowton has played 17 games in goal for the Huskies. He has allowed only 17 goals for a 1.00 GAA.

SERIES HISTORY
Michigan State won its first-ever game against Washington on Sept. 13. Behind a goal from Jonathan Stout, the Spartans captured a 1-0 win at DeMartin Stadium. The Huskies still lead the overall series 2-1-1. The teams met in Seattle in 2022 when the Huskies came out on top 4-1. In 2019 in East Lansing, UW edged MSU, 1-0. In the 2014 NCAA Tournament in East Lansing, the teams tied 2-2 with MSU advancing on penalty kicks, 4-3.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Buckeyes were the first No. 1 team that MSU has faced since falling to No. 1 Creighton on Sept. 13, 2015.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State men's soccer was nipped by Rutgers, 1-0, on Spartan Senior Celebration Day, presented by HAP, on a Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.

Rutgers scored in the 83rd minute to take the lead, but Michigan State had several late chances including a penalty kick with 43 seconds left that went wide to deny the draw and spoil the Spartans' Senior Day festivities.

After the match, Michigan State men's soccer celebrated Zack Babiak, Efosa Emovon, Levin Gerhardt, Sean Kerrigan and Shion Soga in their final regular-season matches at DeMartin Stadium in the Green & White.

FINDING THE W
The Spartans are looking for their first win since a 2-0 win over Wisconsin on Oct. 11. Since that game, MSU has gone 0-2-2.

FINDING HIS GROOVE
Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout leads the team in scoring with four goals and two assist for 10 points. He now has points in four of the Spartans' last nine games. Stout has now reached double figures in scoring all three seasons that he has been at Michigan State with 12 as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore.

Sophomore forward Richie Ludwig, senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan, junior midfielder Jack Guggemos, sophomore defender Will Eby and freshman forward Mohamed Saad have also found the back of the net this season. Junior midfielder Cristiano Bruletti scored his first goal as a Spartan against Indiana on Oct. 18 on a penalty kick.

WRACKING UP THE CLEAN SHEETS
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly has earned six shutouts this season, including five in Big Ten play. He now has 11 career shutouts in two complete seasons for the Spartans. He has a 1.14 GAA this season and a 1.04 career GAA. The six shutouts were the most since Jimmy Hague had nine in 2018.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS
Against No. 1 Ohio State, senior midfielder Seam Kerrigan added a goal and an assist in the tie against the Buckeyes. Kerrigan is second on the team in scoring behind Jonathan Stout with four goals and one assist for nine points. He is first on the team in shots on goal with 13. In his two seasons at MSU, he has scored 10 goals with one assist for 21 points. For his career, he has 35 goals with 12 assists for 82 points.

FRESHMAN FRENZY
Freshman defender Brandon Munson has made the most of his brief time as a Spartan. He has played in all 14 games, starting 12. Against Washington on Sept. 13, his bicycle kick back save prevented the Huskies from scoring and was the No. 1 play on ESPN SportsCenter. Fellow freshman forward Mohamed Saad has also played in all 13 games, starting five. He has scored one goal this season against Oregon State. Munson has missed the last two games with injury.

PACKING THE STANDS
Michigan State is 11h in the nation in attendance this season, averaging 1,805 fans per game this season. That stands third in the Big Ten behind Indiana (2,774), which is third and Maryland (2,237), which is sixth.

GETTING IN THE LINEUP
Through 16 games this season, MSU has used 10 different starting lineups. In the first 16 games, three Spartans have started every in Zac Kelly, Cristiano Bruletti and Josh Adam. Kelly and Adam are the only Spartans with over 1,400 minutes played. Cristiano Bruletti (1,266) and Will Eby (1,226)stand second and third, respectively in minutes played.

PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST
Michigan State's tie against No. 1 Ohio State was the Spartans' sixth game against a ranked team. MSU is 2-2-2 against ranked teams this season with a wins against No. 15 UCLA and No. 25 Wisconsin. MSU has losses against No. 12/7 Maryland and No. 5 Oregon State. To open the season, the Spartans tied No. 25 SIUE, 1-1. Washington is currently ranked No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

HERMANN TROPHY
Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout was named to the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. Stout is the first Spartan to make the list since Giuseppe Barone and Patrick Nielsen were named to the Hermann Watch List in 2019.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Last night the CF playoff committee released their first official poll and therefore bracket of the year. As someone that loves tournament and brackets, I can honestly say... that I could care less about the result.

I understand why they do it this way for football (and it rhymes with "honey") but it is still stupid. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is WAY better. They just issue one bracket, the final one, and that's it. That is the way that it should be done. Publishing these rankings is a cute novelty, but the season is only ~75% complete. The current rankings are largely irrelevant. While I can get some insight into the balance that the committee will make between predictive metrics and results-based metrics, any bracket released in the month of November is essentially for entertainment purposes only.

That said, here is what the bracket would look like based on last night's initial rankings:



This bracket includes:
Four Big Teams
Four SEC Teams
Plus Notre Dame, Boise State (G5), BYU, and Miami.

I have been pretty vocal historically about my disdain for conference and regular season rematches in the the playoffs. I even had a chance to challenge Rich Clark, the executive director of the College Football Playoff, on during a media webinar on the playoff procedure. I will absolutely die on the hill that minimizing rematched in tournaments should be a very high priority in setting up the bracket. This bracket is exhibit No. 1 as to why.

Note that three of the four Big Ten teama are located on the same side of the bracket and three of the four SEC teams are on the same side of the bracket. Also, Texas playing Alabama in the first round is not ideal (even if they did not face each other in the regular season.) There is also a very obvious fix to this problem: switch No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Texas. This has the added benefit of balancing the bracket by putting the teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the CFP poll (Oregon and Ohio State) on opposite sides of the bracket.

Based on the current CFP seeding rules, this kind of swap is not supposed to happen. But it is 100,000% what the cmmittee SHOULD do in practise.

But this bracket doesn't matter. Instead, wanted to comment on what might happen going forward. Consider the following end-of-season scenario, which is what my computer tells me is the single most likely scenario:

-Miami (13-0) runs the table and beats SMU (11-2) in the ACC Title game
-Iowa State (12-1) uosets BYU (12-1) in the Big 12 Title Game
-Ohio State (12-1) upsets Oregon (12-1) in the Big Ten Title Game
-The SEC ends with Texas at 7-1 and a SIX way tie for second place between Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss. In this scenarion, Alabama (11-2) wins the tiebreaker and upsets Texas (11-2) in the SEC Title game

With Miami as the only undefeated team, I could justify making them the No. 1 team (despite Tuesday's rankings). That would also solve some obviously bracketing issues Overall, I would set up the bracket as follows:

No. 1 Miami (13-0)
---No. 8 Georgia (10-2)
---No. 9 Indiana (11-1)
No. 4 Iowa State (12-1)
---No. 5 Oregon (12-1)
---No. 12 Boise State (12-1)
No. 3 Alabama (11-2)
---No. 6 Penn State (11-1)
---No. 11 BYU (12-1)
No. 2 Ohio State (12-1)
---No. 7 Texas (11-2)
---No 10 Notre Dame (11-1)

One could make the argument for Tennessee (10-2) over BYU (12-1), but I project BYU with a slightly better strength of resume at the end of the year.

That is my current CFP projections for this week.

LOL ... American upgraded me to 1A on my cross country flight, which is the worst upgrade to get. Not as much leg and leg stretch room. Anyway, I watched Deadpool & Wolverine and did some work as well, then put on Twisters close to landing at EWR. I put my laptop in the little magazine holder in front of me and left it on the plane!!!! I arrived close to midnight and it was too late to go back and get it. I immediately reported it lost on the AA website. I drove to EWR this morning and Lost & Found did not have it, they told me to go upstairs, so I did. When I got there, I spoke with an agent and she was exceptionally helpful and kind, she called the gate, checked to see if the plane was still at the airport, and made several other calls. During that time, I noticed that my MacBook moved to another section of the airport. I went back down to Lost & Found and lo and behold, it was there!!!!! I was so happy! I have theft and loss insurance, but that would've brought so many headaches. After I retrieved it, I walked back upstairs and tried to hand the AA agent $50 to treat her for lunch, but she politely declined. Such a nice experience and restoring my faith in humanity.

Michigan State women’s basketball dominated Oakland, 107-42, to open the 2024-2025 season.

"There are so many things we’re excited about and to build on,” Robyn Fralick said. “I loved our effort, I loved our energy, I love the impact that our entire roster made in the game.”

Less than a year after a life-altering event, Jeremy Fears Jr. has stepped up to become one of the top leaders on this year's MSU squad.

“(I) didn’t know if I was going to be able to play basketball again.”

Read here:

A report from Tim Staudt's show says Alabama and former MSU O-line Coach Kap are heavily after Clarizio, and he will apparently take a visit.


Stay tuned.