EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball returns home this weekend hosting No. 15-ranked Minnesota on Friday night and Ohio State on Sunday afternoon. First serve between the Spartans and the Golden Gophers is set for 6:00 p.m. inside the Breslin Center, with Sunday's match against the Buckeyes starting at 12:00 p.m.

Both matches will stream live on B1G+. Fans can listen in via the Spartan Media Network for both matches where John Kreger will call the action in his 20th season of coverage.

ABOUT #15 MINNESOTA​

Led by second-year head coach Keegan Cook, No. 15-ranked Minnesota arrives in East Lansing with a record of 14-6 (7-3 B1G). The Golden Gophers are ranked No. 30 in the latest NCAA RPI with quad one victories over Texas and Wisconsin. All six of Minnesota's losses have come to Top 25 RPI teams, including USC.

Minnesota ranks No. 12 nationally in blocks/set (2.79), No. 37 in opponent hitting percentage (.172), No. 5 in hitting percentage (.245), No. 96 in digs/set (15.25), No. 167 in kills/set (12.56), No. 194 in aces/set (1.47) and No. 210 in assists/set (11.30).

Middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye ranks No. 7 nationally and No. 2 in the B1G in blocks/set at 1.56 and her 112 total blocks is No. 13 nationally and No. 3 in the B1G. Julia Hanson leads the team in kills/set at 3.56 and is the reigning B1G Player of the Week. Setter Melani Shaffmaster is posting 8.78 assists/set and libero Zeynep Palabiyik averages 3.79 digs/set.

SERIES HISTORY​

#15 Minnesota

- Michigan State is 19-62 all-time against Minnesota and 11-28 when facing the Golden Gophers in East Lansing.
- Minnesota has won nine straight over the Green & White dating back to 2018, with MSU's last victory coming in 2017 (3-0).
- In 2017, the Spartans took down then No. 1-ranked Minnesota in Minneapolis in the same weekend that they first defeated then No. 5-ranked Wisconsin in Madison.

---

ABOUT OHIO STATE​

Led by fifth-year head coach Jen Flynn-Oldenburg, Ohio State enters the weekend with a record of 8-12 (1-9 B1G). The Buckeyes are ranked No. 86 in the latest NCAA RPI with two quad two victories over Northern Iowa and Miami (Fla.).

Ohio State ranks No. 58 nationally in blocks/set (2.44), No. 157 in assists/set (11.67), No. 162 in aces/set (1.53), No. 178 in opponent hitting percentage (.206), No. 187 in kills/set (12.41), No. 197 in hitting percentage (.200) and No. 228 in digs/set (13.78).

Emily Londot ranks No. 9 nationally and No. 1 in the B1G in attacks/set (12.01), No. 10/1 in points (417.5), No. 10/1 in kills/set (4.59), No. 11/1 in points/set (5.35), No. 13 in total kills (358).

Setter Mia Tuman leads Ohio State with 652 assists at 9.73 assists/set, libero Olivia Hasbrook averages 3.85 digs/set and middle blocker Eloise Brandewie averages 1.13 blocks/set.

SERIES HISTORY​

Ohio State

- Michigan State is 33-53 all-time against Ohio State and 20-21 when facing the Buckeyes in East Lansing.
- Ohio State has won six straight over the Green & White dating back to 2021, with MSU's last victory coming in 2019.
- The Spartans won 7 of 10 meetings against OSU from 2013 through 2019, winning by a combined 23-9.

IN THE B1G RANKINGS
​

Nalani Iosia is #2 in digs/set in the B1G at 4.26 and ranks #2 in total digs with 328.

Iosia is #2 in B1G only matches with 4.08 digs/ set on 151 total digs.

Zuzanna Kulig ranks #3 in the B1G in blocks thus far at 1.45 blocks/set, only behind Purdue's Raven Colvin (1.59) and Minnesota Phoebe Awoleye (1.56).

Kulig's total blocks (106) rank third in the conference behind Colvin's 121 and Awoleye's 112, and her solo blocks (18) are tied for first with Colvin (18).

In B1G only matches Kulig ranks #4 in blocks/ set with 1.41.

Kulig is #9 in the B1G in overall season hitting at .361 (100-18-227).

Last week, Kulig ranked #7 in the B1G in hitting percentage hitting .400 for the week (11-1-25).

Last week, Akasha Anderson was #4 in the B1G in kills/set (4.75) and #5 in points/set (5.50).

Serve specialist Ky Clayton ranked #6 last week in aces/set (.50) following a four ace weekend.

LAST ONE BEST ONE​

Fifth-year libero Nalani Iosia saved her best for last, averaging a career-high 4.26 digs per set. Her previous career-high was 4.16 set in 2023.
If the season ended today, Iosia's 4.26 digs/set would rank No. 8 in the program history book for a single season.
Iosia moved into No. 7 in career digs at MSU and now has 1,278 in a Spartan jersey. Becky Belanger is No. 6 all-time with 1,293 career digs.
Iosia ranks No. 26 in active career dig leaders among all DI players with 1,815.
Iosia is second in the B1G in digs per set (4.26) and total digs (328).
Iosia entered the season ranked second in the B1G in career digs among active players with 1,504 (now 1,832).
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.
Iosia matched her career-high of 27 digs against Washington on Oct. 20, 2024.

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. 12 nationally and No. 3 in the B1G in blocks per set (1.45).
Kulig's 106 total blocks rank No. 23 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 1.45 blocks/set would rank No. 6 in program history for a single season. No Spartan has posted 1.50 blocks/set since 2001 (Angela Morley (1.55).
Kulig's current career 1.24 blocks/set would rank No. 5 in program history.

KASH MONEY​

Over her last four matches junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson leads MSU with 4.33 kills/set and 4.90 points/set on .278 hitting.

Last weekend in MSU's upset over #16 USC, Anderson tied her career-high in kills with 26 while adding a season-best 13 digs and five blocks.

It was a career-best, 30.5 total points tallied for Anderson against the Women of Troy.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball senior setter Julia Bishop has been named one of 18 recipients of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) Coaches 4 Coaches scholarship. Bishop is the only active undergraduate student-athlete to earn the scholarship, joined by 17 current graduate student or full-time assistant coaches.

Funded by AVCA members, the scholarship program was developed as a way to provide a head start to young coaches and recent college graduates who have interest in coaching volleyball. This year's 18 Coaches 4 Coaches recipients join more than 165 program alums.

"One of the most important qualities of any coach is their adherence to a set of personal values, and Julia has embodied our values of service, growth and honor to the highest degree," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "Her commitment to serving her teammates, constantly seeking improvement and upholding integrity both on and off the court is a testament to the kind of leader and role model she is."

During the Convention, which will take place Dec. 18-22 in Louisville, Kentucky, scholarship recipients will have the opportunity to network with successful coaches from all levels and take part in educational opportunities.

"On behalf of the committee I would like to congratulate the 2024 scholarship recipients," said Jaime Gordon, AVCA CEO and Coaches 4 Coaches Committee Chair. "There was a tremendous pool of applicants for our 16th year, and that made the committee's work challenging."

In the Summer of 2024 Bishop launched Zone1 Volleyball Training where she attended and coached at interscholastic volleyball camps throughout the state of Michigan.

Bishop, who is in the midst of her senior season at MSU, leads the Spartans with 457 assists on 6.09 assists per set. Since moving to a 5-1 system, Bishop is averaging 8.21 assists/set for Michigan State. Bishops, six double-doubles (assists and digs) lead MSU this season. In an upset of No. 16-ranked USC last weekend Bishop posted a season-best 46 assists, the second most of her career.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

First of all, Happy Halloween!

Historically speaking, Michigan State has performance well against Indiana. In fact, the Spartans have more wins over the Hoosiers (50) than they do over any other school.

But there aren't you daddy's Hoosiers.

Maybe I am just a bit salty and grouchy over the outcome from last weekend and (more importantly) the University of Michigan's continuing campaign against honesty, accountability, integrity, intelligence, and reality, but whatever the reason, I am not at all optimistic about this weekend's game.

To borrow from my Phantom of the Opera theme this time around, the Hoosiers are not just masquerading as a contender. They are a legit contender. Even if MSU plays an A- game, it might not be enough.

Check out my full article and all my betting advice here:

As the Spartans turn the page to focus on Indiana, it's time to look at the three key stats, two things we want to see, and one best bet this weekend as MSU takes on No. 13 Indiana. Check out the 3-2-1 preview from @mattsheehan here:

Throw your MSU pumpkins in the thread if you did one this year! 👇

Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Michigan State freshman midfielder Kaleigh McPherson was named the Big Ten Women's Soccer Freshman of the Week, as announced by the conference Tuesday afternoon.

McPherson is the first Spartan to win Freshman of the Week honors this season and third Spartan overall to collect a conference weekly award, joining graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor (Defensive, Aug. 20) and graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks (Goalkeeper, Sept. 24 and Oct. 22). She is the first MSU player to be named Freshman of the Week since current sophomore Bella Najera on Oct. 24 last season.

The St. Charles, Missouri native scored the game-winning goal in MSU's 3-1 win over Purdue to conclude the regular season on Oct. 27. The goal was her first in the Green and White. Playing all 90 minutes as a defensive midfielder, McPherson also helped hold the Boilermakers to just five shots on goal.

McPherson has played in all 18 games for the Spartans this season and has started in MSU's last 10 games. She was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Freshmen list earlier this season.

The Spartans have earned a No. 4 seed in this year's Big Ten Tournament and face fifth-seeded Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the tournament quarterfinals. The University of Minnesota will host the first round and quarterfinal matches, while the semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 7 and Nov. 10, respectively, at CITYPARK in St. Louis.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Becomes third different Spartan to garner weekly accolade from conference this season.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State men's tennis freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev (Daniel Rock-Ma-too-liev) has earned the Big Ten Player of the Week Award, announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon.

This is Rakhmatullayev's first weekly accolade as a Spartan, and he is the third different MSU player to garner recognition from the league office this season. He joins fellow Spartans, senior Max Sheldon, who won this award on September 25 and junior Ozan Baris, who was Co-Player of the Week with Michigan's Gavin Young on October 16.

MSU has now earned or shared the award in three of the seven weeks, and no other school has earned the award more than once. While this is the first year of fall season part of the official season and the B1G recognizing Player of the Week Awards in the fall and spring, this is the first time that MSU has earned more than two weekly awards from the conference office in the same year, topping the two picked up last season.

Rakhmatullayev finished up his weekend competing at the Louisville Classic tournament held this past weekend, Oct 25-27.

During this tournament, Rakhmatullayev put three wins on the board for the Spartans, only losing one match the entire weekend.

Determined to bounce back from his loss on Friday, Rakhmatullayev dominated Russell Lokko from Louisville, securing a 6-4, 6-0 win.

He earned another victory for the Spartans, defeating Evan Duggal from Louisville 6-3, 6-2.

Rakhmatuellayev wrapped up the weekend tournament with an impressive 6-0, 6-3 win over Nice from Bellarmine.

Despite a tough loss to start, Rakhmatullayev rebounded with three consecutive wins, showcasing resilience and high-level performance throughout the weekend.

Rakhmatullayev and freshman Mitchell Sheldon will head to Notre Dame, Indiana for the Fighting Irish Mini Duals, Friday-Sunday, Nov. 1-3.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

One of the biggest surprises of the 2024 college football season has been the 8-0 start by the No. 13-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Head coach Curt Cignetti has turned around the program in his first year in Bloomington, but how has he done it?

Ahead of Michigan State's matchup with Indiana for the Old Brass Spittoon in East Lansing on Saturday, Spartans Illustrated spoke with Jim Coyle, publisher of TheHoosier.com, to learn more about Cignetti and IU.

How has Cignetti changed the program's culture? Does Indiana have a weakness? Long term, can this level of success be sustained in Bloomington? Jim answers these questions and more.