EAST LANSING, Mich. – Big Ten Conference play starts this week for Michigan State volleyball, who hits the road for the first of two consecutive conference weekends on the road. The Spartans open B1G play against Michigan at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night in Ann Arbor, Mich. before heading to University Park, Pa. to take on No. 3-ranked Penn State at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 29.
Both matches will stream on B1G+. Fans can also listen in live through MSUSpartans.com or via the Michigan State Athletics app where John Kreger will call Friday night's match in his 20th season of MSU volleyball coverage.
ABOUT MICHIGAN
Michigan is off to a 10-1 start in 2024 under second year head coach Erin Virtue. The Wolverines were dealt their first loss of the season last week at North Carolina, falling in five sets. UM is 7-0 at home, including wins over Delaware, Kent State (x2), Eastern Michigan, Sacramento State, Akron and Oakland.
Nationally, Michigan ranks No. 19 in kills/set (14.05), No. 22 in assists/set (13.07), No. 27 in hitting percentage (.270), No. 44 in aces/set (1.88), No. 46 in opponent hitting percentage (.162), No. 123 in digs/set (14.73) and No. 149 in blocks/set (2.12).
Valentiina Vaulet ranks No. 2 nationally in aces/set (.79) and No. 10 in total aces (26). Allison Jacobs leads Michigan with 4.29 points/set, ahead of Vaulet’s 4.06. Jacobs averages 3.98 kills/set on .255 hitting on the outside and averages 2.24 digs/set playing six rotations. Morgan Burke’s 407 assists rank third in the conference on 9.93 assists/set.
Serena Nyambio ranks No. 23 nationally in hitting percentage (.425) and averages 2.20 kills/set and 1.05 blocks/set in the middle. At libero Maddi Cuchran has posted 4.05 digs/set.
SERIES HISTORY
Michigan
- Michigan State is 56-50-1 all-time agianst the Wolverines dating back to 1974, and is 16-28 when playing in Ann Arbor.- Last year the Spartans swept the season series against the Wolverines, winning 3-0 and 3-1, to take home the State Pride Flag for the first time since 2015.- The State Pride Flag has existed since 1990 and has been taken home by the Spartans 14 times as opposed to Michigan's 18. The flag flew over the State Capitol on Sept. 18, 1990.
ABOUT #3 PENN STATE
No. 4-ranked Penn State is 10-1 overall and 6-0 at home, including ranked wins over then No. 15 Tennessee, then No. 4 Louisville and then No. 9 Kentucky. Penn State’s lone loss of the season is to current No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh.
Third year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley has the Nittany Lions ranked No. 2 in hitting percentage (.329), No. 5 in kills/set (14.57), No. 10 in assists/set (13.38), No. 42 in blocks/set (2.57), No. 85 in opponent hitting percentage (.179), No. 148 in aces/set (1.57) and No. 212 in digs/set (13.7).
Izzy Starck ranks No. 15 nationally in assists/set (10.68). Starck ranks fifth in the B1G in total assists. Taylor Trammell is No. 8 nationally in hitting percentage (.481) and second on the team in blocks/set (1.03) behind team leader Maggie Mendelson’s 1.25 blocks/set. At libero Gillian Grimes averages 3.65 digs/set and has committed just seven receiving errors.
Jess Mruzik ranks in the Top 50 nationally in kills/set (#41, 4.09) and points/set (#49, 4.64), both of which rank fifth in the B1G. Mruzik’s 131 kills lead the Nittany Lions on .302 hitting. Camryn Hannah has been efficient as well hitting .332 on 3.60 kills/set.
SERIES HISTORY
#3 Penn State
- MSU is 8-54 all-time against the Nittany Lions dating back to 1985 and is 3-30 when meeting PSU on the road.
- Michigan State defeated then No. 13-ranked Penn State in East Lansing last season, 3-2, to snap a 13-match losing streak to the Nittany Lions that dated back to Nov. 2, 2013. It was MSU's first home victory over Penn State since Nov. 1, 2002, also a five-setter.
DOEZEMA DOES IT ALL
- Junior middle blocker Evie Doezema hit .467 in non-conference action, a mark that would rank No. 10 nationally if she averaged enough attack attempts per set.
- Doezema currently averages 3.147 attempts per set and needs 3.33 per to qualify for the national leaderboard.
- Last week, Doezema hit a scorching .647 with 36 kills on 51 attempts and just three hitting errors in four matches.
- Doezema hit .714 (6-17) against EMU, .619 (141-21) against PFW, .857 (6-0-7) against Duke and .563 (10-1-16) against UNC.
- Doezema .467 ranks No. 4 in the B1G in hitting percentage among players averaging more than 3.00 attempts/set trailing Jackson (NEB), Ofoegbu (ORE) and Trammell (PSU).
- Doezema started her career as a six-rotation outside as a freshman, before playing middle and settling in on right side during her sophomore campaign. Now a junior, Doezema moved back inside and plays middle for the Spartans in 2024.
- Head Coach Leah Johnson has lauded Doezema's willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team, and her drive to be the best at whatever position she is playing.
KULIG AS A CUCUMBER
- Throughout the non-conference schedule sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig has inserted herself into the conversation as one of the best in the country.
- Kulig ranks No. 9 nationally and No. 2 in the B1G in blocks per set (1.50) and her .408 hitting percentage ranks No. 34 nationally and No. 7 in the B1G.
- Kulig's 54 total blocks rank No. 42 nationally and No. 3 in the B1G.
- Kulig also inserted herself among the most valuable servers in the country entering last weekend, ranking No. 10 in Expected Points Added via Chad Gordon (@ChadGordon09) with 8.3. Teams were passing just a 1.90 rating on 93 serves.
- Kulig was the only middle blocker to rank in the Top 10.
LAST FIVE UPDATE
- Michigan State is 3-2 in its last five matches, earning wins over Eastern Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne and Duke. The Spartans were defeated by Western Michigan and North Carolina in that stretch.
- Junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson leads the team in kills over that stretch with 52 on 2.89 kills/set.
- Among outside hitter, junior Taylor Preston is hitting the most efficiently over that span at .285 on 2.47 kills/set and 47 kills.
- In the last five matches, MSU middle blockers Zuzanna Kulig and Evie Doezema are hitting a combined .508 (65-6-116).
- Kulig's 1.59 blocks/set (4 solo, 23 assisted) lead the team in the last five matches.
- Iosia has posted three straight matches of 20+ digs and averaged 4.95 digs/set in the last five matches.
IN THE B1G RANKINGS
- Nalani Iosia is #1 in digs/set in the B1G at 4.43.
- In the last week (since Sept. 16) Iosia has posted 4.81 digs/set which ranked #4 in the league.
- Evie Doezema ranks #4 among B1G players in hitting percentage this season hitting .467 through 11 matches.
- In the last week (since Sept. 16) Doezema ranks #2 in the B1G hitting .647 on 51 attempts in 16 sets played.
- Zuzanna Kulig ranks #2 in the B1G in blocks thus far at 1.50 blocks/set.
- Kulig's .408 hitting ranks #7 in the B1G this season.
- MSU ranks #8 in kills/set (13.44), #7 in blocks/set (2.60) and #8 in serve receive percentage (.930) among B1G teams.
