EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball program is set to kick-off Big Ten action this weekend, first traveling down the road to Ann Arbor, Mich. for a 7:00 p.m. match against Michigan on Friday, Sept. 22. MSU will then head to Champaign, Illinois for a 2:00 p.m. ET match against Illinois on Sunday, Sept. 24.
Friday's match against Michigan will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network, while Sunday's match can be viewed live on B1G+. Sloane Martin (PxP) and Audrey Flaugh (Analyst) have the Friday night call on BTN. Fans can listen in live via MSUSpartans.com with John Kreger (at Michigan) and Jeremy Otto (at Illinois) calling the action.
Head Coach Erin Virtue is in her first season as head coach and previously served the Wolverines in an assistant capacity from 2011-15. Virtue will not be with the team this weekend as she is also an assistant coach with Team USA women's volleyball, which is playing in Poland at the Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier. Associate Head Coach Benavia Jenkins will serve as acting head coach this weekend and was in that role last week for Michigan as well.
Michigan is a tough serving team ranking No. 22 in the NCAA in aces per set with 2.06 per set. Kendall Murray is No. 24 individually with 0.56 aces per set.
The Wolverines have a lot of new faces in 2023, losing Top 3 in kills Jess Mruzik, Jess Robinson, May Pertofsky from 2022. Kendall Murray and Jacque Boney were 4th and 5th last season, and lead Michigan to start 2023.
Chris Tamas is in his 7th season as head coach of the Illini and has taken them to the NCAA Tournament on four occasions.
Illinois returned its top five in kills from 2022 (Terry, Mosher, Burbage, Nunge, Collins). Mosher is now the team's starting setter after the departure of Diana Brown, who led the Illini with 1101 assists last season. Raina Terry ranks No. 4 in NCAA in attacks per set, No. 6 in points per set and No. 6 in total kills.
Cari Bohm leads the team in blocks as a redshirt freshman with 49 total (1.11 blocks per set). Rylee Hinton led the team in blocks in 2022 with 1.36 per set. Kennedy Collins is second on the team in blocks with 48 (1.09 per set) after ranking second on the team a year ago.
SERIES HISTORY
Michigan
- Michigan State leads the all-time series against Michigan, 54-50-1, dating back to 1974.
- Michigan holds a 28-15 advantage when matches are played in Ann Arbor.
- The Wolverines have won the last 10 meetings between the two sides dating back to Nov. 15, 2017.
- Michigan State last defeated Michigan on Oct. 18, 2017 by a score of 3-1.
Illinois
- Illinois leads the all-time series against MSU, 56- 27.
- Illinois is 27-9 against the Spartans in Champaign.
- The Illini have won six straight over the Spartans dating back to Oct. 20, 2018. MSU last defeated Illinois on Dec. 8, 2017 in the Sweet 16,
Michigan State will split away and home games next week in B1G play, first traveling to Northwestern for an 8:00 p.m. ET match on Friday, Sept. 29 before returning to East Lansing to face Rutgers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 1.
Game preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
Friday's match against Michigan will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network, while Sunday's match can be viewed live on B1G+. Sloane Martin (PxP) and Audrey Flaugh (Analyst) have the Friday night call on BTN. Fans can listen in live via MSUSpartans.com with John Kreger (at Michigan) and Jeremy Otto (at Illinois) calling the action.
ABOUT MICHIGAN
Michigan enters the weekend 2-7 overall with wins over Sacred Heart and North Carolina, both sweeps in non-conference play. Michigan's opponents have gone 56-34 to open the season, a tough non-conference schedule for the Wolverines.Head Coach Erin Virtue is in her first season as head coach and previously served the Wolverines in an assistant capacity from 2011-15. Virtue will not be with the team this weekend as she is also an assistant coach with Team USA women's volleyball, which is playing in Poland at the Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier. Associate Head Coach Benavia Jenkins will serve as acting head coach this weekend and was in that role last week for Michigan as well.
Michigan is a tough serving team ranking No. 22 in the NCAA in aces per set with 2.06 per set. Kendall Murray is No. 24 individually with 0.56 aces per set.
The Wolverines have a lot of new faces in 2023, losing Top 3 in kills Jess Mruzik, Jess Robinson, May Pertofsky from 2022. Kendall Murray and Jacque Boney were 4th and 5th last season, and lead Michigan to start 2023.
ABOUT ILLINOIS
Illinois opened the season strong with a 4-1 record but has since dropped five of its last six matches to fall to 5-6 on the season. The Illini were defeated in their B1G opener on Wednesday night, 3-1, at Indiana.Chris Tamas is in his 7th season as head coach of the Illini and has taken them to the NCAA Tournament on four occasions.
Illinois returned its top five in kills from 2022 (Terry, Mosher, Burbage, Nunge, Collins). Mosher is now the team's starting setter after the departure of Diana Brown, who led the Illini with 1101 assists last season. Raina Terry ranks No. 4 in NCAA in attacks per set, No. 6 in points per set and No. 6 in total kills.
Cari Bohm leads the team in blocks as a redshirt freshman with 49 total (1.11 blocks per set). Rylee Hinton led the team in blocks in 2022 with 1.36 per set. Kennedy Collins is second on the team in blocks with 48 (1.09 per set) after ranking second on the team a year ago.
SERIES HISTORY
Michigan- Michigan State leads the all-time series against Michigan, 54-50-1, dating back to 1974.
- Michigan holds a 28-15 advantage when matches are played in Ann Arbor.
- The Wolverines have won the last 10 meetings between the two sides dating back to Nov. 15, 2017.
- Michigan State last defeated Michigan on Oct. 18, 2017 by a score of 3-1.
Illinois
- Illinois leads the all-time series against MSU, 56- 27.
- Illinois is 27-9 against the Spartans in Champaign.
- The Illini have won six straight over the Spartans dating back to Oct. 20, 2018. MSU last defeated Illinois on Dec. 8, 2017 in the Sweet 16,
SPARTAN STATISTICAL RANKINGS
- Michigan State ranks No. 31 nationally in team hitting percentage entering B1G play (.275).
- The Spartans have held opponents to .153 hitting, which ranks No. 25 nationally.
- MSU is No. 40 nationally in aces per set at 1.92, ranking No. 3 in the B1G.
- Michigan State is No. 2 in the B1G in assists per set, No. 2 in kills per set, No. 3 in opponent hitting %, No. 5 in hitting %.
- Sophomore Jayhlin Swain is No. 26 nationally and No. 3 in the B1G in aces per set at 0.56.
SWAIN SERVES IT UP
- Sophomore defensive specialist Jayhlin Swain currently leads the Spartans with 20 service aces through 11 matches.
- Swain ranks No. 26 in DI and is tied for third in the Big Ten conference in aces per set at 0.56.
- Swain's 20 aces rank third in the B1G.
- Swain has tied her previous career-high of four aces on three occasions already this season, doing it against Belmont (9/2), Syracuse (9/2) and North Carolina (9/10).
Michigan State will split away and home games next week in B1G play, first traveling to Northwestern for an 8:00 p.m. ET match on Friday, Sept. 29 before returning to East Lansing to face Rutgers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 1.
Game preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
