Thursday, March 28, 2024

3 Spartans on pace to set career records

September 18, 2002
Junior setter Nikki Colson sets the ball during a match against Georgetown Aug. 30 at Jenison Field House. The Spartans won 3-0. —

Despite only one match scheduled for this weekend, the No. 21 MSU women’s volleyball team could experience more than one triumph that night.

A number of milestones are just a fingertip length away for some Spartans, including head coach Chuck Erbe.

Erbe, in his 10th season as coach, will be gunning for his 200th victory in Friday night’s match against Northern Illinois (6-3). With a win, Erbe will become only the second coach in MSU volleyball history to eclipse the 200-win mark.

Only Annelies Knoppers, the Spartans’ volleyball coach from 1974-1984, has more wins in Spartan history with 250. She achieved the mark in 11 seasons.

Two seniors are also on the brink of reaching milestones. Middle Angela Morley is just eight kills shy of reaching 750 for her career while outside hitter Kyla Smith needs just four kills to hit the 500 plateau.

Big Ten proves its power

For the fourth time this season, the Big Ten is represented by five teams in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Volleyball Poll. Minnesota (10-2) leapfrogged three other Big Ten schools to the No. 8 spot and now has its claim on the highest Big Ten ranking. Penn State (9-0) comes in just behind at No. 9 after jumping up two spots after another weekend sweep.

Ohio State (5-3) and Wisconsin (6-2) come in at No. 13 and No. 16, respectively. The Spartans are the final Big Ten team in the rankings, coming in at No. 21 after dropping two spots from last week.

Another plus to having the reputation of a volleyball powerhouse conference is the fan fare.

Six Big Ten schools rank in the top 20 in national volleyball attendance. The Spartans rank 17th nationally with 1,105 fans filling Jenison Field House per matchup.

Weekend recaps

The Spartans weren’t the only Big Ten school to upend a nationally ranked team this weekend. Besides the Spartans 3-0 win over then-No. 24 Kansas State, Minnesota also picked up a sweep. The Golden Gophers beat then-No. 18 North Carolina to win the University of Denver Tournament.

Other teams weren’t so lucky. The Wolverines (5-3) lost to a pair of ranked opponents. Michigan forced then-No. 22 Santa Clara to five games, followed up by a 3-0 loss to then-No. 4 Nebraska.

Wisconsin fell to then-No. 18 UC-Santa Barbara in three games. The match took place in the Badger Invitational, Wisconsin’s own tournament.

Spartans helping opponents

For the second straight week, a Spartan opponent was the featured AVCA National Player of the Week. This past weekend, the Spartans lost to Georgia Tech and Yellow Jacket outside hitter Lynnette Moster was a big part of the win. Her 20-kill, 20-dig double-double guided Georgia Tech to the 3-1 win.

The Spartans only other loss on the year came to Wright State. The Raiders boasted the AVCA National Player of the Week last week in outside hitter Karis Day. Day guided the Raiders to the

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