A weekend split nearly guarantees the MSU volleyball team a spot in this year's NCAA Tournament.
Similar to basketball, 20 wins is the mark most teams shoot for to "lock up" an NCAA Tournament bid. The Spartans only have 19 wins, but with their strong nonconference schedule, the Spartans are confident they will be on the list when the names are read off for the tournament.
"If we can win our two matches next weekend, we'll go into the tournament feeling good about ourselves and also have the possibility of hosting," said junior outside hitter Kim Schram.
"It's a small possibility, but still a possibility, and it would be nice, too."
In all likelihood, the Spartans will not host, needing a number of teams ahead of them to lose for that to happen. But winning can only help them as they head into the tournament.
"It would be good for seeding purposes for us to win the matches, but we definitely have to win one of them," senior co-captain and setter Nikki Colson said.
The Spartans (19-9 overall, 11-7 Big Ten) had an eventful weekend, with parents' night and the honoring of former MSU volleyball star Erin Hartley on Friday along with senior night on Saturday.
On Friday, MSU raised Hartley's No. 7 jersey to the rafters at Jenison Field House in a prematch ceremony. The team also honored all the parents of the players by introducing them with their daughters and having them walk together.
Despite the ceremonies and a good crowd, MSU didn't look ready to play against No. 22 Minnesota, losing the match 30-20, 30-26 and 30-23.
"We came out flat from the start," said junior outside hitter Michelle Kopka. "One thing would be working but another thing wouldn't, and then the other thing started working and something else would go wrong. We just couldn't get everything together at the same time."
Minnesota (21-9, 14-4) had six players with kills, none of whom hit lower than .304, and the team had a .404 hitting percentage.
The Spartans bounced back on Saturday against Iowa with a 30-21, 30-23 and 30-23 win. Iowa (6-22, 1-17) clearly is the worst team in the conference, but head coach Chuck Erbe said the Spartans needed to respect all their opponents, and they did.
"It feels good to have a win, not only because it was senior night, but after the poor showing last night, it just feels good to get some momentum to go into next week," Colson said.
The seniors only went 6-4 at home in their final season; but will go out on top. They had winning seasons all four years, and are most likely going to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth time as well.
There were tears before the match and after, as the four seniors, libero Emmy Miller, defensive specialist Stephanie Knopp, middle Jenny Rood and Colson, ended their careers at MSU. To them, things couldn't have gone any better than they did.
"It was a perfect finish," Rood said.
