The MSU volleyball team opened its season by capturing the Coca-Cola/MSU Classic Championship at Jenison Field House this past weekend.
The team went 3-0, defeating Ohio University, St. John's and Florida A&M in its first-ever matchups between the three teams.
The Spartans were ranked fourth in a preseason Big Ten poll.
Head coach Chuck Erbe said he was pleased, yet surprised, with the outcome of the weekend.
"I personally would not have predicted that we would be 3-0," Erbe said.
"I wouldn't have predicted that we would be 9-0 in games and that we would have the lofty statistics that we do have and some of the individual performances that we have."
The weekend started strong after the MSU spikers pulled a victory over last season's Mid-American Conference champions from Ohio University.
On Saturday, MSU dominated St. John's with a .427 hitting percentage with 56 total kills and 28 digs.
For the final match of the tournament, MSU defeated Florida A&M with 55 kills, 49 digs and 10 team blocks.
Senior outside hitter Kim Schram was declared the weekend's most valuable player after hitting .392 with 53 kills and 24 digs.
Confidence made the difference in the team's performance this weekend, she said.
"We're really trusting our preparation," Schram said. "We had a really tough two weeks. As tough as that is on us physically, we realized that the result was confidence."
Junior middle Megan Wallin broke MSU's hitting percentage record of .923 previously set by Corie Richard in 1995 by pulling a .929 hitting percentage in the match against St. John's.
Wallin said the team is being careful of becoming overly confident.
"We realize we are the underdogs," Wallin said. "We are just going to come to every game bringing more energy."
Wallin, along with junior libero Marley Bellwood and freshman setter Maggie Griffin, were also given all-tournament honors.
Erbe said the team beat his goals for the season of a .280 hitting average while having 11-12 strong players to switch up on the court.
"No matter what combination I had on the floor, the team chemistry and dynamics of the floor didn't change one bit," Erbe said.
"It is remarkable that a team can absorb so many personalities without losing its basic character."
Erbe said the teams the Spartans faced this past weekend were not a representative of the competition the Spartans will face this season.
"There aren't any cupcakes on our schedule at all," Erbe said.
"What the weekend shows me is that we had a good weekend and we really are going to have to keep it at that.
"Every single weekend after this, the bar of competition is going to be raised."
The volleyball team hits the road for the next few weeks, playing in three-matches in the Witchita State Tournament this upcoming weekend in Kansas.
The Spartans battle Arkansas at 10:30 a.m. and Witchita State at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, the team will challenge Washington.
