The MSU volleyball team is hungry to make some kills on home court heading into this weekend's season opener - the Coca-Cola/MSU Classic at Jenison Field House.
"We're ready for any competition you throw at us," junior setter Mickey Davis said. "We have the fire in our bellies."
Using last Saturday's Green and White exhibition as a season warm-up, the team has refocused their practices on last-minute system work, MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said.
"It is time to get the season started," Erbe said. "I like what I've been seeing at practice. We've improved defense and passing from last year."
Erbe said he expects strong competition from this weekend's matchups, but he also expects a good showing from MSU.
The Spartans finished last season with a .262 hitting average while compiling a record of 19-12 overall and 11-9 in the Big Ten.
Seven players return this season, including senior outside hitter Kim Schram, who earned a unanimous preseason All-Big Ten Team selection after averaging 4.81 kills and having 15 service aces, 179 digs and 33 block solos at the end of last season.
On Friday, MSU serves off against the Ohio University Bobcats, the defending Mid-American Conference champions with a 28-5 record last season. The Bobcats opened their season Wednesday with a victory over Virginia Tech.
MSU plays Florida A&M on Saturday, the defending champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic conference. The team made it to the second round of the NCAA finals before being shut down by Georgia Tech last year.
Florida A&M includes a lot of international talent, Erbe said.
Later that day, MSU will face St. John's - tied for fourth in the Big East last year. St. John's has the help of returning outside and middle hitter Jackie Ahlers who had a record setting 608 total kills, ranking 23rd in the country.
Despite the talent the Spartans will be facing, Erbe still remains "cautiously optimistic," he said Monday.
The team struggled with serving errors recently, rounding up 29 total by the end of the Green and White match. Spartans spikers have had some difficulty with jump serves, Erbe said, which only seven players can perform.
"When done right, it is a hard serve to stop," Erbe said. "But it needs to be done with consistency to be effective.
"These are things we need to work on. We're still battling consistency. I have to evaluate the risk/reward formula."
While Erbe is concerned about the consistency of the serve, Langston said serves should become a major part of the Spartans offense and will be huge in Big Ten matches.
St. John's and Florida A&M go head-to-head 5 p.m. Friday and The MSU vs. Ohio University match starts at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Florida A&M and Ohio University will play at 10 a.m., with MSU and St. John's competing at noon. At 6 p.m., St. John's takes on Ohio University, and at 8 p.m. MSU challenges Florida A&M in the final game of the invitational.
The Spartans have won the Coca-Cola/MSU Volleyball Classic five of the eight years MSU has hosted the invitational. The team has a record of 20-11 in season openers, and have gone 9-2 under Erbe's leadership.
"It's nice to start out at home," Davis said. "We're grateful for that chance."
