The scoreboard beamed the “14-11” score in Nebraska’s favor in the fifth set, putting MSU one point away from a loss. Instead of adding another sour defeat to their loss column, the Spartans overcame adversity to win in a 17-15 thriller.

“Our team really answered, and they knew they had to step up and be tough,” head coach Cathy George said.

The Spartans’ only choice was to be mentally tough, as they carried the memories of losing three Big Ten matches in which they led 2-1 at one point. Not only has that stat been a monkey on the team’s back, but they were fresh off a five-set loss to Purdue, despite scoring more points in the match than the Boilermakers.

On Saturday, it appeared to be the same old story, as the Spartans heard the Nebraska fans’ cheers grow louder as Nebraska erased MSU’s 2-1 lead. The Spartans then rallied to win and left the court in smiles, knowing that what they performed on the court will possibly give them a new attitude in close games.

“We broke the curse, or whatever it was,” junior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski said. “It was awesome just to be pulled together (as a team) in the fifth game.”

The curse might be over, but that doesn’t mean that the losses in the past are forgotten.
If anything, they have helped the Spartans be the mentally tough team they were during the weekend.

“Those (losses) are something that you can never forget,” sophomore libero Kori Moster said. “We learned a lot from those five-set games, and I think that is a good thing for us because we came into this match knowing what we needed to do.”

The Spartans look to use their confidence and momentum this Friday against No. 10 Minnesota, a team they lost to while leading 2-1 a month ago. The Golden Gophers will come into East Lansing winning five of their last six matches, a streak they also carried into their first meeting with the Spartans.

The hot play and momentum of both teams will clash at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Jenison Field House.