Senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski gives the team a pep talk Oct. 26, 2013, at Jenison Field house. MSU lost to Indiana, 3-2. Margaux Forster/The State News
In the past couple weeks, a storybook season for the volleyball team steadily declined into anything but.
After being ranked No. 5, winning six-straight matches at the start of Big Ten play and posting the best start to the season since 1996, the Spartans (17-5 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) lost the fire that enabled them to topple some of the top teams in the nation.
After losing to then-No.10 Minnesota and then-No. 15 Wisconsin on the road, MSU fell to No. 17 Michigan at home last Wednesday and suffered a fourth-straight upset against Indiana on Saturday, who hadn’t won a Big Ten match before leaving East Lansing.
The Indiana game was MSU’s chance to regain its footing. No. 24 Ohio State and No. 2 Penn State are coming to town this weekend and, with the Spartans slumping, it looks like the perfect time for the two teams to seek their revenge.
There has to be a sense of growing urgency for the team. The hot start to the season and the high rankings in the AVCA coaches poll all mean nothing if they can’t re-spark the fire that made them look like a possible contender.
“It isn’t just like we all of a sudden forgot how to serve or do certain things,” head coach Cathy George said after falling to Michigan last Wednesday. “We have to be bold enough to do that.
“The program has been blowing (up) over the years, and we have to be ready to push into that next state and accept that and push through that, and go for it.”
Something seemed off during the losing streak. Errors, which have been a problem for the team all season, are now more numerous. The timely digs and kills are now less timely.
Perhaps it’s a mid-season slump. They lost three-straight matches last season before winning six-straight shortly after.
The undefeated start to Big Ten season was uncharted territory, and perhaps the early success brought doubt. But as George said, the team has to be ready to push to that next step.
This is still likely the best MSU team George has ever coached. But with her team slumping, George has been steadfast that it’s time to go back to basics.
The team has been beating themselves up over sloppy play. It’s time to regain the attitude that made them a top-five team.
“We have to be comfortable with the position we find ourselves in at Michigan State,” George said. “We’re really moving up the rankings — we have to be ready to push through to that next step.”
Omari Sankofa II is a State News sports reporter. Reach him at osankofa@statenews.com.
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