Following a successful weekend that saw upset wins over No. 1 Penn State and No. 13 Ohio State, the volleyball team has moved up six spots in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll and now are ranked No. 9.
MSU (13-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) prevailed over No. 1 Penn State on Friday in five sets (25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 19-25, 15-9). The Spartans won the first two by close margins. On the brink of defeat, Penn State played with a new energy in sets three and four, beating MSU 19-25 each time. MSU regained control in set five to win the match, 15-9.
The win was the first over a top-ranked team in program history, and snapped an 18-match losing streak against the Nittany Lions.
It was only Penn State’s second conference loss at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.
The volleyball team followed with a win over No. 13 Ohio State in straight sets on Sunday (27-25, 25-23, 25-23). Ohio State kept the sets close, but MSU’s momentum from the previous victory proved to be too much.
It was MSU’s first victory at Ohio State since 2008.
The No. 9 rank is MSU’s highest rank of the season.
Following the loss, Penn State has fallen to No. 5 overall, and Ohio State moved up one spot to No. 12.
MSU’s 2-0 Big Ten season start is just the fourth in school history. The feat was last accomplished in 2008.
Big Ten honors for Wicinski (again)
For the second time this season, senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski has been named Big Ten Volleyball Player of the Week.
Wicinski had a game-high 21 kills, two service aces, two blocks and nine digs in the upset over Penn State.
Wicinski followed with a team-leading 12 kills, two digs and two service aces against Ohio State.
Wicinski recently passed the 2,000 career kill milestone and owns 2,075 going into the Big Ten home opener against Illinios on Friday. She’s only 180 kills away from moving into the NCAA’s top-25 all-time.
Wicinski passed 1,000 career digs last Friday against Penn State.
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