When MSU was in the lead and had any type of momentum, it made winning look like an expectation. 

The Spartans beat Western Kentucky in four sets, putting them at 2-2 for the season. 

What worked best for the Spartans was their communication when transitioning from defense to attacking. Senior setter Rachel Muisenga was consistently synchronous with the outside hitters, helping Michigan State get a strong number of kills throughout the four sets. Muisenga finished the game with 31 assists and the Spartans totaled 61 kills, 14 more than Western Kentucky. 

“We emphasized that a lot this preseason because we have a lot of personnel coming in and out with a lot of changes,” head coach Leah Johnson said. “So, we have a pretty strong policy that if you know it, own it and if you get the information, relay the information.”

Another factor that helped Michigan State was its crowd. Fans never stopped cheering, which played a huge role in shifting momentum in high-stress situations. For the Spartans, home-court advantage lived up to its name Friday night.

Michigan State needed its most production in the second set when Western Kentucky went on a run to tie the game at 10-10, but the fans helped garner momentum. Later, junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson blocked a hit, which made the score 15-10, a set-defining moment. From there, Michigan State was in control and the set was decided.

“There’s nothing like Breslin,” Johnson said. “It’s a special place, a special fan environment. And what an awesome time to get our first win at home and kick off the season that way.”

Michigan State, however, did produce some mistakes along the way, mainly in the second set, when the Spartans couldn’t recognize dinks and the ball fell right in front of them a handful of times. 

Also, Western Kentucky found the gap between blockers a few times, which led to easy kills — it kept the Hilltoppers close in score during the second set. The main reason why Western Kentucky was so adept at finding the gaps, specifically right outside hitters senior Katie Howard and junior Kenadee Coyle, is because they’re lefty, giving them a slight advantage and more control when hitting. 

During the third set, the Spartans weren’t as succinct as they were in the previous two. There was more confusion, less communication and it seemed like the Spartans weren’t giving their best effort.

Early on in the fourth set, graduate student outside hitter Danyle Courtley went down with an injury and left the game, carried by two staffers while holding back tears.

The entire fourth set went back-and-forth between the two teams. Michigan State was committing more errors but got points back with the team’s stellar outside hitting.

MSU went on a set-defining 5-0 run, which pushed the team ahead 21-18 and helped to pull off the nail-biting 25-23 win.

To finish it off, the Spartans executed what they did the first two sets of the game: stellar communication and blocking.

Johnson said the team's mindset going into the fourth set was it had to “reset” and play against “the team we thought we’d play from the start.”

“We expected that back-and-forth battle, and we just needed to stay in the grind of the next ball,” Johnson said. “I thought our team did a nice job.”

When in sync, the Spartans were dangerous. Opponents will have a tough time earning points when MSU plays its best.

Looking forward, Michigan State needs to make sure its hitters — mainly Anderson, Preston and Courtley — can consistently find the gap when hitting and on serves. 

Tomorrow, Michigan State plays Marist College at 3 p.m. at Breslin Center for the second match of the invitational. Big Ten Plus will stream the match.