Nine up. Nine down. The No. 18 MSU volleyball team’s season has gone accordingly, playing up to task in each of its nine games this fall, en route to a 9-0 start.
Steve Smith was watching the MSU football team take on Central Michigan on Saturday from his personal luxury box at Spartan Stadium when third-year MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant walked in and began to chat with him.
Junior goalkeeper Avery Steinlage could have lain down and taken a nap, jumped online to talk to friends or caught up on homework in the first half of the Spartans’ 4-0 victory against Wright State on Sunday.
For junior linebacker Greg Jones, something wasn’t right before the game started.
The MSU football team’s defense couldn’t find an answer for Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour when it mattered most, as LeFevour led his team on two big drives in the final minutes, the first earning the Chippewas a touchdown and the final resulting in a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left, leading Central Michigan to a 29-27 win over the Spartans on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
Another game for the MSU women’s soccer team, two more goals for Lauren Hill.
In-state rival Central Michigan rolls into Spartan Stadium this Saturday, where they have beaten MSU twice in the last 20 years.
This is an interesting game for the Spartans. Central Michigan brings a talented team into Spartan Stadium but struggled in its season opener against Arizona, losing 19-6. Quarterback Dan LeFevour has proven himself to be the real deal for the Chippewas, but MSU’s defense is hungry and ready to go following last week’s game against Montana State in which it only allowed three points.
It’s a fan’s worst nightmare: Seeing a starter go down and having an unproven backup take the field. But for coaches and players, it’s business as usual. Coaches constantly tell players to practice as if they are going to start for that exact reason.
What stands out to MSU head coach Mark Dantonio about Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour is his experience, mobility and toughness.
As the No. 18 MSU volleyball team travels to Chicago this weekend and looks to improve on its 6-0 start, it can draw on experiences from last season as a guide.
If the No. 7 MSU field hockey team thought it would get a break after playing the first two weekends on the road against quality opponents, it isn’t about to get one. The Spartans will embark on arguably their hardest road trip of the young season as they square off with No. 9 Old Dominion Saturday and No. 8 Syracuse on Sunday, both at Syracuse.
It was the complete opposite of what typically goes on behind the scenes of the MSU athletics department. Mark Hollis — MSU athletics director, mastermind behind the “Basketbowl” and “Cold War” and the man who wants to play basketball on an aircraft carrier — raised his eyebrows at an unconventional idea.
For the MSU volleyball team, defense starts with a capital K. That’s because the Spartans defense is anchored in part by the sister duo of Allyson and Mandi Karaba, who were born about 10 months apart and have helped lead the way to a 6-0 start for MSU. Allyson, a junior libero, was named the tournament MVP for this past weekend’s Cleveland State Invitational, which the Spartans won by winning all three of their games.
Cara Freeman will play anywhere for the MSU women’s soccer team. The junior played forward in high school, is now playing outside midfielder for MSU and even mentioned playing in net for head coach Tom Saxton — an offer she said he wasn’t exactly thrilled about. “I just look at it as if we win as a team; I don’t really look at what I do individually,” Freeman said.
For the first time in more than three decades, “Hockey Cheer” is gone from the Spartan Marching Band’s song sheet. Traditionally a fixture in its pregame show and on third downs during football games, the band did not play the cheer during this past week’s pregame show, but it did play it sparingly in the game.
When MSU women’s soccer assistant coach Tammy Farnum was asked earlier this summer which incoming freshman had the potential to burst onto the MSU sports scene like All-American sophomore forward Laura Heyboer did in 2008, she listed three names. One of those was Olivia Stander, a freshman forward with an impressive sports résumé out of Grosse Pointe High School.
There are only a handful of differences between Domenic and Mark Barone. Mark has long hair compared to Domenic’s short hair. Mark is left-footed while Domenic is right-footed. And Domenic was born exactly two minutes before Mark.
The MSU men’s tennis team announced the addition of Matt Roberts to the coaching staff on Thursday, naming the 25-year-old professional as the assistant head coach.
After a season opener that went mostly according to plan, the MSU football team is preparing for a much tougher opponent in Central Michigan this week. The Chippewas, coming off a 19-6 loss at Arizona, are expected to be plenty motivated against an in-state rival.