On a team where experience is minimal and youth is abundant, Spartan volleyball head coach Chuck Erbe needs some of the youth to mature quickly. Freshman outside hitter Michelle Kopka - one of seven freshmen on the team - took steps in the right direction in Friday and Saturday’s MSU Volleyball Classic.
College football know-it-alls say MSU, Nebraska will win, split on rest Two weeks of college football have passed without MSU playing, but now fans can dust off their Spartan helmet grills and break out the rest of their tailgating gear.
With Saturday’s matchup between MSU and Central Michigan around the corner, the media, fans, players and coaches have been packing on the hype. But with every team comes first game jitters and questions marks.
No. 3 MSU took the highest ranking in school history to the West Coast this weekend but was unable to bring a perfect record back to East Lansing. Stanford (2-2) handed the Spartans their first loss of the season - a 2-1 defeat Friday in Palo Alto, Calif.
Just looking at the statistics sheet, you would think MSU embarrassed Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon at Old College Field. After all, the Spartans peppered the Falcon net with 29 shots, compared with the three attempts Bowling Green (1-0-1) managed to direct at the Spartan goal. But Falcon goalkeeper Erika Flanders only let one shot past her - making 17 saves - as the teams battled to a 1-1 tie. MSU (1-0-1) jumped ahead 2:53 into the game as sophomore defender Andrea Sied took an assist from sophomore midfielder Trisha Kenny and buried a shot past Flanders. The lead held up until the 31:24 mark, when Falcon forward Jill Conover bounced a shot off a MSU defender and past Spartan goalkeeper Stacy Heller to knot the game at 1-1. MSU outshot the Falcons 19-1 for the remainder of the game, but couldn’t break the deadlock. The Spartans had better fortune in their season-opening tilt with Western Michigan (0-1) on Friday. Sophomore midfielder Erica Whatley and sophomore forward Tiffany Laskowski each banked an unassisted goal in the first half to propel MSU to a 2-0 victory. Heller stopped four Bronco shots for the shutout. The Spartans next play Dayton at 3 p.m.
The MSU volleyball team can check one goal off its to-do list after winning all four of its matches at this weekend’s MSU Volleyball Classic at Jenison Field House. “To win this tournament on our home court was a big goal of ours,” senior outside hitter Erin Hartley said. The Spartans defeated Auburn 3-1 and Dayton 3-1 on Friday and capped the tournament with 3-1 victories against Denver and Western Michigan on Saturday. “These early season victories will help the team become more sure of itself,” sophomore setter Nikki Colson said. “It’s an incredible confidence booster.
Good teams usually have one player it can turn to in pressure situations. Very good teams may have two.
The game wasn’t even finished when MSU men’s soccer head coach Joe Baum’s celebration began. With less than a minute to play, Baum soaked in his historic win as several Spartans doused him in watercooler glory. This was more than a solid 6-1 season-opening victory against Wisconsin-Green Bay in the MSU/Radisson Soccer Classic Saturday - this was 25-year MSU head coach Baum’s 300th career win. When the final buzzer sounded, Old College Field turned into “Joe Baum Field” as the 410 fans cheered and held up signs reading “300,” and his team rushed toward him with congratulations. “It’s hard to believe,” Baum said.
The MSU men’s cross country team races off to start its season at the Grand Valley State Fall Classic at 5 p.m.
A bundle of nerves. Spartan volleyball coach Chuck Erbe knows his team will be battling its emotions as well as Auburn, Dayton, Denver and Western Michigan this weekend.
The MSU women’s crew is holding a pair of informational meetings to recruit interested individuals at 4:30 p.m.
In its only exhibition game, the MSU women’s soccer team notched a 3-1 win over Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference last week. But head coach Tom Saxton isn’t overlooking the two MAC schools visiting MSU’s campus on the Spartans’ regular season-opening weekend. MSU takes on Western Michigan at 4 p.m.
While MSU football fans wait to hear who head coach Bobby Williams names as starting quarterback for the season opener against Central Michigan Sept.
Twenty-four years and 299 wins.That’s where men’s soccer head coach Joe Baum’s legendary career stands at the moment.
Three months ago, Oldsmobile Park was not a very fun place to be. The Lansing Lugnuts were horrible - especially at home - and the spirits of sparse crowds that showed up were usually dampened by inclement weather, bad baseball or both. Fast forward to Tuesday night.
The specifics of MSU’s new offense have been kept top secret by the coaching staff, but it’s no surprise to many that changes are on the way.
The MSU football team has lost what seems like a player-a-day to injury or ineligibility, but at least its linebacker picture was cleared-up as the team concluded its second preseason scrimmage Tuesday.
Flint Northern senior Matt Trannon has a decision to make about where he will go to school next fall. But his decision circles around two sports he has shown the same compassion for throughout high school - basketball and football.
Despite selling all individual student tickets for “The Cold War” hockey game between the MSU and Michigan, students still aren’t being frozen out from attending the game. An additional 2,200 tickets in the student section for the Oct.
On Aug. 23, field hockey midfielder Sophie Rosmalen turned 18. And no, she’s no freshman. She’s a general management sophomore, playing for the second year on the now No.