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Sports | Hockey

BASKETBALL

Schilling makes his mark on men's basketball season exhibition, starting competition

Tuesday was a night of firsts for Gavin Schilling. In the MSU men’s basketball team’s season opening 101-52 exhibition win against Grand Valley on Tuesday night, the highly touted freshman forward made his first appearance in green and white. “I had the mindset coming in that I can’t be too nervous, and I expected good things,” Schilling said. “Nothing new, nothing surprising. I played good and brought a lot of good things to the team tonight.”

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Lady Spartans tip off against Ferris State tonight

It’s the start of a new season, and the No. 18 women’s basketball team will kick off the preseason Wednesday as the Spartans look to improve on last year’s 25-9 record. MSU will face Ferris State at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Breslin Center for the first preseason game. The Spartans finished last season with their third-best record in school history and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, before being knocked out in the second round by Maryland, 74-49.

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball looks to get back to basics

The second half of the volleyball season is approaching, and the No. 14 Spartans will hope to begin the second half how they began the first one — with wins over Penn State and Ohio State. The first half upsets over then-No. 1 Penn State and then-No. 13 Ohio State were the first of a strong Big Ten start for volleyball. However, MSU (17-5 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) finished the first half with a four-game losing streak after winning the first 10.

FOOTBALL

Dantonio, players share personal past with rivalry

For nearly two decades, head coach Mark Dantonio has been surrounded by the Michigan rivalry — and he rarely backs down from the opportunity to talk about it. Whether it’s during his time at Ohio State, his coordinator days under head coach Nick Saban at MSU or his more than seven years as the head coach of the Spartans, Dantonio acknowledges the rivalry with the Wolverines is a part of who he, and by extension, his family have become.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

MSU sink Lakers in exhibition, 101-52

They ran in transition. They showed off improved jumpers and mechanics. They eventually settled into the suffocating defense MSU has become known for under head coach Tom Izzo in their first public performance of the highly-anticipated 2013-14 season.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Spartan basketball back in action tonight

It’s only a preseason game, but the No. 2-ranked men’s basketball team will kick off its highly anticipated season at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Breslin Center against Grand Valley State. The Spartans only have three games, including preseason, before they travel to Chicago on Nov. 12 to partake in the Champions Classic against the nation’s No. 1 team, Kentucky.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Ellis, Schilling ready for big stage in college basketball

When Alvin Ellis III was sitting down on Breslin Center’s floor during last week’s media day, with more than 14,000 empty seats above him, his mind went back to Midnight Madness. Before his name was the first one called to introduce the team, Ellis nervously waited walking down the stairs with Future’s “Chosen One” ?blaring from the speakers. But once he emerged, Ellis got a ?feeling for what he will be in for when thousands of seats are filled with a sea of green and white on gameday.

SPORTS

Field hockey fighting for NCAA lives this week

With a second-straight Big Ten loss to No. 13 Northwestern on Saturday, the window for earning a share of the Big Ten regular season championship closed for the field hockey team (8-9 overall, 3-2 Big Ten). The somewhat unlikely 3-0 start to conference play won’t amount to Big Ten honors. But with one Big Ten game left, the regular season is approaching its end.

FOOTBALL

Win bolsters Big Ten chances

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Standing at the podium in a dank, hole-in-the-wall press room, complete with dingy ceiling tiles, florescent lights and a drooping Big Ten Network backdrop and buried in the depths of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium, head coach Mark Dantonio knew what his team had done.

MEN'S SOCCER

Own goal bites men's soccer in Wisconsin loss

An own goal in the first half sunk the No. 17 MSU men’s soccer team as they fell to Wisconsin 1-0 in Madison, Wisc., Sunday afternoon. The Spartans (8-3-3 overall, 1-2-1 Big Ten) officially were eliminated from contention for the Big Ten regular season title after Penn State beat Northwestern in double overtime earlier that day.

VOLLEYBALL

Column: Volleyball seeing season turnaround

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.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

No Big Ten Tourney again for women's soccer

For the second-consecutive season, the MSU women’s soccer team will not make a trip to the Big Ten Tournament. After a 2-1 victory at Northwestern on Friday to stay in the hunt for a tournament berth, the Spartans (9-7-2 overall, 3-7-0 Big Ten) couldn’t find a way to win against Illinois (9-7-2, 4-5-1), losing 2-0 Sunday afternoon.

ICE HOCKEY

One win, one loss in weekend for Spartan icers

One win against a top-15 opponent, and two players scoring their first collegiate goal. Overall, it was a good weekend for the MSU hockey team (1-3 overall). MSU lost to preseason No. 1, and currently No. 18-ranked UMass-Lowell Friday night before scoring three goals in the third period to upset No. 13 Boston University on Saturday.

ICE HOCKEY

MSU hockey rallies to beat Boston, 3-1

Three goals in the third period lifted the MSU hockey team to a 3-1 upset of No. 14 Boston University Saturday night. Goals from junior forward Bent Darnell and freshman forward Joe Cox were the difference as the Spartans (1-3 overall) won their first game of the season.