The MSU volleyball team heads to Charleston, S.C., this weekend to play in their final invitational prior to the start of Big Ten play. The Spartans already played on the road once this season in Storrs, Conn., but they’re hoping to use this weekend as a test run for what they’ll experience in conference play, head coach Cathy George said.
Heading into its final invitational of the season, the MSU volleyball team continues to look for progress.
The Spartans have opened the 2012 season with three consecutive invitational championships by winning the Spartan Showcase, University of Connecticut Classic and the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational over the last three weekends. Junior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski now has garnered a pair of MVP trophies — sophomore libero Kori Moster took home the MVP from the Connecticut Classic — and no fewer than five Spartans have been named to an all-tournament team.
Different weekend, same old story. For the third consecutive weekend, MSU volleyball has taken home the title from a weekend invitational.
MSU volleyball may have seen its 18-set winning streak stopped when it dropped the first set to IPFW in the first game of the Auto-Owners Insurance Invitational, but the Spartans fought back and won their seventh match in a row, 3-2. Head coach Cathy George is happy with the win, however. “It’s OK to be tested,” she said.
Now everyone’s attention turns to the coming Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational this weekend at Jenison Field House, where MSU will take on IPFW on Friday, followed by Albany and Georgia on Saturday. Both George and sophomore libero Kori Moster noted the competition is starting to get tougher, with George calling the weekend’s slate “very strong.”
Lauren Wicinski wants to terminate people. And after three games this season, her new head coach Cathy George knows this much is true.
With the completion of the annual Spartan Showcase tournament this past weekend at Jenison Field House, volleyball season officially is under way. The Spartans dominated, much as they have in the past, earning their ninth-straight Spartan Showcase title by defeating McNeese State, Youngstown State and Eastern Kentucky in the title match.
The MSU volleyball team began its 2012 campaign on a high note after topping McNeese State, 3-0 in its season opener at Jenison Field House Friday night.
With the first regular season game of the season Friday night, the MSU volleyball team has high hopes for what their young team can accomplish this season.
The MSU athletics department announced the hockey, wrestling and volleyball schedules for the upcoming 2012-13 seasons this week.
More than 200 members of the greek community laughed and smiled as volleyballs flew through the air during Sigma Pi’s annual volleyball tournament Saturday afternoon to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that provides aid to servicemen, servicewomen and their families. The event raised about $1000 from entrance fees, donations and sunglasses the fraternity was selling.
The awards keep rolling in for MSU volleyball senior outside hitter” Jenilee Rathje”:http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/rathje_jenilee00.html, who was named an AVCA third team All-American on Tuesday. Rathje’s selection makes her the ninth All-American in MSU history and she becomes the first top-three team selection since Ashley Schatzle in 2007 — Rathje’s freshman year. In her final season with the team, Rathje led the Spartans in kills with 505, a career best which also was good enough for third in the Big Ten and in the top 25 in the nation.
The State News spoke with head coach Cathy George to talk about what the season meant for the program, and what fans can expect to see next year.
Head coach Cathy George’s squad accrued a 22-12 record and notched its first tournament win since 2007 with a 3-1 win over Arizona on Friday night. MSU had some quality wins, including 3-1 victories over then-No. 22 Michigan and then-No. 7 Illinois.
The honor was the latest in a string of awards for senior outside hitter Jenilee Rathje, who recently was named a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection.
Despite holding off Arizona 3-1 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, the MSU volleyball team’s season ended in Austin, Texas, when it dropped three straight sets to No. 1 seed Texas Saturday night.
After three months of the daily grind of the regular season, the MSU volleyball team will open the postseason at 5:30 p.m. today in Austin, Texas, when it faces Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Going into the NCAA Tournament, the MSU volleyball team will have to prepare for facing some of the best teams in the nation.
Senior outside hitters Jenilee Rathje and Kyndra Abron both were honored for their play in the 2011 regular season, with Rathje claiming unanimous first team All-Big Ten honors while Abron raked in an honorable mention.