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.
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.
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.
Just two weeks into their respective seasons, the MSU volleyball and field hockey teams have collected a combined nine wins and each are off to strong starts in their young seasons.
Long road trips can be difficult and overbearing, but as the No. 20 MSU volleyball team stares down a monthlong stretch of games away from Jenison Field House, head coach Cathy George is optimistic her team will develop a good road routine in time for the tough Big Ten Conference schedule ahead.
The Spartans volleyball team entered this weekend’s MSU Showcase with new faces, different opponents and a new outlook. But in the end, the result was the same.
Two members of the MSU volleyball team were named to postseason all-conference teams.
Despite having a young team this season, the MSU volleyball team will be stacked with talent next season, as it will return its top eight point-scorers while losing only one senior. “Losing Heather (McDaniel) is really hard — just because she’s such a great leader and she has a lot of heart and she’s so inspiring to all of us, but we’re going to come on strong next year,” sophomore libero Allyson Karaba said.
There was an outside shot at getting into the NCAA Tournament when the MSU volleyball team began play Saturday against No. 12 Minnesota. Halfway through the fourth set it looked almost possible. The Spartans needed to win both of this weekend’s matches and have Indiana lose both of its matches to slide into the sixth spot in the Big Ten and have a shot at getting into the NCAA Tournament.
It’s not over ‘til it’s over. That’s the attitude the MSU volleyball team is taking into the last two weeks of the regular season. The team (14-13 overall, 6-10 Big Ten) still holds an outside chance of making the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid and is looking to take every opportunity to slip into the Big Dance.
Momentum isn’t something the MSU volleyball team has had for a while. Heading on the road this weekend for games against No. 19 Michigan and Ohio State, the team is looking to build on the last two weeks, where it beat then-No. 25 Wisconsin, Indiana and took No. 1 Penn State to the brink in two sets.
The deck was stacked against the MSU volleyball team in its 3-1 victory over Indiana on Saturday.
There’s something to be said for effort when you’re playing the top team in the land.
Though playing No. 1 Penn State is never easy, MSU volleyball head coach Cathy George said her team needs to go after the defending national champions. “You need to be aggressive,” George said. “It’s more about the way you go about playing them, and that’s what I’m looking forward to, to challenge them at every step.”
Last weekend, volleyball head coach Cathy George told her team it needed to loosen up. The team, riding a four-game losing streak and just coming off an embarrassing 3-0 loss at home to then-No. 19 Illinois, was playing stiff and wasn’t bringing its unique personalities to the court, George said.
The MSU volleyball team suffered another rough weekend, losing to No. 19 Illinois and No. 18 Purdue. The Spartans, on a five-game losing streak, have now fallen to 11-10 on the season and 3-7 in the Big Ten. The team struggled mightily against Illinois on Friday, falling quickly in three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-17). MSU seemed overmatched, as Illinois used long rallies in the middle of all three matches to open up insurmountable leads.
When the MSU volleyball team went on its first Big Ten road trip, it felt a little overwhelmed.
Going into this season, the MSU volleyball team knew it had two returning starters and a very young team.
The MSU volleyball team suffered its first home loss of the season on Saturday, getting swept 3-0 by No. 21 Wisconsin. “I thought we were playing fairly well at times but we didn’t kick it in at the right times,” head coach Cathy George said. “We have to learn how to close things out.”
The MSU volleyball team needed every bit of five sets Friday in its 3-2 win against Northwestern on Friday at Jenison Field House.