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.
After a tough weekend that saw the team lose two conference games, including a drubbing by No. 1 Penn State, the MSU volleyball team is looking to get back on track at home. The season’s first conference road trip didn’t go as planned. The team snapped its 10-game winning streak, losing 3-1 to Indiana and 3-0 to Penn State. The losses move them to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten.
When the athletics department scheduled the MSU volleyball team for two games at Breslin Center, it called it an experiment. The experiment was a success as more than 9,000 fans filled the arena for two games against Ohio State and Michigan.
When sophomore outside hitter Jenilee Rathje fell to the ground holding her knee early in the fourth set against Ohio State last Friday, the team was left to scramble for answers.
After being named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for three straight weeks, senior running back Javon Ringer wasn’t able to earn a fourth one this week. Ringer racked up 198 yards on 44 carries and recorded a touchdown in the Spartans’ 42-29 victory over Indiana on Saturday, but didn’t do enough to win over Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bacher.
Drawing more than 9,000 fans at Breslin Center during the weekend, the MSU volleyball team set the school’s single-game attendance record while picking up a pair of 3-1 victories over Ohio State and No. 21 Michigan. Aided by more than 1,500 students, many coming from the Izzone campout at Munn Field, the goal to “Bust Breslin” was achieved when the team drew 5,335 fans to Saturday’s matchup against U-M.
With a record crowd supporting them, the MSU volleyball team upset No. 21 Michigan on Saturday at Breslin Center 3-1.
The MSU volleyball team started off the Big Ten season with a win Friday, beating Ohio State 3-1 at Breslin Center.
The last time the MSU volleyball team played at Breslin Center was Nov. 4, 1995. That was four days before Tom Izzo coached his first game at MSU and the same weekend the MSU football team beat Michigan 28-25 at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans will look to “Bust Breslin” in two games this weekend: Friday against Ohio State and Saturday against No. 21 U-M.